Learn to speak URDU:

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​This bookshelf provides books for children as well as adults.

One of the key features of this bookshelf is the complete set of school textbooks. These textbooks are particularly useful for homeschoolers and for those children who are not able to study Urdu at school.
Textbooks (سکول بکس - پہلی تا بارہویں جماعت):

Urdu Qaida Level 1 (concentrating on alphabets only - with pictorials)
Urdu Qaida Level 2 (primer on words formation)
YEAR 1 TO YEAR 12 and Bachelors Degree:
Writing (اردو لکھائی): ​
​Reading primers (for adult learners):
  • Urdu - Urdu ka Asaan Qaida - Download
  • English - The Urdu self-instructor or Ataliq-i-Urdu - by Maulvi Laiq Ahmad (published in 1899 to assist the European settlers in Indo-Pak subcontinent in reading and understanding the Urdu language) - Read / Download


Advice for homeschoolers:

Many of the Pakistani/ Indian families living overseas mainly speak Urdu at home, which is not a feat for most people, but somehow many of the children in these families pick up on English as their ‘first’ language. So speaking Urdu comes much later and reading / writing in this language often seems quite impossible. However, through slow, steady and very patient effort from parents and/or tutors, and some good Urdu textbooks, kids can eventually be inducted with their mother-tongue. 

Some tricks and tips parents of home-schooled children use to inspire interest in Urdu language (as written by a mum who home-schools her children with a lot of planning and commitment) are presented below:
  • Ask help of the older kids in teaching younger ones Urdu. Tell them secretly ‘I can’t do this without you, really need your help. Would you be so kind and help me in teaching your younger sibling this subject?’ The results are amazing. And work both for the older and the younger one – that’s what I call hitting two birds with a single stone.
  • Read, Read, Read and then read some more – until your mouth gets dry. Stop at some interesting places in the story and ask the kids to try reading. The interest level by that time is so blown up that it overcomes the fear or difficulty barrier. Keep chipping in at the difficult words.
  • Celebrate small efforts – tell their father, their grand parents, or any close friends about their ‘accomplishments’ – making sure that the kids know the appreciations being made.
  • Take advantage of cousins / friends/ relatives / household help who mostly understand only Urdu. My kids have cousins in the village who are not proficient in English and I have taken benefit of the situation instead of making it a barrier.  I ensure that my kids take along their Urdu stories and books when they visit the village. The cousins then read together and everyone has a good time. Takes some burden off me too and again many birds are hit by this single stone – good bonding with relatives, positive and constructive activity, high interest levels, sharing spirit etc.
  • Benefit from those around you who are proficient in the language, e.g parents, grandparents, other relatives , neighbors. My parents are native speakers of Urdu and I encourage my kids to learn from them in all ways. We even note down certain words and ask them about their pronunciation, usage etc over the phone (they don’t live in the same city as us and mostly not in the same country , but distances should not matter). I also plan to make my kids spend more ‘language time’ with their grandmother in coming years, such that they can read classical literature to her (in person or over the skype), while she can correct their pronunciation and explain the fine points, difficult vocabulary etc.
  • My children have got some Urdu inspiration from local [Pakistani] politics, as they feel that is something ‘happening in their language’. It’s never too early to discuss  political matters with the kids – presentation can be made at their level though, but anything that sparks their interest should be used positively.
  • Light literature also keeps my kids interested in Urdu , so I don’t mind buying a good book of jokes and then seeing them making effort to read it and share 
Learn to Speak Urdu (taught in English) - 42 lectures
MORE BOOKS:
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Grammar (اردو گرائمر):
  • Urdu - Qawaid Urdu - by Abdul Haq - Published 1914 - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Sarf Wa Nahu Urdu - Maulvi Muhammad Ashraf Fazli - Read / Download
  • English - Urdu: An Essential Grammar - Read

Imla (املا):
  • Urdu - اردو املا (Rasheed Hasan Khan) - Download
  • Urdu - Islah wa Talafuz Imla (Talib Hashimi) - Download

