བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Online Colloquial Tibetan Lower Intermediate Language Course is a student-centered, hybrid of live and recorded classes, and consists of 6 engaging modules.

Short Module 1: Review of Beginner Tibetan language structures
Modules 2-6 introduce students to the fascinating world of Intermediate Tibetan language and grammar.
Lower Intermediate Course (Tib 201) consists of a (short) Review Module and Lessons 11-15.
Upper Intermediate Course (Tib 202) consists of a (short) Review Module of the Lower Intermediate Course and Lessons 16-20

LEARNING OUTCOMES

བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། སྡེ་ཚན་གཉིས་པ། The Heart of Tibetan Online Colloquial Tibetan Language Intermediate Courses aim at enabling you to take your elementary skills acquired in the Beginner Course to a whole new level! You will not only explore new conversational topics, such as traveling, clothing, health and diseases, pilgrimage, ལོ་གསར།, etc. These Courses also introduce you to the most important grammatical tools of intermediate Colloquial Tibetan, such as the verbalizers, conditional, secondary verbs, auxiliaries of probability and other exciting topics! These are the two Continuation Courses of the Beginner Course and guide you on your path to and on an intermediate level of Colloquial Tibetan. This on-line course is based on Franziska Oertle’s innovative text, བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། སྡེ་ཚན་གཉིས་པ། The Heart of Tibetan Language Volume 2. Just like Volume 1, it is a synthesis of a topic-based and grammar-based textbook which seems to be a beneficial approach to this complex and profound language. Apart from the various language skills, such as listening, speaking and reading, these Courses continue to focus on the development of the soft skills as well as cultural learning, which goes hand in hand with language learning or in other words, is an indispensable part of it.

One Track

A SYNTHESIS OF MS. GIRAFFE AND MR. SLOTH

Unlike in our past Beginner Courses, for the Intermediate Courses we will offer only one Beginner Course track. Each Module lasts 3 weeks, which is a Middle way between what speedy Ms. Giraffe would probably like and relaxed Mr. Sloth would suggest. We recommend that you dedicate at least about 10-12 hours per week to your Tibetan language learning, if possible. Unlike in the Beginner Courses, there are four live sessions per Module to have time for practice and also one live Forum Discussion about metacognitive skills.

TO FIT YOUR SCHEDULE

Time Zones

You can participate in this course independently of where you live and what your work or study schedule is, as the majority of the learning activities are asynchronous and self-paced; you can do them at a time that is suitable to you.

Live classes, held on the Zoom platform, will be offered in two different time slots, for your convenience. (One morning and one evening time CE(S)T to cover all awake times of the participants. Times TBA) The live classes are mostly on Saturday, one out of the four live sessions per Module is on a weekday. The optional White Wednesday talks are of course also on Wednesday. One out of the four live sessions is a Discussion Forum about meta-cognitive reflections, the soft skills. The live classes typically last for about one hour + (optional) 15 minutes for questions.

All live sessions will be recorded and made available in the event that students need to make up a class, or for purposes of review. Those will either be on YouTube, privately shared with your gmail account or their link put directly on the Moodle platform, stored in Vimeo.

*Students who know they will miss a class ahead of time can send in their questions beforehand, and watch the recording afterward.

WHAT IS INCLUDED

SPECIAL FEATURES

Live classes with Tibetan Language instructors: Franziska Oertle, Gen Lhakpa Tsering-la and/or one non-native speaker assistant if needed, featuring various kinds of speaking practice, learning games, songs, discussions about objectives, meta-cognitive skills, etc. and time for Q&A
20 minute key-point videos with puppets providing an overview of each lesson
1-2 webinars for every lesson, which explain the grammar in a thorough, yet accessible and engaging way (Each webinar is divided into separate questions, each of which is about 10-15 minutes)
Written and/or live meeting Discussion Forum about soft skills
Small group learning environment, SLC, the backbone of our courses
Weekly 1:1 sessions with native Tibetan-speaking conversation partners for (enjoyable) speaking practice
Digital language lab-like practice
A challenge (final product) at the end of each module
A large variety of self-paced learning activities and resources

LIVE SESSIONS

Live sessions are an opportunity for students to practice newly acquired language skills, ask questions, play learning games with classmates, sing or listen to Tibetan songs, discuss culture, share observations and reflections, and more. There are, on average, four live sessions per lesson.
You can choose which time slot you like to join, it does not need to be the same one each time and you don't need to inform us beforehand about which one you are attending.

KEY-POINT VIDEOS & PRE-RECORDED WEBINARS

Each module includes:

A 15-20-minute animated key-point video with our four non-human students, which gives an overview and introduction to the new topic in a humorous and engaging way
Several innovative and engaging webinars detailing key grammar points and cultural questions. These videos will be available for your review throughout the course.

