Hindi lessons that begin with Devanagari and build up to formal register

What Hindi asks of an English speaker

Try two questions from the course

Both are taken unchanged from the Hindi lessons, with the explanation learners see after answering.

What each level covers

1. A1 Read Devanagari letters, vowel marks and numerals, fill in form fields such as name and mother tongue, follow polite written instructions, and write short greetings, thanks and good-night messages.

   10 skills at A1

   • Recognize Devanagari characters and numerals
   • Produce Devanagari characters in simple words
   • Recognize familiar words and basic phrases in short written texts
   • Understand basic spoken phrases when delivered slowly and clearly
   • Complete simple forms with personal information
   • Write very short simple personal messages
   • Understand simple written instructions supported by context
   • Recognize basic information in signs, notices, and schedules
   • Follow very simple spoken announcements
   • Exchange basic information in simple written interactions

2. A2 Read personal texts, menus and opening hours, ask for a table, a return or a corrected bill in one sentence, and describe a routine with verb endings that match the writer's gender.

   8 skills at A2

   • Understand short simple personal messages
   • Follow basic spoken information about everyday matters
   • Read simple public information and service texts
   • Write short everyday messages for practical purposes
   • Describe routine matters in simple connected writing
   • Handle simple written transactions
   • Understand simple directions and instructions
   • Extract key details from short factual texts

3. B1 Read a Hindi workshop email that requires a reply by Thursday evening before the place passes to the waiting list, and complete a courteous confirmation of a Monday meeting at eleven.

   8 skills at B1

   • Understand the main points of clear texts on familiar matters
   • Understand the main points of clear standard speech on familiar matters
   • Write connected texts on familiar topics
   • Express opinions, plans, and experiences in writing
   • Manage routine written correspondence
   • Understand straightforward narratives and descriptions
   • Follow straightforward presentations and media on familiar topics
   • Summarize factual information from straightforward texts

4. B2 Follow Aman’s Hindi reply accepting encouraging pedestrian counts while limiting the evidence to two Sundays, preserving morning deliveries and proposing a six-week trial with measures of footfall, sales and delivery delays.

   8 skills at B2

   • Read articles and reports that present arguments and viewpoints
   • Understand extended speech and presentations with clear structure
   • Write clear detailed texts on a range of subjects
   • Write reasoned arguments supporting a point of view
   • Participate effectively in written discussions
   • Understand specialized texts in familiar fields
   • Identify stance, tone, and implication in spoken discourse
   • Synthesize information from multiple written sources

5. C1 Recast a fieldwork delay as a formal request to a funding committee for two more weeks and as a short apology to a friend, take notes from a talk blaming floods on paved ground and undersized drains, and acknowledge a collaborator's concern with a verb ending that matches the writer's gender before proposing to check the claim together.

   8 skills at C1

   • Understand long complex texts across a range of domains
   • Understand extended speech with implicit meaning and complex structure
   • Write well-structured detailed texts on complex subjects
   • Adapt style, register, and conventions to purpose and audience
   • Manage complex written interactions fluently and appropriately
   • Understand implicit meaning, nuance, and rhetorical effect in written texts
   • Take effective notes from complex spoken input
   • Evaluate and synthesize information from complex written sources

6. C2 Read proverbs such as beating the snake's trail after the snake has gone, keep the quotation marks that turn praise for a timetable delayed four times into irony, and write crisis replies that report only figures the hospitals have confirmed.

   8 skills at C2

   • Understand virtually all forms of written language
   • Understand virtually all forms of spoken language
   • Produce polished, effective texts for demanding purposes
   • Compose nuanced persuasive arguments
   • Handle demanding written exchanges with precision and flexibility
   • Interpret subtle pragmatic and cultural references
   • Critically synthesize diverse written and spoken sources
   • Edit and transform texts while preserving nuance and effect