Language - Telugu Class

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Manaa Bhojanamu (PDF) || Vegetables - Kooragayalu (PDF) || Fruits - Pandlu (PDF)

Animals - Jantuvulu (PDF) || Birds and Insects - Pakshukulu, Purugulu (PDF)

             ******* Semester-end Telugu Performance Padhyalu (PDF) ************

              Padhyalu Audio Links (MP3s) - http://archive.org/details/TeluguPadhyalu 

              YouTube Link for "Maa Telugu Thalliki" - please practice daily! 

April 8, 2012 - Week 13 Update

The kids learnt 3 new Padhyalu this week - 

  • Krishna Satakam - Cheta Venna Mudda
  • Krishna Satakam - Neeve Tallivi, Tandrivi
  • Pothana Bhagavatam - Chetularanga Sivuni Pujimpadeni

Padhyalu Audio Link: http://archive.org/details/TeluguPadhyalu

******************** PLEASE HELP YOUR CHILDREN PRACTICE THESE EVERYDAY *****************

We would like to request that your child does not miss any further sessions if possible - they will be learning "Maa Telugu Thalliki" from Lakshmi Aunty the next few weeks. We are fortunate to have a talented Carnatic singer like Lakshmi Aunty teaching our class - please make the most out this advantage by having your child attend all sessions.

 

April 1, 2012 - Week 12 Update

The kids have started practicing their song for the class with Lakshmi Aunty - "Maa Telugu Thalliki". The T1 and T2 kids will provide the chorus (first 2 lines) and the T3 kids will sing the song on stage.

The kids were in tune on Sunday and sounded great - we're excited to have them on stage.

Please download the padhyalu and help your kids practice their poems everyday - we want our kids to shine with confidence on stage.

 

March 25, 2012 - Week 11 Update

Please download the PDF document Semester-end Telugu Performance Padhyalu posted above. Help your child practice his or her group padhyalu daily - they will be reciting this on the stage at the semester-end performance.

Our classes this semester have been mainly focused on spoken Telugu, with a special emphasis on Pataalu and Padhyamulu. We will be testing the children on their Padyamulu list before the end-of-semester so please practice with them daily!

All 4 teachers have been working with the kids one-on-one to help them memorize by listening to us recite it while ensuring correct uccharana. We will continue doing so during the class.

Here is a link to our Padyamulu PDF - http://austingurukulam.org/images/pdf/telugu/AHT_Gurukulam_TeluguPadhyalu_Spring2012Performance.pdf

We will begin practicing "Maa Telugu Thalliki" this week with the kids.

In most Telugu classrooms and households, teachers, parents and grandparents make it a point to teach Telugu Padhyamulu. There are multiple reasons for this --

  • Foster ucharana or pronunciation - Indian languages like Telugu and Sanskrit use a lot more facial muscles during speech than English. Padhyamulu are designed to exercise these facial muscles as children get more comfortable with the language while chanting them.
  • Clarity of speech – same reasons as above
  • Develop sharp memory - learning a padhyamu or poem by rote is not an easy task -it helps the child develop their memory while learning it.
  • Richness of language - Padhyalu written a few centuries ago by great kavulu are set to a different metre of language than the one that the children hear now in speech, songs and movies. It helps the child think in and speak a higher and richer form of language.
  • Inculcate devotion and morals - Most padhyalu are based on devotion or morals - these values are inculcated in the kids as they chant.
  • Confidence and Pride in their Language - Praise and encouragement go a long way with all kids - have them repeat their padhyamulu in front of their grandparents and other family members (in person or on the phone) and your friends. This helps them develop pride in their language and in themselves, when they are praised for saying a padhyamu well.

Level T1: Our youngest kids (7 and below) have learnt (links are attached in case you are unfamiliar with these). Also, the tune is not important at this point, only the clarity is -- 

Level T2 and T3: (Ages 7 and above or very conversant in Telugu).

Our goal for this semester is to have all the kids know all these padhyamulu by heart (again, please use the links to have them practice if they are struggling with pronunciation of some words – the tune is not needed or important). 

Only exception – Pothana is being introduced only to T3 kids.

 

March 18, 2012 - Week 10 Update

Level T1: The youngest kids --

  • Reviewed the rhyme "Chitti Chilakamma".
  • Learnt 2 new rhymes "Chandamama Raave" and "Tarangam Tarangam"
  • Reviewed jantuvulu, rangulu and ankelu 1-10. Every child answered Telugu questions related to these - "Aavu manaki em istundi", "Neeku enni chetulu vunnayi" etc.  
  • Please review all 3 rhymes at home with the kids and try to spend 10 minutes a day talking only in Telugu. Simple Q & A's work very well to keep them interested. 

