Our language courses are designed for:
On language:
At EarthDiverse, we believe that language is culture, and there is no true understanding of other cultures unless we make an effort to learn non-English languages. If we truly wish to engage with others we must begin to learn some of the other spoken languages and written alphabets of our diverse earth. We have the capacity!
Language learning can be fun and engaging, and is a great way to exercise our brains.
Language training can improve brain fitness:
Learning a new language is excellent brain exercise and is an incredibly useful tool for learners of any age to keep our minds working and functioning properly and our cognitive abilities operating at peak performance. If we exercise our bodies, why not add some mental gymnastics to our tool boxes as well?
More information and links to scientific articles coming soon!
Our language teaching methods:
At EarthDiverse, we also know how busy we all are these days, and how much of a commitment learning a new language can be. That’s why we try to make learning a new language as effortless as possible. All we require is for you to commit an hour and a half of your time each week to attend your class sessions, either in-person, live-streaming via Zoom, or watching the recorded video sessions. That’s 12 class hours per term delivered in 8 sessions, or 48 hours a year. The majority of our students who commit to 2 years of class-only language instruction (or 96 hours total over two years), can read, understand and have conversations in their new language! We do not require you to complete extra study in addition to your hour and a half time commitment, nor do we require you to complete any outside-of-class homework. You can always do this if you like, and your instructor will support you 100%. If you’d like to go that extra mile, we provide sets of flashcards for vocabulary learning that you can freely access via the Quizlet app on your phones, tablets and computers. For learning new scripts, we suggest downloading the free Scripts app, which currently supports Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. For grammar, conversation and comprehension, we suggest downloading the free Drops or Duolinguo apps.
Using Quizlet for vocabulary, Scripts for learning how to write non-Roman letters, and Drops or Duolinguo for grammar and comprehension allows you to reinforce your language learning while you’re waiting in line for your takeaway felafel, sitting in an office waiting for an appointment, or waiting in your car to pick up the kids. You can use any of these tools whenever and wherever you want, in short 5 minute bursts, and as often as you like, including not at all!
In short, EarthDiverse wants to make language learning as simple and easy as possible. And if you’re committed, think long term and we can make language acquisition as painless and passive as if you were a baby learning your first language. While this method is radically different from “intensive study” or “total immersion” methods of most language schools, we feel that our pedagogy actually works for busy adult learners who may not have more time to devote to language learning than the one and a half hour class commitment each week. While you may not be speaking your chosen language after a year of study (8 sessions per Term over 4 terms per year = 32 class sessions of 1.5 hrs = 48 class hours spread out over a year), if you stick with it, you most likely will by the end of your second year, and will have done so with little interruption to your weekly schedule other than setting aside a short period each week during the Term. And if you’re keen to do more or learn faster, our instructors are always ready to help you tailor your language programme to best suit your needs.
The following Language programmes are currently offered by EarthDiverse. For more detailed information on each language, the different courses for each, class locations, and the respective days and times for each class, please click on the appropriate tiles below to be taken to the pages for each particular language.
NEW HERITAGE LANGUAGE PROGRAMMES ON OFFER!
EarthDiverse is pleased to announce the continuation of our Heritage Language programmes for children of migrants at risk of losing their cultural and linguistic heritage due to assimilation pressures. Kids ages 5-13 years, and born of parents that are members of ethnic community groups worldwide, are eligible to attend these classes.
HERITAGE SPANISH:
We began a new series of Heritage Spanish courses in 2022 Term 3 specifically designed for children whose parents are members of Spanish-speaking communities. This is a collaborative effort between the Waikato Hispano Latino Cultural Trust and EarthDiverse, with instructors coming from within the Hispano Latino community. We are pleased to continue offering this series in 2023, now open to children globally. Find out more at: Heritage Spanish language and culture courses
HERITAGE ARABIC:
We are also currently offering Arabic language instruction in collaboration with the Waikato Arab Cultural Society to children of member parents. These classes began in May 2022 and continue and are held each week at the EarthDiverse Centre during school terms. Please contact us if you’d like more information, or if you’d like your child to attend.
