The options available to you if you are interested in learning Hindi are, in general, a university course, a private language school course, a tutor or an online Hindi course.  University courses are often excellent but not always very available.  To begin with, even with the increase in interest in learning Hindi, there are not that many colleges and universities that offer a Hindi program.  Moreover, university Hindi programs are generally only available to students enrolled in the university.  Stopping in to take a semester or two of Hindi is not usually an option.  When available, a university course is often the most comprehensive, offering a full curriculum of language instruction in addition to such benefits as a language lab and regular conversation hours.  These benefits are very helpful for anyone serious about knowing how to learn Hindi.

Private language schools may or may not offer Hindi.  It depends largely on location, the size of the community in which the school is located and the availability of a Hindi language instructor.  In my experience, those schools that do offer Hindi usually don’t have enough demand to make up a class, so they arrange for private tutoring for interested students.  In my experience, language schools can be quite disappointing.   The materials can be somewhat limited, the amount of class time is stingy, it is unlikely that you will find a language lab for study outside of class and, although the teachers may be native speakers, their skill and training as instructors is hit-or-miss.  Add to all of that the fact that they are pricey, and the result is often a disappointing experience.  The same drawbacks apply to a private tutor, too.

If you are not in a position to take a university course, you may find that your best choice for how to learn Hindi may be an online self-study program.  Although there is a broad range in the quality of online courses, there some advantages that they all share.  First of all, they are as available as your computer.  You don’t have to meet at a regularly scheduled class time.  On the contrary, you can study your class at your own pace and at your own convenience.  Audio files are always a part of an online language course, so you have access to your own private language lab.  Good ones will also have interactive quizzes and games, so that you can test your progress.  If you are concerned about trying to learn a language without a teacher, be sure to invest in an online Hindi course that has a learner’s forum, so that you can interact online with teachers, other students and speakers of the language.  In general, an online Hindi course is not expensive compared to other options, too.

How to learn Hindi has become a more common question in the last several years.  You can learn Hindi easily and well with an online Hindi course.  That may be an option more available to you than a university course, and less expensive and more helpful to you than a tutor or private language school.  It may well be your best option for how to learn Hindi.

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As the internet grows larger and the world grows smaller, it becomes ever easier to access mass media in different languages.  As a Hindi student of the twenty-first century, you have a wealth of resources available online to help you in your efforts how to learn Hindi.

Newspapers.  There are Indian newspapers online in a number of languages, including Hindi and English.  Although reading an English language newspaper from India won’t directly improve your Hindi skills, it will give you valuable cultural insights.  A search of “Indian newspapers” or “Hindi newspapers” returns a number of aggregators, so that you can go to one site to click on links to a variety of papers.

Movies, TV and Radio.  You can easily find lots of Hindi-language movies, TV shows and radio programs on the internet.  Some sites are paid membership sites, but if you keep looking you will be able to find lots of good stuff available free.  Do a simple search, such as for “Hindi movies online,” and you will come across sites that give you access to a variety of mass media options.  The same site may offer movies, TV shows, kids’ TV, cricket matches, music videos and even more.   Even the free sites may require registration.  Be aware that you may need to wind your way around various pop-over surveys, sit through introductory commercials before the videos begin or try to turn off automatic audio ads before you actually get to the good stuff. 

Podcasts.  Do a general search, like “free Hindi podcast,” and you will get returns of various sites with podcasts ranging from news to entertainment to a Hindi course.  I will warn you that some of the sites are a little thorny.  You may find broken links or sites so confusingly laid out that you may not know where to go for the podcast link.  Also note that a lot of the entertainment podcasts are in English.  But at least you get a hearty dose of Bollywood gossip.

If you are taking a Hindi course, you really should supplement your classroom learning with the vast amount of mass media available on the internet.  Since so much of it is free, there is really no excuse not to take advantage of it.  And it is a great advantage, to learn the language by native language speakers, speaking real vocabulary at a conversational speed, and to get cultural, political or sports news at the same time.  This material is easy to find, so just do a Google search and you will find tremendous resources for how to learn Hindi.

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In English, the word “you” is surprisingly lacking in nuance.  Although “you” may be expanded into “you guys,” “y’all” or “you all,” or in the Washington DC area when I was in high school, “all y’all guys,” our second person form is indistinguishable from singular to plural.  More than that, we use the same word to address the President of the United States, our best friend since kindergarten, and the cat.

In contrast, many languages have different forms of the second person pronoun and these forms indicate number and a level of honorific or intimacy toward the person addressed.  Hindi is one of those languages.

