This 12 week, 4 credit course is designed for any undergraduate student with no prior knowledge of Bengali to join the course. The course will help them develop good communication and writing skills in Bengali and their practical uses. The course content is well-prepared, including recorded videos, PDF text materials, and references that match the syllabus. This setup provides a flexible learning environment where the learners can complete the course online at their own pace. They can also save the videos and text materials for later use. The course ends with an online test. Learners who finish the course will receive a certificate recognising their participation and achievements.
Overview
Syllabus
Week No.
Topics
Week-1
Focus: Introduction to Bengali language, culture, and script.
Key Topics:
● Self-introductions using verbless sentences.
● Overview of West Bengal: key locations, cultural practices, cuisine, festivals, and Bengali script basics.
● Understanding of Bengali Alphabet structure
● Introduction of initial letters based on shape similarity:
○ Set 1: ত, অ , and আ
○ Set 2: হ, ই, and ঈ
○ Set 3: ব, র, ক, ধ, ঝ, ঋ, and খ
● Recap: A summary video consolidating the week’s learnings.
Week-2
Focus: Expanding knowledge of Bengali script through systematic grouping.
Key Topics:
● Introduction of letters grouped by shape similarity:
○ Set 4: এ, ঐ, and ঞ
○ Set 5: ও and ঔ
○ Set 6: ন, গ, প, য, স, ম
○ Set 7: য, য়, ষ, ম, ঘ, ফ, and স
○ Set 8: ঢ, ঢ়, ট, চ, ছ, and দ
○ Set 9: ড, ড়, জ, উ, ঊ, ভ, and ঙ.
○ Set 10: ৎ, ঃ, ং
● Recap: A review video summarizing new scripts and concepts.
Week-3
Focus: Bengali conjuncts and parts of speech.
Key Topics:
● Introduction to phola (e.g., য-ফলা, র-ফলা) and complex conjuncts.
● Classification of conjuncts (same class, dissimilar class).
● Complex conjuncts (more than two)
● Recap: Consolidation of learned conjuncts and grammatical structures.
Week-4
Focus: Pronouns in Bengali grammar.
Key Topics:
● Nominative, possessive, and objective pronouns with agreement with auxiliaries like আছে, in both singular and plural forms.
● Negation constructions for each type of pronoun.
● Recap: Overview video revisiting all pronoun types and associated rules.
Week-5
Focus: Verb usage and basic vocabulary.
Key Topics:
● Regular and irregular verbs in Bengali.
● Usage of simple present, present continuous, and present perfect tenses.
● Vocabulary development: body parts, calendars, days, months, and seasons.
● Recap: Video summarizing verb usage and vocabulary acquisition.
Week-6
Focus: Past and future tense usage.
Key Topics:
● Simple past, past continuous, and past perfect tense forms.
● Future tense constructions (simple, continuous)
● Introduction to kinship terms.
● Recap: Video summarizing tense rules and new vocabulary.
Week-7
Focus: Interrogatives and auxiliaries.
Key Topics:
● Use of demonstrative pronouns and classifiers.
● Interrogative sentence formation with negation.
● Affirmative and negative auxiliaries across present, past, future, and habitual aspects.
● Recap: Overview of auxiliary usage and question formation.
Week-8
Focus: Infinitives, Causative constructions and verbal adjectives.
Key Topics:
● Use of causatives with and without negation.
● Introduction to verbal adjectives (e.g., ঘুমন্ত, চলন্ত).
● Vocabulary: animal body parts and actions, professions, and subjects.
● Recap: Summary of advanced structures and expanded vocabulary.
Week-9
Focus: Imperatives, conditionals, and numerals.
Key Topics:
● Use of imperatives and conditional sentences.
● Vocabulary: numerals, vegetables, food items.
● Recap: Review of grammar rules and practical vocabulary.
Week-10
Focus: Active-Passive voice and unique Bengali constructions.
Key Topics:
● Active and passive voice constructions.
● Use of reduplications, particles, and participial constructions.
● Recap: Summary of nuanced grammatical constructions and their applications.
Week-11
Focus: Compound verbs and stylistic elements.
Key Topics:
● Compound verbs and collocations.
● Relative correlative constructions with negation.
● Reflexive expressions and echo compounds.
● Recap: Consolidation of compound verbs and stylistic vocabulary.
Week-12
Focus: Practical application and cultural integration.
Key Topics:
● Sentence constructions for commands, requests, and formal writing (letters, applications).
● Idioms, proverbs, and Bengali typing with Unicode.
● Recap: Final review of practical language applications and stylistic elements.
Taught by
Dr. Sujoy Sarkar