OTHER HERITAGE LANGUAGE COURSES COMING SOON!
We are currently working with other local ethnic communities to help them offer language and culture courses to their children.
Courses listed below in bolded blue text are currently on offer this Term. Courses listed in blue are not currently offered this Term but will be rotated in again in a future Term. New Introductory language cohorts (i.e. beginner 101 courses) are generally offered in Term 1 and Term 3 each year (pending sufficient enrolments).
ARABIC COURSES: with Alaa Abdalla
• Arabic 101: Introductory Arabic, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Arabic 102: Introductory Arabic, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Arabic 103: Introductory Arabic, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3)
•Arabic 104: Introductory Arabic, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4)
•Arabic 201: Intermediate Arabic, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Arabic 202: Intermediate Arabic, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
•Arabic 203: Intermediate Arabic, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Arabic 204: Intermediate Arabic, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Arabic 300: Conversational Arabic offered pending sufficient enrolment
• Arabic Language and Culture courses for children of members of the Waikato Arab Social Club are currently offered on Sundays. Please contact us for information.
DUTCH COURSES: with Jay van der Most, MA
• Dutch 101: Introductory Dutch, Part 1 (day/time to be determined)
• Dutch 102: Introductory Dutch, Part 2 (Wednesdays 6:30-8:00 pm, beginning 2 May 2023)
• Dutch 103: Introductory Dutch, Part 3 (Wednesdays 6:30-8:00 pm, beginning 26 July 2023)
• Dutch 104: Introductory Dutch, Part 4 (Wednesdays 6:30-8:00 pm, beginning 18 October 2023)
• Dutch 201: Intermediate Dutch, Part 1 (Thursdays 6:30-8:00 pm beginning 4 May 2023)
• Dutch 202: Intermediate Dutch, Part 2 (Thursdays 6:30-8:00 pm beginning 27 July 2023)
• Dutch 203: Intermediate Dutch, Part 3 (Thursdays 6:30-8:00 pm beginning 19 October 2023)
FARSI/PERSIAN COURSES: with Ahmad Sayedi
• Farsi 101: Introductory Farsi, Part 1 (Fridays 6:30-8:00pm, beginning 4 Aug 2023)
• Farsi 102: Introductory Farsi, Part 2 (Fridays 6:30-8:00pm, beginning 20 Oct 2023)
• Farsi 103: Introductory Farsi, Part 3 (Fridays 6:30-8:00pm, beginning 16 Feb 2024)
• Farsi 104: Introductory Farsi, Part 4 (Fridays 6:30-8:00pm, beginning XX Apr 2024)
FRENCH COURSES: coming soon …
• French 101: Introductory French, Part 1 (coming soon)
• French 102: Introductory French, Part 2 (coming soon)
• French 103: Introductory French, Part 3
• French 104: Introductory French, Part 4
GERMAN COURSES: with Norman Franke, PhD
• German 101: Introductory German, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• German 102: Introductory German, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• German 103: Introductory German, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• German 104: Introductory German, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
HEBREW COURSES: with Shelly Tenembaum and Benny Tobias
• HEB101: Introductory Hebrew, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HEB102: Introductory Hebrew, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
•HEB103: Introductory Hebrew, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HEB104: Introductory Hebrew, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HEB201: Intermediate Hebrew, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HEB202: Intermediate Hebrew, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HEB203: Intermediate Hebrew, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HEB204: Intermediate Hebrew, Part 4 (coming soon)
• HEB301: Conversational Hebrew (offered pending sufficient enrolment)
HINDI COURSES: with Todd Nachowitz, PhD
• HINDI 1-on-1 TUTORIALS private lessons (can begin any time of the year)
• HIN101: Introductory Hindi, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HIN102: Introductory Hindi, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HIN103: Introductory Hindi, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
•HIN104: Introductory Hindi, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HIN201: Intermediate Hindi, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HIN202: Intermediate Hindi, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HIN203: Intermediate Hindi, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HIN204: Intermediate Hindi, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HIN301: Conversational Hindi (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HIN302: Conversational Hindi (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HIN303: Conversational Hindi (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• HIN304: Conversational Hindi (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