In Hindi, there are three forms of the second person pronoun, or “you.”  They are:

• the formal form of “you.”  It does not convey number.  It is the same for singular or plural.  But it conveys respect.  You would use the formal form in a formal situation or when you are speaking to someone older or “above” you, or to show honor.
• the informal form of “you.”  This one can be singular or plural, too.  It is used in an informal situation. Or you could use it to address someone younger or somehow “below” you.
• the extremely informal form of “you” exists only in the singular.  Be careful how you use it.  It is used between close intimates and for that reason can be considered an insult if used to address someone with whom you are not on such intimate terms.  It is also used in sacred poetic language.

There may be only a single way to say “you” in English.  Things are more complex in Hindi.  Learn the three forms of the second person pronoun. 

And there’s your mini Hindi course.

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India is just too important as a resource to ignore.  Indians are working in finance, technology, medicine and other disciplines in their home countries and worldwide.  Keeping abreast of those disciplines requires you to keep up with advances under development in India.  From the nuclear bomb to IT, India continues to make news.   It is a country full of talent that is striving to make their talents known.

But if India is an important resource, it is becoming an equally important market.  The highly skilled professionals that are such a resource to American companies are merging into a burgeoning middle class.  This middle class is clamoring for consumer goods, from cars to refrigerators.  Just look at the global splash that was made when Tata Motors unveiled the Nano.  The new urban middle class in India has purchasing power and they have wants and needs to be filled by material goods.  What else could manufacturer of consumer goods hope for if they were interested in taking their company multi-national? 

Now, one of India’s two official languages is English.  Most educated Indians speak English with considerable fluency.  Consequently, many Americans think that they have no need to take a Hindi course because they can get by in English.  That may be true.  But consider your response if the roles were reversed.  Would you prefer to enter into a joint venture to develop a green energy source with someone who thought all the accommodations for communications had to be made by you?  Or would you choose a partnership with a professional who made the effort to speak to you in your native language? 

It isn’t necessary to become fluent in Hindi or to go on to study Hindi literature to have a positive impact with your use of the language.  Learning some Hindi will allow you to converse with many people if you travel in India.  Learning the Devanagari script will help you orient yourself to the written word in the country.  And using some conversational Hindi will help you establish yourself as a fully prepared professional ready to do business in India.

The dynamic of the world is changing with India and China gaining prominence that they never had before.  There is no indication that those trends will be reversed any time soon.  Being able to speak some Hindi will be nothing but an asset for anyone interested in building professional relationships in India.  So take a Hindi course, and reap the benefits.

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In Hindi, adjectives convey the gender of the noun they modify.  That is a typical characteristic of languages that have genders for their nouns.    What is less common is that in Hindi verbs also agree with their subjects with respect to gender. 

Learning Hindi requires you to learn the gender of nouns.  The best way to do so is to think about gender whenever you add a noun to your vocabulary.  Learn the gender immediately when you encounter a new noun.  Practice the gender as you practice your lists of vocabulary words.  Eventually, you will know the gender of nouns without having to pause to think of it. 

You will certainly make mistakes with gender as you make mistakes with other aspects of learning any language.  Correct the mistakes and move on.  Learning the gender of nouns is an unavoidable but doable requirement for how to learn Hindi.

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No matter what method you use to learn Hindi, you would be doing yourself a favor to use an online Hindi course as a backup.  Think about it.  Going to India to immerse yourself in Hindi would be a wonderful opportunity for any Hindi student.  Perhaps you have both the intention and the means to do that.  But you don’t want to get to India without preparing yourself first.  If you are planning to learn Hindi through immersion, whether just by living in the country or by taking a formal course in India, you should study the language before you get there.  You will need to know basic grammar.  You would be lost without a good introduction to basic vocabulary.  And getting around in the country would be very difficult without any familiarity with written Hindi.  Consequently, working through an online Hindi course before you go to India would make your immersion experience much more successful.

Instead of learning by immersion, you may decide to learn Hindi with a private tutor.  A private tutor can be a great resource, especially if the tutor is a native speaker and a good teacher.  But even with private tutoring, you will need a structure to the instruction.  You will need some sort of course materials.  And chances are that a tutor won’t have written his or her own curriculum.  Using an online course as the course materials for your work with a private tutor can be beneficial to you and to the tutor.  You as the student will have access to the lessons for study between tutoring sessions.  You will also have the benefit of the variety of learning methods offered through the online course.  The tutor will have the benefit of a professionally designed set of materials to base the tutoring sessions on.  Consequently, your tutoring experience will be a richer, more successful one.

Of course, one of your options is to study exclusively with an online self-study program.  It is certainly the most economical of all of your choices.  It may be the most practical, too, if your ability to travel to India or to find a private tutor or a live course is limited.  There is a lot of flexibility in studying with an online Hindi course.  It gives you the luxury of studying when, where and at the pace that is appropriate for your schedule and learning ability.  The best online courses offer a comprehensive approach to learning, including games, quizzes and cultural instruction.  The very best courses have a members-only forum, so that you can interact with other students, teachers and language enthusiasts to get your questions answered and otherwise engage in learning.  An online Hindi course is a very good way how to learn Hindi.

