At first glance, this 18-module Tamil script course hosted by the University of Texas looks like the perfect guide to the Tamil script. When you take a second look, however, you realize that you’ll need to use a supplementary resource alongside it.
Let’s start with the good bits: the course (which is all in English) breaks down the alphabet in a clear and detailed manner. The pronunciation guides are impressively detailed. Each module also has a downloadable set of exercises. The handwriting worksheets are a clear and well-needed supplementary tool.
Now for the bad part: despite giving lots of technical instructions about how to pronounce characters, there are no audio recordings. Beginners will struggle to know if they are pronouncing the characters correctly, especially if they don’t know what “raising the soft palate” or a “bilabial stop” means. The illustrated diagram of the speech organs isn’t of much help unless you’re already familiar with these terms.
Our recommendation? Use the course, but not on its own.
