Malayalam belongs to the Dravidian family of languages. We can see Malayalam speaking people in every nook and cranny of the world. Though it is true that Malayalam is the language is spoken only by a limited group in the world. In a bid to propagate the language world over, the Government of Kerala under its Department of Culture started the Malayalam Mission.
The project aims to benefit non-resident Keralite children who are not aware of our culture and language. Only through mother tongue can children understand the culture. The state government has even introduced a policy to promote Malayalam language.
The course is designed in such a way that any child in the age group of 6 to 16 years, with little understanding of Malayalam, can learn the language. The course will be conducted in different phases – listening, reading and writing. Also, the course is presented through the perspective of an expatriate’s child who is visiting her grandparents in Kerala. The program progresses by addressing the lingual challenges individuals faces in their native place.
The text book for these courses are mainly in four headings; those that can be learnt in the first two years called ‘Kanikonna’, those for the next two years called ‘Sooryakanthi’; for the third stage which has a three-year duration, the book is ‘Ambal’, and in the final stage three-year course, the book is ‘Neelakurinji’. With this the student will be in a position to complete the higher diploma course and become eligible to receive a certificate equivalent to tenth class/standard.
