Malayalam
Online Malayalam classes for children growing up outside Kerala
Reading, writing and speaking Malayalam, taught live in batches of two to four to children who hear it at home and cannot read a word of it. The point is not an examination. The point is that your child can talk to their grandmother, and read what she writes to them.
The thing parents abroad actually worry about
A child born in Germany or Dubai speaks English at school, hears Malayalam at home, and ends up fluent in neither direction: they understand what is said to them and answer in English. One generation later nobody in the family can read a letter from Kerala.
This is a small, fixable problem if it is started early and left alone it is not fixable at all. So we teach Malayalam as a subject in its own right — which is a different thing from teaching everything else in Malayalam. Your child’s other classes are in English; this one is the language itself.
In order
How it is taught
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The letters
The aksharams, in an order that lets a child read something real as early as possible rather than after the whole alphabet.
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Chillaksharam, koottaksharam and the signs
The parts of written Malayalam that make a learner stall, taught deliberately.
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Reading aloud
Short passages, then longer ones, until reading is not a decoding exercise.
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Writing
Handwriting, then sentences, then a letter to somebody real — which is the assignment children remember.
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Speaking, and being understood
Answering in Malayalam rather than in English, which for most of our students is the hardest and most valuable step.
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Reading what the family reads
Stories, and the kind of Malayalam that appears in a message from home.
Every subject, same promises
What a class is like, whichever subject it is
Two to four children
Small enough that nobody waits their turn to be noticed, and that a teacher can slow down for one child without holding back another. One to one where that is right.
Taught in English
With Malayalam, Arabic, Hindi or Urdu where a child is more comfortable. You can speak to us in any of them.
The same teacher each week
Who remembers what your child found hard last time, which is the entire point of a small batch.
Around your week
Class times built around school, work and your time zone — wherever in the world that is.
You are told what happened
A note on what was covered, periodic written reviews, and the recording if a class was missed. Built from what the platform recorded, not from memory.
The trial is free
And registering commits you to nothing. We agree the fee with you after the trial, once we know the subject, the batch and how often.
Before you book
Questions parents ask about this subject
My child understands Malayalam but will not speak it. Is that normal?
Extremely, and it is the most common place our Malayalam students start. Understanding and producing are different skills; the second one needs a setting where answering in English is not an option, which is what a small class provides.
Can my child learn Malayalam and still be taught other subjects in English?
Yes, and that is how nearly all of our families do it. English is our default medium of instruction for every other subject. Malayalam is a subject here, not the language the school runs in.
Is it too late at thirteen?
No, but it is harder and it needs the child to want it. We will be straight with you after the trial class about how much they want it, because at that age it matters more than the timetable does.
Do you teach Malayalam for an examination?
We teach the language. If your child needs it for a particular school examination or a second-language requirement, tell us which one and we will tell you whether we can prepare them for that specific paper.
Can you speak to me in Malayalam?
Yes — the trial call, the daily updates and the term review, in Malayalam if you would rather. That is true whichever subjects your child takes.
One free trial class tells you more than this page can
We will call to arrange it, assess your child, and agree a time that fits your week.