I AM A HUGE FAN OF HER TEACHING STYLE. The homework is always focused on what I’m currently struggling with or my specific interests about Hindi related culture. As someone who also has learned Hindi as a second language, Maggie has insight on what’s it’s like to learn the language. She is able to have explanations and conversations about language idiosyncrasies and grammar that are tough to have with native speakers since they often take these concepts for granted. — SHAN SIKDAR
REALLY APPRECIATED HER FLEXIBILITY. I have more of an eye toward learning Urdu since my wife is Pakistani and Maggie was happy to discuss Hindi/Urdu differences & take that all in stride. I’ve learned a lot here! — CORY SMITH
SHE HAS STRONG ROOTS IN TEACHING THE STRUCTURE OF LANGUAGE; rather than what I did at first, which was try to learn from a friend who was a native speaker but hadn’t taught before. Maggie encourages conversation, and assigns just enough homework to keep your practice up so you can improve. She also has really good resources you can use, which help you learn outside of lessons, and was proactive in finding another student I could share lessons with, which was helpful for both group conversation, and sharing costs. She genuinely cares about sharing knowledge and helping you reach your goals, will encourage you to keep practicing and learning, and is always available for questions. — AMANDA SHORE
SHE IS INCREDIBLY KNOWLEDGEABLE, EXTREMELY PATIENT, AND HER GOOD HUMOR GOES A LONG WAY when I am struggling with a new grammatical concept! Maggie really pushed me to dive straight into learning to read and write Devanagari (I had originally only wanted to boost my conversational ability), and I’m so grateful for her guidance. Maggie goes the extra mile to make sure that questions are answered, and is open to teaching Hindi in a variety of ways: conversation, books, movies, and even eating at Indian restaurants together! I plan on continuing to work with Maggie as long as I am a student in the Boston area.
— KATE LONG
Maggie has been an amazingly engaging and caring teacher. Having started just six months ago as a non-heritage speaker, I can feel that I have made much progress in reading, speaking, and writing both Hindi and Urdu. What has worked well for me is that, in addition to explaining grammar and linguistic conventions clearly, Maggie is keen on providing cultural immersion in her assignments and class discussions. I am learning just as much about South Asian literature, pop culture, and idiosyncrasies as the languages themselves. Maggie’s classes are thus super enjoyable, and the materials stick. She’s also just so much fun to talk to. Highly recommend!!
Maggie Ji is an amazing Hindi instructor! I’ve learned so much from her in just the past 2 years. She is not only incredibly kind, organized, and thoughtful, but she is also so talented at what she does. She has a thorough command of Hindi grammar and vocabulary, and uses songs, video, texts, and other methods in each lesson. She has adeptly tailored our lessons to be suitable for both my husband (conversationally fluent) and me (a novice), such that we both learn so much in each lesson. When I started, I knew only a few kitchen-related words, and now I would consider myself able to understand and speak in a basic conversation as well as able to read simple texts. I am so grateful for her tutelage and can’t wait to continue taking lessons from her for as long as we are able to!
It is such a joy to take Hindi lessons from Maggie Ji. I take them with my wife, and even though we are at different levels, Maggie Ji is such a gifted teacher that her lessons are meaningful, fun, and educational for the both of us. She both knows how to get the most out of the right textbooks and audio tutorials, but has a ton of helpful worksheets that she has designed as well. In addition, she mixes in fun music videos + films & discussions to augment her teaching. Given her background as a Hindi/Urdu professor and her studies in this field, I appreciate when she sprinkles in cultural and linguistic/history lessons. She is a connoisseur and has a deep appreciation of all things South Asian, and some of our most fun Hindi lesson take place while enjoying a delicious Indian buffet lunch! I highly recommend Maggie Ji as your Hindi/Urdu teacher.
I took Hindi lessons with Maggie for a little over 2 years, and I’m still in regular contact with her. She’s an incredible teacher, who really pushes you to get the most out of each lesson. When I came to her, I had taught myself to read and write Devanagari script, but I couldn’t understand any Hindi, but by the end of the first year, I was able to understand my Hindi-speaking friends at a beginner/intermediate level. As a couple of other folks have said, Maggie understands the difficulty of learning Hindi as a second language, and there are some grammatical concepts that native speakers often struggle to explain. I remember a friend of mine looked over something I’d written and said, “that’s wrong.” When I asked him to explain what was wrong about it, he said, “I don’t know, it’s just wrong.” But Maggie takes the time to explain how sentence structure works, how the little nuances work and why they matter, and she makes the lessons FUN. I mentioned that I’d found an anime show overdubbed in Hindi, and the next lesson she’d made a whole lesson out of it. Talk about engaging with students and making it interesting!
Since taking lessons with Maggie, I’ve gone on to learn Nepali as well – while it’s a totally different language, there are a lot of similarities with Hindi from a grammatical perspective. I could never have picked up Nepali so quickly if it weren’t for her excellence as an instructor!! I can’t recommend Maggie highly enough as a language teacher – she has a great attention to detail, and she’s really committed to her students’ becoming proficient to their desired level!
