Introduction 

The Kannada language is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in the southwestern region of India. The language is also spoken by linguistic minorities in the states of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Kerala and Goa; and also by Kannadigas abroad. The language had roughly 43 million native speakers by 2011. Kannada is also spoken as a second and third language by over 12.9 million non-native speakers in Karnataka, which adds up to 56.9 million speakers. It is one of the scheduled languages of India and the official and administrative language of the state of Karnataka. Kannada was the court language of some of the most powerful empires of South and Central India, such as the Chalukya dynasty, the Rashtrakuta dynasty, the Vijayanagara Empire, and the Hoysala Empire.

The Kannada language is written using the Kannada script, which evolved from the 5th-century Kadamba script. Kannada is attested epigraphically for about one and a half millennia and literary Old Kannada flourished in the 6th-century Ganga dynasty and during the 9th-century Rashtrakuta Dynasty. Kannada has an unbroken literary history of over a thousand years. Kannada literature has been presented with 8 Jnanpith awards, the most for any Dravidian language and the second highest for any Indian language.

1. Watch movies in Kannada  

Watching a series on Netflix might not exactly improve your debating skills or formal register, but it helps you to understand the language better, get used to colloquial, conversational forms of Kannada and implicitly get a feeling for the language. Also, you could try to pick out words that sound highly informal and look up their more scholarly counterparts.  Being exposed to a language for the length of a movie might help you to actually start thinking in Kannada.       

2. Immerse yourself in Kannada language news        

Try to sample a broad range of Kannada language newspapers, including broadsheets as well as magazines and tabloids. As well as helping you keep up to date with current affairs, this range of news sources will also expand your vocabulary. Another advantage is that you will also become more comfortable with how words are spelt and the contexts in which they are used.                 

3. Start a vocabulary book of useful words              

Either in a notebook or on your computer, start making a list of useful words and phrases. Every time you hear or see a word you’re not familiar with, note it down. Don’t only focus on the word itself, but search for synonyms and phrases in which it’s used. 

4. Have conversations in Kannada

As helpful as listening and reading tasks may be, you also need to use Kannada interactively and practice your own speaking skills. If you’re lucky, you’ll be friends with a few native speakers who can help you out, but if not then try to meet up with someone else studying Kannada. Another option is to talk to yourself in the mirror or record yourself. Listening to the sound of your own voice might be a little bit awkward at first, but you will be able to hear mistakes of which you weren’t previously aware.     

5. Practice, practice, practice         

Let’s face it, academic phrases won’t just fall from heaven and straight into your brain. Even if your Kannada is already quite good, don’t be complacent and underestimate stressful factors such as the time pressure in an exam. You still have to practice, no matter how much time you have left before your big day. Try coming up with a word of the day, and then try to employ it as often as possible. If you do this, don’t waste time on extremely specific words you will never actually use. Instead, focus on conversational Kannada which is likely to be relevant in the exam.      

6. Curiosity doesn’t always kill the cat        

In order to improve rapidly, you should ask a lot of questions and resolve them. Don’t just read phrases. Ask why they are used in a particular way, whether other constructions are possible as well and don’t trust everything you read online. Of course, it is tempting to be content with the first answer that pops up on Google, but you’ll find more rewards if you show a bit of curiosity.

7. Don’t forget to have fun while you learn             

If studying the Kannada language only feels like a burden, it will seem tedious and you won’t perform as well. This is why it’s important to stay motivated and enjoy the experience of learning a new language. Find ways to add entertainment into your studies, such as playing word games with friends that will boost your critical thinking skills.