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First of all, remember that you learn best a little at a time.  You will learn more if you study for 30 minutes five times a week than you will if you sit down and spend three hours on Hindi at one time.  Break it down even farther, if you can.  Spend twenty minutes studying new material at some point in the day and ten minutes reviewing the same material later the same day.  In fact, try to squeeze in that ten-minute review session right before bed.  Your brain will process it while you sleep and you will learn better.

Secondly, remember to stay balanced in your approach to the language.  Spend time on spoken Hindi as well as on reading and writing.  Practice the conversations presented in your audio files, but don’t forget to drill yourself on the verb forms and on vocabulary.  You don’t have to do it all every day, but over the course of a week, you should be sure to study all parts of your Hindi course.  This is the best way how to learn Hindi comprehensively.

Thirdly, focus on things that give you problems.  Study them until you learn them.  Then they won’t be problems anymore.  For example, do you have trouble with a particular verb conjugation?  Do you frequently confuse a couple of vocabulary words that are something alike but just a little different?  Are there a couple of letters of the alphabet that you get mixed up?  All the time?  Isolate those problems and learn them.  It will make the rest of your study efforts so much easier.

Fourthly, do your work cheerfully.  A good attitude will take you far in most aspects of life and learning Hindi is one of them.  Take pleasure in learning that beautiful Devanagari script.  Enjoy the conversations you learn.  Be excited to learn about the cultural and historical background of India and the Hindi language.  It’s fun.  It’s a privilege to be able to dedicate yourself to it.  Enjoy it as much as you can.

Fifthly, recognize your accomplishments and reward yourself for your success.  Learning Hindi is fun and exciting, but requires dedication and work.  Congratulate yourself for the effort you make.  Every time you finish a lesson or a unit, every quiz you take, and every conversation you have with another student is a milestone on your path to your goal of speaking Hindi.  So rent a Bollywood movie or take yourself out to your favorite Indian restaurant every time you pass one.

You’ve set yourself the goal of learning Hindi and you are working towards it.  Congratulations!  Isn’t it fun?  Keep it up.  You are discovering how to learn Hindi.

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First of all, you want to assess the reasons why you want to learn Hindi.  You will almost certainly want to be able to converse in Hindi.  So the spoken language instruction will need to be strong.  That starts with a comprehensive set of audio files.  Check to make sure that they are formatted to be downloaded to your iPod or other MP3 player.  (Not all online courses format their audio files for MP3 download.)

To learn conversational Hindi, you will need, in addition to audio files, exercises in listening comprehension and conversation practice.  When you are learning a language, it’s crucial to practice it actively.  You won’t learn nearly as much if you just sit passively and listen.  You need to speak and react to spoken language.  So you want an online Hindi course that gives you exercises both in listening and in speaking. 

You should also look for a language course that gives you lots of different ways to learn.  Different people have different preferred means of learning.  Some are visual learners.  Some are auditory learners.  Some do a little of both.  Some people like to learn vocabulary by memorizing word lists.  Others don’t find that very successful, but they want to learn new words in the context of sentences.  Or on flashcards, with pictures.  Many people like an approach that uses games as a teaching tool.  Often, the best way to learn is to do a little of all kinds of approaches.  So when you are evaluating your online Hindi course, be sure that it gives you as many different ways of learning as you can think of.

Learning a language should be done in the context of learning about a culture.  Of course, you will pick things up here and there as you continue your language studies, no matter what program you choose.  But the best online Hindi course will have a clear component that systematically introduces you to the cultural and historical background of the Hindi language.  Such a component will enrich your language study immeasurably.

Furthermore, it’s helpful to many students to be able to measure progress.  Although students may not enjoy taking quizzes, they are good for the learning process.  A quiz is a milestone that both allows you to recognize how far you have come from the beginning of the course and gives you an occasion to finish the learning process on the subject matter at hand.  So the best online Hindi course will have quizzes.

Finally, any self-study program poses difficulties because of the absence of a teacher.  A good online Hindi course will address that with a learner’s forum.  On a learner’s forum, you can ask questions and get them answered, read what others are asking about, and get to form a virtual community of other students, teachers and enthusiasts.  Look for an online Hindi course that has a learner’s forum, to be sure to get the most out of your time, effort and money. 

An online Hindi course is the best option for many people who want to learn Hindi.  There is a growing number of online Hindi courses out there, so compare and contrast the features to make sure that you make your best choice. 

