Remember, it's never too late to register for a class, even after it's begun. You can always catch up with any sessions you may have missed by watching the video recordings of previous sessions. The time remaining to register before the first class session is below, so stop hesitating and get to it!
as in-person classes, live-streamed Zoom sessions, and video recordings.
• Term 1 (Feb-Apr ) and Term 3 (Jul-Sep) each year, pending sufficient enrolment.
• This course is offered as an in-person course in our Hamilton, New Zealand classrooms, live-streamed via Zoom if you live elsewhere, and as video recordings of the live sessions if you cannot attend the regularly scheduled Zoom session.
Begins Sunday 26 July 2026, 2:00-3:00 pm
• Our 2026 Term 1 Tamil 101, Part 1 course meets on Sundays from 2:00-3:00pm beginning on Sunday 26 July 2026 (New Zealand time) and continues for eight consecutive weekly sessions. The last class of the Term is held on Sunday 13 September 2026.
• Please note that if all students and the instructor can agree on a more suitable mutually acceptable day and time, you are welcome to do so during the first class session.
• If you live outside of New Zealand and wish to Zoom in to our live class sessions, check the nearest local Time Zone equivalent below:
for live-streaming Zoom Sessions from New Zealand. If your Time Zone doesn't suit our live-streamed class, you can also access our courses by watching the live-recorded sessions that are posted to the course webpage each week, usually within 1-2 days
Honolulu, Hawai'i: begins Sat 25 Jul 2026, 4:00-5:00pm
US Pacific: begins Sat 25 Jul 2026, 6:00-7:00pm
US Eastern: begins Sat 25 Jul 2026, 10:00 -11:00pm
London, UK: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 3:00-4:00am
Paris, France: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 4:00-5:00am
New Delhi, India: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 7:30-8:30am
Bangkok: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 9:00-10:00am
Singapore: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 10:00-11:00am
Tokyo, Japan: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026 11:00am-12:00pm
Sydney, Australia: begins Sun 26 Jul 2026, 12:00-1:00pm
Introductory Tamil 101, Part 1
• This is Part 1 of an eight-part Introductory Tamil course taught over 8 successive school terms over 2 years (take as few or as many as you’d like!) specifically designed for continuing Tamil learners who have who have had some previous experience reading or speaking Tamil. All of our language programmes focus on acquiring reading and conversational skills, and learning about local culture. Our courses are designed for busy people: we do not expect you to study outside of class, nor do we assign homework (unless you’d like some!). Come and spend 8 class hours per Term (eight 1-hour weekly classes) studying Tamil and learning about Tamil culture, and have some fun too!
• Introductory Tamil 101 focuses on reading of the Tamil script (தமிழ் அரிச்சுவடி), and includes introductory grammar, vocabulary and conversation practice.
• Subsequent Term courses continue with Introductory Tamil 102-204 courses and continue to include additional reading and comprehension practice, grammar, vocabulary, and conversation and will continue in the same time slot for the duration of the full course (unless otherwise agreed upon with the instructor). Our Intermediate Tamil 301-404 and Advanced Tamil 501-604 courses are also available if you wish to continue your Tamil learning.
New material is posted weekly throughout the duration of the course. Video recordings and PDFs from each session are posted here approximately 1-2 days after each class.
EarthDiverse Course Information
EarthDiverse Zoom instructions
Tamil Alphabet book for tracing letters
Tamil Vowel Chart PDF
Tamil Consonant Chart PDF
Tamil alphabet learning apps for your mobile devices:
This is a hybrid class with both in-person sessions and live-streamed via Zoom.
This course has distance-learning options for those unable to attend the live class sessions in Hamilton. Students have three options for attending our courses once they have registered:
Attend in-person classes in our Hamilton classrooms at the regularly scheduled day and time.
Attend our live on-line classroom sessions via Zoom at the regularly scheduled day and time.
Watch the live-recorded class sessions at your leisure, at a time, day and place more suited to your schedule.
Live Zoom sessions and video recordings
• Our courses offer distance learning options for those unable to attend live class sessions in Hamilton (if offered). Live-streaming allows you to participate fully in your own learning, ask questions of the instructor and participate fully in the same way as if you were in the physical classroom.
• Those unable to attend the scheduled date and time of the actual class sessions, or those who need to miss a class or two due to previous engagements or unexpected illness, can watch any or all of the live-recorded video sessions on their computers, laptops, tablets or mobile devices and study at their own pace and in their own time.
• Detailed instructions on how to access our distance learning components will be sent after completing your registration. There are no additional fees for this service. However, distance learners will need access to a desktop or laptop computer with a good quality web-camera (tablet devices and mobile phones can also access our live-streamed classes), a built-in microphone (most modern laptops have built-in microphones) or a headset with a microphone. You will also need to download and install the free Zoom software on your computer or device. Those accessing the video recordings will be able to do so with a simple web browser on any device.
• All prices are in New Zealand dollars and include GST.
• Unwaged includes students, seniors, retirees and unemployed.
• You can now choose to break your payment up into two installments. Pay half the total amount now, and the balance will be automatically charged a month later. To pay in two monthly installments, choose either of the two-payment options on the right (“Waged-2 payments” or “Unwaged-2 payments). The balance of your payment will be automatically charged to your credit card a month later if you chose the 2-installment options.
• Prices remain the same regardless of your chosen method for accessing this course.
• Please note that If you live in the US or Canada, an additional local tax may be applied.
