Five College Mentored Hindi Courses

Hindi Course Schedule - Fall 2012 (pdf)        Ready to Register? Go straight to How to Register

Also see the Online Orientation Tutorial for more information about how the Mentored Program works and to see video examples of tutorials and conversation sessions.

About the Mentored Hindi Program

Mentored Hindi courses emphasize speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. There are both half-course and full-course options for Hindi. Half courses require at least one hour per day of independent study, a weekly one-hour conversation session, and a weekly thirty-minute individual tutorial with a Hindi mentor. Full courses require at least two hours per day of independent study, two thirty-minute individual tutorials, and two one-hour conversation sessions each week.

The mentored courses are based on course plan study guides created with support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The course guides and syllabi for Elementary Hindi are online on the Five College Center for the Study of World Language's LangMedia website. To see the current syllabi with links to weekly study guides, click on the link for Mentored Hindi in the green bar on the right-hand side of the LangMedia home page.

In terms of the basic spoken language, Hindi and Urdu are very similar. They are written in very different scripts and at the level of more formal and literary language have significant differences in vocabulary. Students who are learning one of the languages may benefit by also learning the other.

Credit for half courses: Half courses are worth 1.5 credits at UMass. Transfer credit at the colleges varies, but is generally: Amherst College – ½ course; Hampshire – credit; Mount Holyoke – 2 credits and at the elementary level two courses or the equivalent are required to receive credit; Smith – 2 credits and at the elementary level two courses or the equivalent are required to receive credit.

Credit for full courses: Students in full courses complete the equivalent of two half courses during the semester. Credit for full-courses varies by campus: Amherst - 1 full course; Hampshire - 1 course; Mt. Holyoke - 4 credits; Smith - 4 credits; UMass - 3 credits.

For registration instructions, see How to Register .

Course Descriptions
Not all courses are offered every semester. See the schedule at the top of this page for current offerings.

Mentored Hindi I (FORLANGC 111D)

Beginning course, no prerequisites. Independent study combined with weekly small group conversation sessions and individual tutorials with one of the Five College Hindi mentors. Emphasis on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Final grade based on weekly homework and conversation session preparation, an end of semester writing skills assessment, and a final oral evaluation.

Full-course option: Mentored Hindi I and Mentored Hindi II (FORLANGC 111D and 112D)

Full-course option for those who want to complete both Hindi I and Hindi II in one semester. 1.5 credits for each course for a total of 3 UMass credits (4 credits at Mount Holyoke and Smith). Students will have two conversation sessions and two tutorials per week. Beginning course, no prerequisites.

Hindi for Hindi-Urdu Speakers I (FORLANGC 197ZZ)

A course for students who have an intermediate to advanced knowledge of either spoken Hindi or Urdu, but do not read or write in Hindi. The course emphasizes the ability to read and write in the script and the acquisition of formal grammar and vocabulary.

Mentored Hindi II (FORLANGC 112D)

Prerequisite is Mentored Hindi I or the equivalent. Independent study combined with weekly small group conversation sessions and individual tutorials with one of the Five College Hindi mentors. Emphasis on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Final grade based on weekly homework and conversation session preparation, an end of semester writing skills assessment, and a final oral evaluation.

Mentored Hindi III (FORLANGC 121D)

Prerequisite is Mentored Hindi II or the equivalent. Independent study combined with weekly small group conversation sessions and individual tutorials with one of the Five College Hindi mentors. Emphasis on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Final grade based on weekly homework and conversation session preparation, an end of semester writing skills assessment, and a final oral evaluation.

Full-course option: Mentored Hindi III and Mentored Hindi IV (FORLANGC 121D and 122D)

Full-course option for those who want to complete both Hindi III and Hindi IV in one semester. 1.5 credits for each course for a total of 3 UMass credits (4 credits at Mount Holyoke and Smith). Students will have two conversation sessions and two tutorials per week. Prerequisite: Hindi II or the equivalent.

Mentored Hindi IV (FORLANGC 122D)

Prerequisite is Mentored Hindi III or the equivalent. Independent study combined with weekly small group conversation sessions and individual tutorials with one of the Five College Hindi mentors. Emphasis on developing speaking, listening, reading, and writing skills. Final grade based on weekly homework and conversation session preparation, an end of semester writing skills assessment, and a final oral evaluation.

Hindi Proficiency Development A or B (FORLANGC 197DR, 197DS)

Prerequisite: Prior study of Hindi in a program other than the Five College Mentored Language program. Enrollment in this course is based on oral and written diagnostic placement tests. The course is individualized to meet the needs of students whose previous Hindi study differs from the Five College course sequence.

Mentored Hindi V FORLANGC 197FF (Spoken Hindi A is a similar course geared toward more advanced students)

Minimum prerequisite is Mentored Hindi IV or the equivalent. Emphasis is on speaking and listening comprehension skills. This course is appropriate for both intermediate and advanced students of Hindi. Intermediate students will be expected to show speaking-listening competency appropriate for an intermediate level student; advanced students will be expected to show speaking-listening competency appropriate for an advanced level student.

Mentored Hindi VI FORLANGC 197-tba (Spoken Hindi B is similar course geared toward more advanced students)

Prerequisite is Mentored Hindi V or the equivalent. Emphasis is on speaking and listening comprehension skills. This course is appropriate for both intermediate and advanced students of Hindi. Intermediate students will be expected to show speaking-listening competency appropriate for an intermediate level student; advanced students will be expected to show speaking-listening competency appropriate for an advanced level student.

Hindi Film Conversation Course (FORLANGC 197BR)

This course stresses acquisition of conversational skills and cultural knowledge using Hindi films as the primary resource. Prerequisite: Completion of Hindi VI, Spoken Hindi B, or the equivalent. This course may be repeated for credit when the content varies.Conversation sessions to be arranged; no tutorials.

Hindi VII (FORLANGC 197DG) / Written Hindi A (for more advanced students)

Minimum prerequisite is Mentored Hindi IV or the equivalent. Emphasis is on reading and writing skills. This course is appropriate for both intermediate and advanced students of Hindi. Intermediate students will be expected to show reading-writing competency appropriate for an intermediate level student; advanced students will be expected to show reading-writing competency appropriate for an advanced level student.

Hindi VIII (FORLANGC 197DT) / Written Hindi B (for more advanced students)

Prerequisite is Written Hindi A or the equivalent. Emphasis is on reading and writing skills. This course is appropriate for both intermediate and advanced students of Hindi. Intermediate students will be expected to show reading-writing competency appropriate for an intermediate level student; advanced students will be expected to show reading-writing competency appropriate for an advanced level student.