John Kunnathu
Published: 2017-12
Total Pages: 144
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This is a workbook for those who learn to write Malayalam Alphabet. The focus is on the shape of the letters, and on how to write them. The letters are ordered from simple to complex, so that the learners won't be intimidated by the few complex ones. The letters are classified into base forms, short forms, and combined forms. A page is devoted for each letter. At the top left you see the letter along with the direction as to how to write it. A star indicates the place to start writing a letter. At the top right you see a little help as to its sound. Also you see a few words in which the letter occurs. Then you see in six rows six sets of the letter in dotted lines in varying sizes. The biggest ones are at the top, and they become smaller as they go down. The learner is not supposed to write all of them together. In the first week, the learner may write only the ones in the first row. He/she may visit as many pages as time permits, but he/she should stay within the first row. In the second week, he/she may come back and do the second row of each of those pages he/she visited. Thus the learner needs to spend a minimum of six weeks to complete the entire book. If the learner is a child, he/she should be directed to stick to the plan of one row per week. Filling each page fully before going to the next won't serve the purpose. As the learner writes a letter, he/she needs to sound it too, so that each letter will be associated with the sound it represents. All Malayalam sounds don't have English equivalents. The learner will have to seek the help of a native speaker if available. The learner may also search in Youtube for Malayalam alphabet pronunciation, and listen from there. There is also a list of a few common words and a few sentences toward the end of the book. This is the very first book a level 1 learner of Malayalam may use. The same authors have made two more books available for the next levels. Learn Basic Malayalam in Six Weeks is level 2, and Speak Malayalam in Ten Weeks is level 3. A reviewer, Shija Abraham, wrote: "Malayalam Alphabet Practice Workbook by John Kunnathu and Lissy John is very well organized with mainly English-speaking people/kids in mind. Equivalent English sound for all vowels and consonants with a practice page is given for each letter. To help beginners, arrows are shown in the direction in which each letter is written. It also covers stressed consonants, consonant combinations, short form of consonants and consonants without a vowel. The book ends with some common words and sentences which also give a short history of the Malayalam language. The book provides a plan to learn the language in 6 weeks. The Kunnathu's experience as educators is very well displayed in the structure and the content of the book. I highly recommend this book for all beginners."