ITALIAN COURSES: with Mônica Salerno, PhD
JAPANESE COURSES: with Yurika Arai, MA and Hidekazu Oka
• JPN101: Introductory Japanese, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN102: Introductory Japanese, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN103: Introductory Japanese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN104: Introductory Japanese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN201: Intermediate Japanese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN202: Intermediate Japanese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN203: Intermediate Japanese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN204: Intermediate Japanese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN301: Intermediate Japanese, Part 5, (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN302: Intermediate Japanese, Part 6 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN303: Intermediate Japanese, Part 7 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• JPN304: Intermediate Japanese, Part 8 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• JPN401: Advanced Japanese: Japanese Language Proficiency Exam (offered 2023 Term 1 – Feb-Apr)
• JPN402: Advanced Japanese: Japanese Language Proficiency Exam (offered 2023 Term 2 – May-Jun)
• JPN403: Advanced Japanese: Japanese Language Proficiency Exam (offered 2023 Term 3 – Jul-Sep)
• JPN404: Advanced Japanese: Japanese Language Proficiency Exam (offered 2023 Term 4 – Oct-Dec)
MANDARIN COURSES: with Ada Xiao
• Mandarin 101: Introductory Mandarin, Part 1 (coming soon)
• Mandarin 102: Introductory Mandarin, Part 2 (coming soon)
• Mandarin 103: Introductory Mandarin, Part 3 (coming soon)
• Mandarin 104: Introductory Mandarin, Part 4 (coming soon)
PORTUGUESE COURSES: with Mônica Salerno, PhD
• PRT101: Introductory Portuguese, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• PRT102: Introductory Portuguese, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• PRT103: Introductory Portuguese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• PRT104: Introductory Portuguese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• PRT201: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• PRT202: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• PRT203: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• PRT204: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• PRT301: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 5 (Term 1 every year)
• PRT302: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 6 (Term 2 every year)
• PRT303: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 7 (Term 3 every year)
• PRT304: Intermediate Portuguese, Part 8 (Term 4 every year)
• PRT401: Advanced Portuguese (coming 2024 Term 1)
SPANISH COURSES: with Laura Garcia de Mora
• SPA101: Introductory Spanish, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• SPA102: Introductory Spanish, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• SPA103: Introductory Spanish, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• SPA104: Introductory Spanish, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• SPA201: Intermediate Spanish, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• SPA202: Intermediate Spanish, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
•SPA203: Intermediate Spanish, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• SPA204: Intermediate Spanish, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• HERITAGE SPANISH 022: Developing Reading & Writing Skills (starts Wednesday, 3 May Feb 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm)
• HERITAGE SPANISH 023: Developing Reading & Writing Skills (starts Wednesday, 26 Jul 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm)
• HERITAGE SPANISH 024: Developing Reading & Writing Skills (starts Wednesday, 18 Oct Feb 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm)
• HERITAGE SPANISH 032: Developing All Speaking, Reading & Writing Skills (starts Friday, 5 May 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm)
• HERITAGE SPANISH 033: Developing All Speaking, Reading & Writing Skills (starts Friday, 20 Oct 2023, 4:00-5:00 pm)
SWAHILI COURSES: with Amondi Ouko-Mowbray
• SWA101: Introductory Swahili, Part 1 (Term 1 and Term 3 every year)
• SWA102: Introductory Swahili, Part 2 (Term 2 and Term 4 every year)
• SWA103: Introductory Swahili, Part 3 (Term 1 and Term 3 every year)
