Summary

Are you learning Malayalam as a second language and looking for an engaging and comprehensible resource? We’ve got you covered.

Learn Malayalam with EliKutty is a frequently updated YouTube channel that mixes one-minute Malayalam lessons with videos about EliKutty’s life with her Malayali husband. 

Eliza Keyton, aka EliKutty, is an English teacher and US expat. While not a native speaker, her lessons have a pedagogical foundation and are easy to understand. Eliza’s content ranges from short, bite-sized videos—one-on-one and group lessons—to longer playlists such as the Beginners and Pronunciation Playlists that follow a learning plan that you can use for self-study. These work well to help non-native speakers and heritage learners connect with the fantastic language of Malayalam.

Her One Minute Malayalam series will help you learn things like different ways to say “no” or “give” and how to make conditional sentences. Eliza also has a Malayalam Alphabets series on how to learn the Malayalam script, which nicely explains the subtle differences in pronunciation. 
Aside from her YouTube, Eliza has more free content accessible via Facebook and Instagram, Discord, as well as her website. The learning content is easy to follow, and Eliza does well to highlight the challenges faced when learning Malayalam to help you overcome them. 

What makes Learn Malayalam with EliKutty different from resources such as Fluent in Malayalam and Moags Malayalam grammar-coursebook, is that it delves deeper into helping you understand Malayalam grammar and the content is kept up-to-date.  

Because Eliza is also learning, sometimes her accent and pronunciation isn’t as accurate as what’s spoken in Kerala. However, this should not deter you from trying out this resource. Although the content can seem unstructured for a complete beginner and could have more vocabulary, if you’re a beginner Malayalam student, you will likely find it a short-and-sweet way to supplement your studies.