FLUENT TIBETAN: A Proficiency-Oriented Learning System. Novice and Intermediate Levels

by William A. Magee and Elizabeth S. Napper, Jeffrey Hopkins, General Editor. In collaboration with: Ngawang Thondup Narkyid, Geshe Thupten Jinpa, Kunsang Y. King, Jules B. Levinson, Jigme Ngapo, Daniel E. Perdue, Dolma Tenpa and Steven N. Weinberger.   

The most systematic and extensive course system available in spoken Tibetan language, Fluent Tibetan was developed by language experts working in conjunction with indigenous speakers at the University of Virginia. Based upon courses for diplomats needing to learn a language quickly, the method acquaints students with the sounds and patterns of Tibetan speech, through repetitive interactive drills, enabling the quick mastery of increasingly complex structures, and thereby promoting rapid progress in speaking the language. Fluent Tibetan is the best course available anywhere for learning on your own. The package consists of textbooks and tape recordings, arranged in fifteen units. The first three units are devoted to recognition and pronunciation of the Tibetan alphabet and its combinations in syllables and words. With unit four, vocabulary and grammatical patterns are introduced in situational dialogues. Each dialogue is followed by extensive drills repeating the vocabulary and grammatical patterns in different contexts thereby teaching how to use the language creatively. The exceptionally clear voices in the dialogues and drills are both male and female indigenous Tibetans. The glossary is both Tibetan-English and English-Tibetan. Fluent Tibetan corresponds to a year of college-level language study.

Fluent Tibetan is the first text recommended for language study by the Sera IMI House at Sera Monastery for Western monks as preparation for entry into the Geshe studies program.

"Fluent Tibetan is a significant and unmatched achievement in the field of teaching colloquial Tibetan."--The Tibet Journal

NOTE PRODUCT UPDATE: We plan to release a MP3 version of the 18 tapes some time during the next year or two. People who have purchased the tapes since the beginning of 2007 will be able to acquire the MP3 CDs at a greatly reduced price. We will update this information in the future.