• SWA104: Introductory Swahili, Part 4 (Term 2 and Term 4 every year)
TAMIL COURSES: with Kalai Krishnan, pending sufficient enrolment
• TML101: Introductory Tamil, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• TML102: Introductory Tamil, Part 2 (2023 Term 1 & 2023 Term 2)
• TML103: Introductory Tamil, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• TML104: Introductory Tamil, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
TE REO MĀORI COURSES: coming soon
• Māori 101: Introductory Māori, Part 1
• Māori 102: Introductory Māori, Part 2
• Māori 103: Introductory Māori, Part 3
• Māori 104: Introductory Māori, Part 4
THAI COURSES: returning again soon
• THAI 101: Introductory Thai, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• THAI 102: Introductory Thai, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• THAI 103: Introductory Thai, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3 every year)
• THAI 104: Introductory Thai, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4 every year)
• THAI 201: Intermediate Thai, Part 1 (Term 1 & 3 every year)
• THAI 202: Intermediate Thai, Part 2 (coming in 2022 Term 4)
URDU COURSES: with Todd Nachowitz, PhD
• Urdu 1-on-1 Tutorial: private lessons (can begin at any time throughout the year)
• Urdu 101: Introductory Urdu, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Urdu 102: Introductory Urdu, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Urdu 103: Introductory Urdu, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Urdu 104: Introductory Urdu, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Urdu 201: Intermediate Urdu, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Urdu 202: Intermediate Urdu, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Urdu 203: Intermediate Urdu, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Urdu 204: Intermediate Urdu, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Urdu 501: Conversational Urdu, offered every Term, pending sufficient enrolment
VIETNAMESE COURSES: coming again soon
• Vietnamese 101: Introductory Vietnamese, Part 1 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Vietnamese 102: Introductory Vietnamese, Part 2 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Vietnamese 103: Introductory Vietnamese, Part 3 (Term 1 & Term 3)
• Vietnamese 104: Introductory Vietnamese, Part 4 (Term 2 & Term 4)
• Vietnamese 001: Heritage Vietnamese for kids, (returning soon)
For more detailed information on each series or course, when offered, class times and locations, and course fees and registration) click on the appropriate links above.
If the course you are interested in is not currently being taught, rest assured that it will be again in the future as we continuously rotate the courses on offer. We also plan to add additional courses and locations in the future. Please contact us if you are interested in having us teach in your area or through your local group, association or organisation.
DISTANCE-LEARNING OPTIONS: In addition to our regular in-person classes which are offered in Hamilton, we offer ‘Distance Learning’ options for all of our Language courses. Study from anywhere and at any time! Distance-learning options have been added for those living outside the Waikato or for those unable to attend our in-person classes in Hamilton. If you are a Distance-Learner you have the option of joining our regular live classroom sessions via Zoom at the regularly scheduled class time, or you can watch a video-recording of the Zoom classroom session at your leisure and study at your own pace.
HAMILTON & DISTANCE-LEARNING COURSES (8-week Terms):
LOCATION: All in-person classes are held at the EarthDiverse Centre located at 401 Anglesea Street, Hamilton Central, Hamilton (located just north of the Hamilton Central Bus Station, above Copier World) (entrance is located on the left side of the building, see map). Those looking for parking for our evening classes can park just in front of the building in any of the available car parks. Daytime parking can be found in our dedicated car parks, or free 2-hour on-street daytime parking can be found just in front on Anglesea Street.
Distance-Learning: You choose your location and Zoom in via free Zoom software.
If you are interested in teaching a language that is not usually taught in New Zealand, we are interested in talking with you! Drop us a line by using our Contact page, accessed from the above Menu bar. We plan to continually offer new language courses in the future.
If you are interested in attending any of these classes or would like additional information, please contact us by using the Contact Form on our Contact page.
