Beginners Hindi For Foreigners

Hindi hour is run by lovely people, with mostly good teachers.

The classes were run by proficient teachers, but often lacked structure.

Classes were only 2-3 hours per day, information on timings, class durations etc was only told the night before or not at all (sometimes). Class timings were anytime between 3-6 pm. This is annoying, as you feel you are waiting around all day for classes.

Housing was okay. The apartment was big, but lacked very basic things like bedside table and reading light, a big enough desk, and the kitchen was really usable. The bed was bad and the linen was falling apart. The shower pressure was a dribble, making it virtually unusable, so I resorted to using another students shower upstairs (thankfully he let me use it). The place was very dirty, all the surfaces covered in dirt when I arrived, and rubbish still left from a previous person: this was unpleasant.

I ate at the Das family’s apartment downstairs for lunch and dinner. The food was fantastic, absolutely delicious. The Das family are extremely caring and lovely people and I felt very comfortable with them by the end of my stay.

The location was in a nice enough suburb of Jaipur. But it’s far from the main attractions. Supermarkets, cafes and other restaurants are a bit of a walk, a bike would make it easier. Assistance finding things initially would have been nice, especially in a foreign country and different culture.

There wasn’t much activity going on at school. There were two other students there over the course of my stay, one for only a week.

Communication around classes, facilities, my language proficiency, the local area, commencing the course, arriving at the location (I got lost, had been traveling for two days and received awkward over the phone help from the course coordinator when I realised I was in someone else’s house), and finishing the course was very poor. I think many things that made it annoying or difficult for me to figure out could have been avoided with better communication.

I did enjoy the experience of living in Jaipur for a few weeks, albeit at times it was quite lonely and awkward.

Navin and Aditi are very proficient teachers and I did enjoy their classes and felt I got value out of them.

Significant improvements in organisation, communication and housing facilities would make Hindi hour are much better experience for foreign students.

The courses were really interesting and adapted to my level. Well personalized.
I enjoyed how the teachers looked after me regarding my learning and the process. The atmosphere was really enjoyable and we could felt at ease.
Thanks for this experience and the big progresses I have done.

The combination of formal, small group Hindi lessons and well thought out homestay facilities offered at Hindi Hour makes for an enriching learning experience, and one I would particularly recommend to individuals with a serious--academic as well as non-academic-- interest in the Hindi language as well as everyday life in Jaipur.

During school hours, individuals enrolled at the school are either split into a beginners stream or an intermediate stream, and receive grammar instruction from professional teachers based on this streaming. Class sizes for formal instruction are kept relatively small, and the number of students per class is ultimately determined by the number of students enrolled. In addition to the group lessons, students can opt for conversation classes, which are one-on-one slots and relatively flexible in content. While designed for practicing predominately speaking skills (as the name suggests), students may also use this time with a teacher to build reading proficiency or have written work corrected.

While the school doesn't break for morning or afternoon tea or during longer classes, students attending grammar lessons in the morning and/or afternoon are offered tea during class, which many of us appreciated. Classes in all are of considerable academic standard, and are delivered pleasantly, without the pressures that formalised teaching can often bring. This provides for a classroom dynamic where students not only learn from the teacher but also from each other. Students are furthermore continuously encouraged to participate during class, are given ample time to answer, and are never judged for making mistakes. Although there is one 'mistake' students are asked not to make and that is to keep books on the ground -- an act which may cause offence elsewhere in India.

After school hours, resident students are able to explore Jaipur as they please and are often invited on trips organised by the school. As an immersion programme, and in addition to professional teaching, this is where HindiHour sets itself apart from other Hindi Language schools, enabling students not only to safely visit tourist sites but also to participate in Indian cultural life. During my stay, we were all invited to attend Hindu ritual proceedings at a home, invited to several tourist sites as well as hiking at the weekend, and some students even chose to spend time in an Indian village. All these opportunities furthermore contained elements that allowed for Hindi practice outside of the classroom, allowing for a more natural engagement with the language and the people that speak it.

Hindi was also encouraged during lunch and dinner times, served to resident students at their respective homestay locations, and had with families associated with the school. As a student allocated a room within the school itself, there were always multiple students present at lunch and dinner, which would occasionally take on a semi-formal nature when guests came to visit the house from near and far. I also greatly appreciated that upon asking, the food served was modified to accommodate my intolerances to dairy and other food stuff.

Most importantly, however, I want to note that Hindi Hour is a very respectable establishment, run by reliable, honest and passionate people, who are seriously committed to the school and its students, and I genuinely felt as though my host family and the teachers cared for the progress I was making with Hindi as well as my wellbeing generally. Due to the awkward early morning time of my departing flight, for example, I was even taken to the airport by my host family when it was time to say goodbye.

I'm very glad that I attended Hindi Hour for a period of six weeks at the end of 2018, and would recommend it to anyone interested in experiencing a more local side to Jaipur, Indian home-life, and learning Hindi.

I spent 1 and a half months living and sharing experiences, knowledge and tips with other people who wanted to learn Hindi; be it for professional, personal or inspiring motives.

The teachers are excellent as well as the daily classes. The contents of the class are perfect and explained in an easy and didactical manner. Although a good structured workbook should be there. Each teacher is adaptable to the student, according to their needs for progressive learning. Not to mention about Shachi's and Navin's hardwork, that day after day they try to make the most for their students.

The location is in a friendly and beautiful neighborhood of Jaipur, not far from what you can't miss on Jaipur. Housing includes all you need to live and all the amenities to have a good stay. The food they prepare there is described in one word: delicious. Each lunch and dinner is a new window to get to talk to them or their family about the current situation of India and the world, and as well, to practice your Hindi.

Activities are varied, one weekend you can go to a nearby beautiful and inspiring Rajasthani village, or enjoy the night of Diwali in Jaipur city center, or going to the local park to experience the mythical play of Ramlila.

Overall, quite a beautiful experience!