Click on the following link to view a KPV sample and a webinar sample.

LEARNING ACTIVITIES

Your learning process will be supported and enhanced by:

A large variety of learning activities, materials, and resources to enhance learning individually and in partnership with classmates
Engaging electronic flash-cards (Anki)
Rubrics for self-assessment and reflection
Learning games and songs
A digital language lab-like speaking practice
An ePortfolio
A variety of learning and assessment activities
White Wednesday Talks about topics around Tibetan culture

MOODLE PLATFORM

We use the Moodle platform to host activities, learning materials, and student resources.

If you have not participated in our Beginner Courses, you’ll need to do Module 0 before the beginning of the Lower Intermediate Course: “Learning How to Learn (Online),” you’ll be introduced to Moodle. You will learn how to navigate, and how to make the most of this useful tool. You can visit our landing page here.

Moodle is accessible from any device, and we offer technical support for users throughout the term of your class.

TEXTBOOK

བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Online Colloquial Tibetan Language Intermediate Courses are designed around the textbook བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། སྡེ་ཚན་གཉིས་པ། The Heart of Tibetan Language, Vol. 2, which is a unique synthesis of indigenous Tibetan grammar and contemporary learning methodology. The traditional Tibetan style and contemporary style of learning are each represented by a doggie teacher, Gen Sengey la and Gen Christabella, respectively. The textbook includes dialogues with activities, vocabulary, cultural information, proverbs, songs, jokes, detailed grammar explanations, rubrics, etc. The text is accompanied by an extensive workbook that provides a variety of exercises to practice listening, reading, conversation, and grammar skills.

LIVE INTERACTION

Students discover their own learning styles and design their individual paths of learning with personal guidance from instructors. An enriching and supportive learning environment, with friendly classmates, conversation partners, and additional resources, contribute to the student experience.

1:1 CONVERSATION SESSIONS WITH NATIVE SPEAKERS

Based on many years of teaching Colloquial Tibetan, we’ve found 1:1 practice sessions with native speakers an important, if not an indispensable part of the Tibetan language learning process. So, once a week, students have the opportunity to practice newly acquired language skills with a language partner over WhatsApp, Telegram, or another face-to-face digital platform. The timing will be set by the student and partner, based on mutual agreement. Lesson worksheets will be provided, along with guidance designed to ensure a successful practice session. Our team of Tibetan Conversation Partners in India is a group of kind, patient, and skillful mentors and tutors, who enjoy supporting your language learning as well as giving you a unique glimpse into Tibetan culture.

TEACHERS AND CLASSMATES

On your journey of learning, you’ll be supported and accompanied by our team of main teachers, both Tibetan and non-Tibetan, with their assistant, the language tutors, and your dear classmates. In the live sessions, you’ll have the opportunity to interact with a larger group of classmates from all over the world. You’ll also be part of a smaller learning community of about four students, with whom you’ll work and learn very closely and regularly, at your own pace. At times, you may be conversing in your mother tongue within your learning community.

If you have any pets, we recommend that you include them in your learning process, as they are great listeners and don’t mind smaller, or even larger, grammatical mistakes :-)

Several of our faculty are non-human persons. The two doggies རྒན་སེང་གེ་ལགས། [rgan seng ge lags] = Professor Lion and Gen Christabella, represent the synthesis of a traditional Tibetan and contemporary, student-centered approach to learning.

NON-HUMAN COMPANIONS & HUMOR

In addition to your human classmates, you’ll also have four imaginary non-human classmates, the polyglot Ms. Giraffe, devoted Ms. Ostrich, an extremely relaxed Mr. Sloth - and, the latest addition to the course, Mr. Sheep, a dedicated half-Tibetan, exploring his language and culture. They are the VIPs of the key-point videos, and serve to keep the webinars engaging and interesting with their different learning styles and questions. These non-human companions represent our love for animals. They also illustrate the different learning styles of typical Tibetan language students, and represent the diversity of linguistic, cultural, and religious backgrounds, age-ranges, personalities, and approaches to learning that we are looking forward to accommodating in this course.

Last but not least, we believe that learning should be joyful, and thus cherish humor and smiles. We have a feeling that the three of them will naturally contribute to our inherent joyfulness and delight in learning! They keep the key-point videos and webinars engaging and enjoyable!

METHODOLOGY

Evidence shows that students learn more effectively in a classroom where they are invited to bring themselves fully, develop caring for classmates and instructors, and reflect on their process of learning.

For this reason, བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan is student- and learning-centered, rather than teacher- and teaching-centered. བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan classroom is a joyful and supportive place to learn the Tibetan language!

བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan methodology is based on Dr. Fink’s “6-fold Taxonomy of Significant Learning.” In this model, we encourage and accompany you to reflect on your process of learning, including the higher dimensions (aka ‘soft skills’) of caring, the human dimension, and metacognition. Students share reflections about the process of learning with classmates and teachers in our written or live class forum and the ePortfolio. The result is that, in addition to learning the Tibetan language, students learn how they learn best.

PREREQUISITES

ALUMNI

If you have completed any of our Beginner Tibetan Language Courses in the past, you are prepared and qualified to enter the Lower Intermediate Course. Brushing up a bit and reviewing is of course highly recommended before the start of the course.

“NEWCOMERS”

If you have not studied with us before but have completed your studies of བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Language Volume 1 on your own or in other settings, you are qualified to participate in the Lower Intermediate Course.

If you have not studied with the བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Language Volume 1 in the past but successfully completed other beginner Tibetan language studies, you are recommended to read བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Language Volume 1 and/or buy the access to the KPV and webinars of the Beginner Course ($150) to prepare yourself for the Lower Intermediate Courses.

In either of these two cases, instead of an entrance exam, you’ll be required to send us a short video of yourself, speaking partly in བོད་སྐད། and partly sharing about your motivation and aspiration in English. This will allow you to review your Tibetan, show us your language skills and get you started on or prove basic IT skills which are a requirement for our courses. You find a detailed task description and rubric of this short presentation here. We do not expect you to speak fluent, perfect ལྷ་ས་སྐད། at all but need to make sure your communication skills are such that both you and your classmates feel comfortable with you joining our course. You can of course prepare this beforehand.

If you are accepted, you’ll then gain access to Module 0 (Learning how to learn (online)) which you’ll need to complete before starting the course. We’ll support you and even find a buddy for you, one of our alumni who can answer any questions that might arise.

TUITION POLICY

SINI’S MISSION

SINI is a non-profit service organization with a mission to preserve Tibetan culture and Dharma, to build “Bridges of Goodness” through education, interdisciplinary collaboration, and cultural exchange. It is important to us to make this course accessible to everyone who wishes to study the Tibetan language. We have, therefore, tried our very best to keep the costs as reasonable as possible, and we humbly ask for your assistance and understanding.

SLIDING SCALE TUITION FEE

We offer a sliding scale of price. This price is the minimum one. Given the different currencies and financial realities, it is not easy to have a ‘fair’ rate for everyone. So, we give you the option to choose your own tuition depending on your personal financial situation and limitations. Thank you very much! The minimal cost of tuition for བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། The Heart of Tibetan Online Colloquial Tibetan Lower Intermediate Language Course is $400.

MONASTIC DISCOUNT

We offer a scholarship to support the continuation of the monastic tradition. Please see the course listing especially for monastics to access that discounted tuition rate.

PAYMENT IN RATES

If the tuition amount is difficult for you to afford, there is also a possibility to pay the tuition in monthly installments. Please email us about this at: tibetanatsini@gmail.com

BE A SPONSOR ($108)

We are trying very hard to keep the price of the courses affordable and are covering the bare minimum. If you like and can, please consider adding $108 to your course fee to support others for whom this rate might be less affordable than for yourself and support the overall development of our programs.

SCHEDULE

Opening Ceremony Lower Intermediate Course (Tib 201) and Beginner Tibetan Course Part 1 (Tib 101): Sunday October 22nd 4 p.m. CEST

Starting date: Saturday October 28th, 2023

Ending date: Saturday March 23rd, 2024

You can choose which time slot you like to join; it does not need to be the same one each time and you don't need to inform us beforehand about which one you are attending.

WEEK BY WEEK SCHEDULE & HOLIDAYS

Here is the schedule for the two courses which show holidays and free Saturdays

REFUND POLICY

If you drop out and we can replace you from the waiting list, you will receive:

Module 1: 70%

Module 2: 65%

Module 3: 55%

Later: 40%

If you drop out and we can NOT replace you from the waiting list, you'll receive:

Module 1: 55%

Module 2: 40%

Module 3: 30%

Later: No refund!

TEXTBOOK

The course fee does not include the textbook as some students like the ebook and some prefer the hard copy. Having the textbook བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། སྡེ་ཚན་གཉིས་པ། The Heart of Tibetan Language, Volume 2, and exercise book is highly recommended as the course is designed around it.

You can order the hardcopy from Dharma Publishing in the US. Or you can purchase or order it from the Vajra Bookstore in Kathmandu.

The ebooks, both textbook and exercise book, are available soon at a very affordable rate.

བོད་སྐད་སྙིང་པོ། Heart of Tibetan Online Colloquial Tibetan Language Course: Lower Intermediate (Tib. 201)