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First, Hindi is one of the official languages of one of the most important players on the global scene.  Whether you are dealing in business, information technology, science or digital media, India is an increasingly important presence globally.  With a burgeoning middle class, it is also becoming a very hungry market for consumer goods.  Now, many people point to the fact that English is spoken widely in India.  Indeed, English is India’s second official language.  But anyone seriously wanting to understand a culture needs to understand one of its most commonly spoken languages.  So a business person with the ambition to work in India should learn Hindi in order to get her job done better.

Secondly, Indian culture is beginning to permeate Western culture.  Clearly, the popularity of Bollywood films has grown in recent years.  Less often noticed, though, is that Western popular music is increasingly influenced by traditional Indian music.  Sting and Madonna, for example, share more than a sufficient amount of celebrity to be able to travel the world with a single name.  They both practice yoga and have incorporated elements of Indian music into their own.

Thirdly, Hindi is spoken by a very large number of people worldwide.  Hindi speakers live throughout the former British Commonwealth countries, as well as in Fiji, Nepal, Yemen, Mauritius and elsewhere.  Since spoken colloquial Hindi is virtually indistinguishable from spoken Urdu, a traveler acquainted with Hindi could also make her way around Pakistan.  Hindi is spoken by more people than any other language than Mandarin, Spanish or English.  In fact, some sources place Hindi in second place, just behind Mandarin.  If you speak Hindi, you have a language in common with millions of people. 

Fourthly, Hindi is beautiful.  Ancient, elegant and expressive, Hindi is a language with a tremendous legacy of poetry, philosophy and song.  Knowledge of Hindi opens doors to the study of poetry and sacred texts that is rare for Westerners. 

Perhaps you have your own reason for trying to know how to learn Hindi.  Are you of Indian descent?  Or perhaps you have a significant other or friend who is?  Are you a movie buff who wants to be able to enjoy Bollywood films without reading the subtitles?  Or has a practice of yoga, meditation or other eastern spiritual wisdom led you to want to study Indian culture, including the Hindi language?  Are you a world traveler who wants to visit that rich and diverse culture, India?  If so, you know that learning Hindi is immensely important.

So there are many reasons to want to know how to learn Hindi.  You may be interested because of India’s growing importance as an economic powerhouse, because of the reach of Indian popular culture, because of the sheer numbers of Hindi speakers worldwide, because of Hindi’s beauty and poetic legacy, or for your own reasons.  Whatever your reason, set to it now.   Determine which method is best for you for how to learn Hindi, then go do it.

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One of the best ways to study any language is in a university language course.  The instruction at the university level is always given by an instructor who is very fluent and sometimes even a native speaker.  You usually have a support structure, such as a language lab and a regularly scheduled conversation hour.  But of course you may not have access to a university course if you are not an enrolled student.  Moreover, only a few American universities offer a Hindi program.  And it goes without saying that higher education is very expensive.  So, although a university Hindi course may be the best option, it may not be a realistic choice for you.

If you are not a university student, or don’t have a university in your area that offers a Hindi program, you might consider a commercial language school.  The best language schools set a high standard for the competency of their instructors.  Since class sizes are usually relatively small, students get a lot of individual attention.  But ordinarily, commercial schools don’t offer a language lab.  In fact, when audio materials are available on CD or tape, they are usually an additional cost to the tuition, and quite expensive.  Commercial language schools aren’t available in every location.  Even if they are available, Hindi may not be a language that they offer.  If you do find a language school in your area that offers a Hindi course, chances are the tuition is quite high, possibly out of reach.

A private tutor may be available in your area.  You should use caution choosing a tutor, though.  Merely because someone speaks a language, even as a native language, does not mean that the person can teach the language.  You’ll also want to evaluate the course materials, so that you have a structured approach and written and audio resources available to you between tutoring sessions.  Of course, tutors can be costly.  Furthermore, you’ll need to purchase the course materials, too.

Some people would want to just jump right in and catch a flight to India.  An immersion course in India could be exciting.  Or it could be harrowing.  It seems only reasonable that the best way to approach an immersion Hindi course in India is to prepare before you go by studying spoken and written Hindi.  The better course of action is to use an immersion course to strengthen your skills, not to introduce you to the language.

In many respects, an online Hindi course is your best choice.  You don’t need to be enrolled in a university.  An online course is substantially less costly than a commercial language school or a private tutor.  You can use the online course to supplement your learning with a tutor or a private class if you like.  And certainly, working through an online Hindi course is appropriate preparation if you are going to study Hindi in India.  An online Hindi course affords you the luxury of studying at your pace and on your schedule.  The better online courses offer instruction in both written and spoken Hindi.  The best also provide interactive games, quizzes and other creative approaches to learning to break up the routine of language study and to offer you a broad array of learning opportunities.  A Hindi course that is simply superior to the rest will have a members-only learning forum for students to ask questions, converse and build community with other Hindi students and teachers.

Of course, my recommendation for an online Hindi course is Rocket Hindi.

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