Poetry (شاعری):
  • Urdu - اردو شاعری کا سیاسی و تاریخی پس منظر (Syed M. Abul Khair Kashafi) - Download
  • Urdu - Jadeed Ilm ul Arooz - Prof. Abdul Majeed M.A. - Read or Download​

MukhtasarNaweesi (مختصر نویسی):
  • Urdu - Urdu Mukhatasar Naweesi (Noor Ahmed Shad) - Download

Lexicon / Dictionaries (لغات):
Teacher training (for teaching Urdu) (اردو زبان کا طریقہَ تدریس و ھدایات برائے مدرسین):
  • Virtual University, Pakistan course EDU411- Teaching of Urdu تدریس زبانِ اردو - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Teacher training notes for year 2 Urdu - Download

Urdu learning books for Bangla speakers:
History of Urdu (تاریخَ اردو):
  • Ahd e Usmani Me Urdu Ki Taraqqi عہدَ عثمانی میں اردو کی ترقی - Dr. Sayyid Muhiuddin Qadri Zor - Read / Download
  • Bihar Me Urdu Zaban o Adab Ka Irtiqa بہار میں اردو زبان و ادب کا ارتقاء - Read / Download
  • Dastaan E Tareekh Urdu داستان تاریخ اردو (published 1938) - by Qadri, Hamid Hussain - Read / Download
  • Dastan Zuban Urdu داستانَ زبان اردو - by Sabazdari, Showket - Read / Download​
  • Muqadma Tareekh Zuban Urdu مقدمہ تاریخ زبان اردو - Dr. Masood Hussain Khan - Publication date 1954 - Read / Download
  • Panjab Mein Urdu Adab Ka Irtiqa: 1849 se 1914 Tak - پبجاب میں اردو ادب کا ارتقاء - Read / Download
  • Riyasat e Maisoor Me Urdu Ki Nashv o Numa ریاستَ میسور میں اردو کی نشو نما - Dr. Habeebunnisa Begam Waliullah - Read / Download
  • Tareekh e Zaban o Adab e Urdu تاریخ زبان و ادب اردو - Sagheer Ahmad Jaan - Read / Download
  • Tareekh Zuban Urdu  تاریخ زبان اردو - by Shamsuallah Qadri (Published 1925) - Read / Download
  • Urdu Nasr Ke Irtiqa Me Lahore Ki Khidmaat: Tahqeeqi o Tanqeedi Jaaiza - Naseem Rahman اردو نثر کے ارتقاء میں لاہور کی خدمات - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Urdu Adab ki Tahreekain اردو ادب کی تحریکیں (Dr. Anwar Sadeed) - Download
  • Urdu - Urdu Ki Taraqqi Mein Auliya e Sindh Ka Hissa اردو کی ترقی میں اولیاءَ سندھ کا حصہ - Read / Download

Idioms / Mahawarat محاورات:
  • English - Khazna-e muhawart; or, Urdu idioms - by Phillott, Douglas Craven, 1860-1930 - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Mahawarat E Niswan Wa Begmat Ki Khas Zuban (Muhammad Tameez Lakhnavi - Published: 1930) - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Urdu Mein Qurani Muhawarat (Dr. Shamim Nakhat, Ph.d Thesis, 1972) - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Zarb ul Imsal wa Muhawarat (Dr. Salah ud Din) - Download

Misc:
  • English - Learn Urdu through English - Download
  • English - The Urdu self-instructor or Ataliq-i-Urdu - by Maulvi Laiq Ahmad (published in 1899 to assist the European settlers in Indo-Pak subcontinent in reading and understanding the Urdu language) - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Naya Urdu Nisab - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Qurani Urdu (an overview of Quranic words used in Urdu and poetry related to that) - Col. Aashiq Hussain - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Urdu ka Asaan Qaida اردو کا آسان قاعدہ - Download
  • Urdu - Urdu Zuban Aur Adab - by Dr. Masood Husain - Publication date 1959 - Read / Download
  • Urdu - Urdu Zubaan Aur Uska Rasim E Khat - by Razwi, Syed Masood Hassan - Publication date 1948 - Read / Download
  • Urdu - اردو زبان کے نئے تیکنیکی زرائع اور امکانات - by ڈاکٹر خواجہ اکرام - Read / Download​