Those who cannot make the class meeting day and time via live Zoom sessions may consider accessing this course through the weekly recorded video sessions. Class videos are usually posted within 1-2 days of each live class session and are available for your own personal learning on a day and time of your choosing.
• This course has no assignments, quizzes, tests or exams.
• You will not need to purchase any additional course materials.
• All classes encourage questions and group discussion.
• PDFs of class presentations and video recordings of each session are posted 1-2 days after each session for the duration of the course. You are most welcome to come, sit back, relax, take part in and enjoy the discussions!
• There are no refunds for missed classes. If you miss a class, you can watch the video recording!
• Please note that if no one shows up for a particular class, either in person or via Zoom, we will make every attempt to postpone the class and make it up at the end of the Term. However, this may not always be possible. Teachers are not required to teach a class if no students show up, but the teacher has the discretion to record a video with no students present if s/he is unable to postpone a class. Please email or text your teachers if you are unable to attend any specific class session.
• If the time or the day does not suit your schedule, please show up for the first class session, as the possibility of moving the course into another time slot may be possible, provided all students and the instructor are available for any newly-decided class times.
• Guests of registered participants are welcome to attend a single session without registering.
• If, however, this course is cancelled due to insufficient enrolments please note that your registration fee will either be refunded in full or you may select to receive a course credit. Your choice!
• Certificates of Completion for any particular Term Course or Series are available for Professional Development purposes upon request at the end of each Term or Series.
All materials are included in the course fees. These are developed by our instructors and distributed as PDF files on the course webpage.
• Course materials are provided to all registered students as digital materials made available to you on the course webpage for download (accessible after registration). There is no need to purchase any additional textbooks for this course, although you may choose to do so to supplement your learning.
• You will only require a pen or pencil, a notebook for taking your own class notes, and a loose-leaf binder.
• Any notes that our instructor writes on a digital whiteboard are posted to the class webpage on your dashboard as a PDF file so that you can print these out at home and add them to your own notebook.
A keen desire to begin your Tamil language journey!
• There are no prerequisites for this course. Tamil 101 begins at the beginning!
• This course is open to all learners aged 10 years and above.
Simply click on one of the payment buttons at the very top of the page, OR scroll to Pricing Options where you can choose Waged (part-time or full-time workers) or Unwaged (students, retirees, unemployed). You can also chose to pay in full when you register, or split your payment into two equal payments, the first when you register, and the second equal amount is automatically charged to your credit card a month later. We accept all major credit cards, along with Apple Pay and Google Pay. You can also pay by Direct Deposit, but you'll need to email us for our bank information. Credit cards are easiest.
Generally no, but we can add them if you'd like!
Simply let your instructor know if you won't be able to make a class. You’ll be able to watch the video recording on our website and download any class materials 1-2 days after each class session. That way you can stay up-to-date if you can't make a session due to a scheduling conflict or illness. Please note that if no-one shows up for a class (our classes are generally small), instructors are not obligated to reschedule, in which case they may record a session for you, or reschedule a make-up class for a later, mutually-agreeable time, usually at the end of the Term.
PDFs of class presentations and video recordings of each session are usually posted 1-2 days after each session for the duration of the course. If we've been sleepy on the job, or if our video editing elves are mucking about, send us a reminder! This can happen during our Term breaks!)
Only our registered students have access to the course materials through logging in to our website with a user name and password. Our course materials are not available to the public.
For most languages that we currently teach we have Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced courses available. Each category of learning (i.e. Introductory, Intermediate and Advanced) consists of 8 New Zealand School Terms over two years (four Terms per year). Each Term generally consists of 8 consecutive weekly sessions. As there are 4 Terms in a school year in New Zealand (equivalent to a Calendar year) the first year of study would be Language 101, followed by 102, 103 and 104. The following year you would take Introductory Language 201, 202, 203 and 204. In the third year of study you would move up to Intermediate levels 301, 302, 303 and 304, and in the 4th year, Intermediate Language 401, 402 403 and 404, and so on through Advanced levels 501-604. In some courses (e.g. Hindi, Urdu) we are teaching courses at more advanced Conversational levels or reading Literature, and these are available as needed and if students wish to continue their learning. Feel free to start and pause your learning whenever you want or need to. When you register you're only paying for the current Term and you're not committed to advancing. You can always rejoin a similar level again later. Talk with your teacher if you have any extenuating circumstances.
If you're a new language learner and plan to start from scratch, then register for any of our beginning Introductory Language 101 courses. If you are a continuing student register for the next class in the series. If you're unsure, or if you already have some background, drop us a line and we can have an appropriate instructor arrange to call you to help you determine the best level course for you.
When you first register for an EarthDiverse course, you'll get an emailed receipt, followed by an automatically-generated Welcome Email that contains information about the course you've registered for, confirming class location, website log-in information, Zoom Meeting IDs and additional instructions. If you don’t receive this email within a minute or two of registering, please check your Junk mail box. It may also be possible that you've made a small typo when you first entered your email address during registration (this happens often!). If you haven't received anything. drop us a line via our Contact page and we'll be happy to resend you your Welcome email.
Great question! The personal information we collect is ONLY so that we can stay in touch with you when we need to (e.g. a class is canceled or postponed, a teacher is ill and needs to reschedule, our quarterly newsletter with course information sent before each Term begins). We DO NOT share any of your contact info to any third parties and your information is only used when necessary or for us to contact you. When we need to cancel or postpone a course we will send both an email and a text message to your phone to make sure that you receive the information in a timely fashion, as classes can be postponed at the last minute.