Level T2 and T3: 

  • Reviewed all the Vemana and Sumathi satakalu. Most children know atleast 3 out of the 6 by now. We practiced with each child individually and as pairs.
  • For the few kids who are strong at both Vemana and Sumati satakalu, we introduced the Pothana padhyalu. We will help them practice one-on-one in class. 
  • We plan to introduce Sri Krishna Satakam to the kids at the end of this semester, to be continued in the next semester. 
  • PLEASE HELP THEM REVISE THE PADHYALU AND SATAKALU AT HOME DAILY. Have them repeat to grandparents and family on the phone to gain greater confidence. 

 

Feb 27, 2012 - Week 7 Update

Level T1: The youngest kids had a highly interactive session again this week - they learnt Jantuvulu (Animals) and Pakshulu (Birds) by playing a drawing-and-guessing game on the Whiteboard. They also started learning a very simple song in Telugu.

Level T2 and T3: We paired up our T2 and T3 kids this week to learn some Vemana and Sumathi padhyalu. 4 of the kids practiced "Uppu kapurambu" and 2 practiced "Upakariki Nupakaramu". Our T3 kids gained valuable leadership skills by being the teacher and using the whiteboard to teach and repeat while our T2 kids learnt very quickly from their friends. Please have your children practice their padhyalu at home too - this is the best way for them to be able to pronounce and speak in Telugu. We also told a story "Tabelu and Kundelu" in Telugu in a highly interactive manner - with the children providing words to keep the story going or giving English translations of certain words in the story.

We will be working on conversation more in the next few weeks, both in padhyamu translations and telling stories.

 

Feb 12, 2012 - Week 5 Update

Level T1: The youngest kids had a highly interactive session this week - they learnt Jantuvulu (Animals) and Pakshulu (Birds) by playing a drawing-and-guessing game on the Whiteboard. 

Level T2 and T3: Since we had a smaller class due to inclement weather, we combined our T2 and T3 groups this week. Our topic of the week was the "Food we eat". We covered the various foods we (as Indians but mainly as Andhra-ites) eat daily. The session was highly interactive and the kids enjoyed it even while struggling to name a few of the common words. Please make it a practice session at home during meal times - make the children guess the Telugu names of the foods they are eating and also the ingredients that go into them (kandi pappu, avalu, uppu, palakoora etc). 

 

Feb 5, 2012 - Week 4 Update

Level T1: The youngest kids continued learning

  • Ankelu (3.2 - numbers)
  • Rangulu (3.3 - colors) 
  • Sarira bhagamulu (3.4 - body parts) this week
  • The young ones also learnt the rhyme "Chitti Chilakamma". 
  • Please help the children practice it at home.

Level T2: The Level T2 kids started with acchulu (vowels) and learnt to frame words & sentences for common words:

  • Jantuvulu-Pakshulu: Animals and Birds. We used an iPad program named BalaShiksha to learn some words for Jantuvulu and Pakshulu. For each animal/bird, we constructed sentences around them - Kaaki nalla gaa vuntundi, Pavuramu gaali lo egurutundi, Konga neelalo nunchundi, Enugaa adavi lo untundi etc,  
  • We started with vowels " అ" and "ఆ".    The kids came up with various words (both Telugu and English) that start with these vowels (America, Amma, Aau, Atta, Alludu etc) and then practiced writing their alphabets in their notebooks. Practice makes perfect - so please spend time with them this week practicing these repeatedly.

Level T3: The Level T3 group practiced - 

  • Identifying words in Sections "3.2 to 3.7"
  • Learning all 3 Vemana Shatakamulu
  • Writing all "hallulu" in their workbooks. 
  • PLEASE HELP YOUR CHILD PRACTICE AT HOME 

 

Jan 29, 2012 - Week 3 Update

Level T1: The youngest kids learnt rangulu (colors) and sarira bhagamulu (body parts) this week - please help them practice at home.

Level T2: The Level T2 kids spanned a few sections in their new books: 3.2, 3.3, 3.4 and 3.5.

  • 3.2 (Ankelu) - The children should be able to name their Telugu numbers (ankelu) from 1 (okkati) to 10 (padhi) easily. We practiced the numbers in a few different ways - asking them their age and grade. 
  • 3.3 (Rangulu) - The kids are much stronger with their colors in Telugu, we introduced brown (which none of them knew) - it is cAmana chaya or godhuma rangu.
  • 3.4 (Sarira Bhagamulu)
  • 3.5 (Bandhuvulu) - All the kids seemed very strong with these, naming grandparents and uncles and aunts on both father's and mother's sides of the family easily.

Level T3: The Level T3 group practiced 3.2, 3.4, 3.5 and Vemana Shatakamulu, alongwith writing practice in their workbooks.

 

Telugu Class Guidelines

Telugu Class Roster and Activities

Telugu Workbook - Table of Contents (for section reference)