Learn English or Sinhalese in Sri Lanka
Tropical dream beaches, colonial cities and still dense jungle forests, Buddhism – Hinduism, Ceylon tea “Ayurveda relaxation” and elephant safari – biodiversity.
Sri Lanka is a true tropical idyll with an astonishing wealth of landscapes. It hangs like a drop – hardly the size of Bavaria – just a few 100 kilometres from the equator at the southern end of the Indian subcontinent.
More than 1,300 kilometres of coastline offer endless sandy beaches, which range from deserted to touristy but almost always with waving coconut palms all year round, depending on the coast in the west and south from November to April and on the east coast from May to October.
Three-quarters of Sri Lanka’s approximately 21 million inhabitants belong to the Sinhalese population, the majority of whom are Buddhists.
There are also Muslim and Christian communities. A quarter is accounted for by the Tamilians, who immigrated from India, whose colourful Hindu temples are spread over certain regions of the island and contrast with dagobas, mosques and colonial churches and show a colourful architectural and, above all, religious diversity.
Portuguese, Dutch and British colonial rulers shaped the history of
Sri Lanka Even in ancient times, the island had been located deep in the Indian Ozena, with trade relations with the Roman Empire and the Arab Emirates. From 1515, the Portuguese influenced the coasts of Sri Lanka for 150 years before being displaced by the Dutch, who left a lasting mark on Sri Lanka’s kingdoms. Around 1800, the British appeared. For another 150 years, the English language permeated the island economically. This is still most evident today in the sprawling tea plantations, the branching railway network and the colonial architecture in outstanding cities such as Kandy or Colombo.
Today, British English, along with Sinhala, is the generally accepted and used lingua franca and dominates the education system.
Galle (from the Portuguese for “the rooster”)
Here is the best-preserved old town from the Dutch period (17/18th century), whose form of a large fortress still looks imposing today and is called Fort Galle. The fort with its museum-historical idyll enjoys increasing popularity among travelers and awaits visitors with bastions, grassy ramparts, an old lighthouse, interesting museums, very good gastronomy and sophisticated accommodation.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us
Our partner school in Sri Lanka
This program is a private initiative of a Sinhalese merchant who runs a shop in the well-preserved old town of Galle Fort with many local products such as spices and a local state lecturer in English studies at the local university.
It is therefore not a language school in the usual sense, but an individual offer that can be flexibly adapted to the wishes and requirements of the travellers.
The lessons, as far as the theory is concerned, take place in the teacher’s house or in the larger estate with garden of the merchant, where your accommodation is also located.
The practical part of the lesson is mainly dedicated to the many exciting sights in Galle, which gradually become apparent. The best way to start is with a circular walk over the grassy ramparts past the old bastions high above the roaring Indian Ocean. Other components of this flexible, accompanying English language course lead to the surrounding area, e.g. to the 15 km long imposing, ribbon-like, palm-covered sandy beaches of Bentota and Beruwala or to Ambalangoda to the lively bazaar to the traditional mask carvers. Pure enthusiasm for nature arises when visiting the enchanted park ‘Brief Garden’, which resembles a trip to paradise
Accommodation in Galle
In the dignified estate, approx. 2 km. outside Galle Fort in the modern part of the city spacious with garden and spacious rooms, shower, toilet, terrace, AC or fan.
How to get to Sri Lanka
Airplane Since the summer of 2016, there has been no non-stop connection from Germany. Until then, SriLankan Airlines flew five times a week from Frankfurt to Colombo. With Qatar Airways, it is possible to fly from Frankfurt/Main, Munich and Berlin as well as Vienna and Zurich to Colombo with a connection in Doha. Oman Air flies from Munich and Frankfurt via Muscat to Colombo. In addition, Emirates connects Colombo with several German airports via Dubai. Gulf Air also flies from Frankfurt. Since February 2013, Turkish Airlines has also been flying to Sri Lanka via Istanbul and Male. From October 2016, KLM will also be flying non-stop to Colombo via Amsterdam. An overview of all airlines flying to Colombo can be found at www.airport.lk.shipAfter the ferry connection between India and Sri Lanka was suspended for almost 30 years due to the civil war, a ferry service between South India and Colombo has been operating again since mid-2011. Another connection was planned. However, the ship was confiscated because the operating company was in debt. Therefore, there is currently (as of 2017) no ferry connection from India to Sri Lanka.
The Sinhalese language
Ayubowan! – Welcome (meaning: Long life!, often pronounced “Eibo!” in abbreviated form). The division of the island caused by the Tamil conflict is also reflected in the language. Most Sinhalese speak Sinhala, while the Tamils speak Tamil. Unfortunately, both writing and language are not compatible, so very few Sinhalese speak both languages. Sinhala is a small language spoken by only 18-20 million people. It is hardly widespread beyond the island, although there is even a two-part textbook in German.
Sinhalese characters Sinhala is a syllabic language with a regular consonant-vowel sequence (see the word A-yu-bo-wan) The script is very round and is based on a few basic characters, which are modified by additional strokes. Sinhala was actually “invented” and consists of elements of various Asian languages, e.g. new characters have been introduced over time to represent Indian loanwords. Tamil can be recognized by the much more “angular” letters. Official documents are always written in both languages, often also in English (remnants from colonial times). Also, many place signs are written in Sinhala, Tamil and in Latin letters. Due to the history of the country, English is understood by many locals in a simplified form, but has less importance than in other ex-colonies. However, this is usually sufficient for communication for travelers. If no written information is available, passers-by will be happy to help. In everyday life, it looks like spoken language dominates. In each bus there is a staff member who takes care of the tickets and calls the next stops and the destination of the line towards the waiting people at each stop, although on each bus there are signs (not always in English and script!) with the corresponding information.
Prices 2024
English one-to-one lessons: €7/hour, four more details pls inquirer
Accommodation in apartment: 120€/week
Room with air conditioning for 3 people and fan room for 2 people Hot water / WiFi
