The Barts and the London University Tamil Society and the university's Language and Culture Society, joined forced to host a ‘Basic skills in the Tamil language’ workshop on October 6th.

The workshop looked to promote the language Tamil, emphasising its importance even in modern society, becoming one of the most common languages spoken in areas such as East London. This also looked to tackle the growing issue of an ageing population becoming more dependent on Tamil speaking doctors and medical students, and thus by promoting a better understanding of the language enables these medical professionals to communicate with this demographic within a medical setting.

Speaking on the importance of such workshops, an event organiser Janani Raveenthiran, said,

“The significance of simply understanding the language is understated, as simple understanding is often the key to breaking any barriers between the patient and medical professionals.”

The event, open to all that were interested in learning the language, saw a large turnout and was run by personal Tamil tutors who taught common Tamil phrases to those present.

Common Tamil phrases aimed for use in a medical setting were explained and cultivated amongst students that attended the session. Non-Tamil speaking students to learnt basic but essential phrases such as, ‘how are you feeling today?’ and ‘how did you get to hospital today?’ with an addition to simple answers such as ‘I feel sick.’ 

Further information about upcoming events at the Barts and London Tamil Society can be found on their facebook page here.