I have had Maggie as a Hindi teacher for 2-3 years now. I am huge fan of her teaching style. She has a vast amount of worksheets, grammar charts, and lessons that she’s made herself and have been incredibly helpful. The exercises are a lot of fun and very engaging. The homework is always focused on what I’m currently struggling with or on my specific interests about Hindi-related culture. As someone who also has learned Hindi as a second language, Maggie has insight on what’s it’s like to learn the language. She is able to have explanations and conversations about language idiosyncrasies and grammar that are tough to have with native speakers since they often take these concepts for granted. I highly recommend lessons with Maggie if you’re interested in learning or improving your Hindi.
Maggie is an amazingly thorough and patient Hindi instructor. Working with her helped improve my vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation–and I always looked forward to going to class!
Really appreciated her flexibility. I have more of an eye toward learning Urdu since my wife is Pakistani and Maggie was happy to discuss Hindi/Urdu differences & take that all in stride. I’ve learned a lot here!
I like working with Maggie because she has strong roots in teaching the structure of language; rather than what I did at first, which was try to learn from a friend who was a native speaker but hadn’t taught before. Maggie encourages conversation, and assigns just enough homework to keep your practice up so you can improve. She also has really good resources you can use, which help you learn outside of lessons, and was proactive in finding another student I could share lessons with, which was helpful for both group conversation, and sharing costs. She genuinely cares about sharing knowledge and helping you reach your goals, will encourage you to keep practicing and learning, and is always available for questions.
Maggie approaches each student by inquiring on their language needs and designs plans for their success. I have been taking classes with her for a year and have been able to polish my grammar skills and learn about insights into South Asian culture. Maggie utilizes interactive approaches and learning methods like games and YouTube videos that are effective for working professionals. The resources she has have complimented this process and helped me see that learning language later in life does not need the “its too hard” stigma attached to it. Her patience combined with her encouraging attitude create a nurturing space for learning. Maggie also provides real world experiences to use Hindi-Urdu, with meet-ups and restaurant experiences in the Boston area. Highly recommend for those seeking a non-judgmental instructor who will guide you objectively in navigating languages that help you connect with millions worldwide
Maggie is a wonderful, patient teacher, and I have really enjoyed taking Hindi classes with fellow Americans dating or married to Indian people. I always feel comfortable to try new vocabulary or grammar rules I’ve learned in the encouraging atmosphere of the class. Learning a new language (and script!) in my 30s has definitely been challenging, but Maggie makes it fun with various games and casual conversation about our daily lives in Hindi. I also feel like Maggie and my classmates are a great support group as I navigate the differences between American and Indian culture with my in-laws!
I began studying with Maggie a few months ago as a newbie to the east coast. I drive 1.5 hours each way to take her class, and it’s worth it! Before the class, my only exposure to Hindi had been a few Pimsleur chapters and meeting my boyfriend’s parents. Now, after only a few months, Maggie has helped me get to the point that my BF assumes I understand more than I do when we are around friends and family! I think that level of success is because Maggie is flexible in terms of scheduling classes so our small group can always practice together despite our different schedules. She also provides various homework avenues that keep me interested and feel applicable. However, there is not so much homework that I feel burdened by it, and can use that time to do some creative Hindi learning on my own. The classes are light-hearted, but the atmosphere is safe for more serious discussions when I am trying to understand the culture around the language.
I have enjoyed working with Maggie. I am a slow beginner in Hindi, but she adjusts classes to meet my needs and interests. She finds various ways for us to use our Hindi and makes great suggestions for ways to practice outside of class. She is understanding and patient and finds a good balance between encouraging and understanding other demands in our lives.
I cannot recommend Maggie highly enough! I started working with Maggie in September 2013 and my Hindi has grown by leaps and bounds. She is incredibly knowledgable, extremely patient, and her good humor goes a long way when I am struggling with a new grammatical concept! Maggie really pushed me to dive straight into learning to read and write Devanagari (I had originally only wanted to boost my conversational ability), and I’m so grateful for her guidance. Maggie goes the extra mile to make sure that questions are answered, and is open to teaching Hindi in a variety of ways: conversation, books, movies, and even eating at Indian restaurants together! I plan on continuing to work with Maggie as long as I am a student in the Boston area.
Maggie is an inspired, patient teacher. She knows and imparts a lot more than book learning and gave me confidence to try out my beginners’ knowledge of Hindi right away. She also had many suggestions for additional ways to learn and practice, such as recommendations for Hindi DVDs. I highly recommend her!
She is absolutely amazing!! When I emailed her – she was able to meet me the following week. We met on a weekly basis to speak and review grammar. She is familiar with introducing Hindi in a systematic manner so the student progresses with ease. She was quite patient with me as I practiced speaking in Hindi. At the end of each session I knew my skills were improving and I am looking forward to practicing what I have learned on my trip to India.
I would highly recommend getting in touch with Maggie if you’re interested in learning Hindi!
After eight months living in India, where it was almost impossible to find a Hindi teacher, I went home to Boston for a month of vacation with plans to take Hindi classes twice weekly. The class I had signed up for was canceled due to low enrollment, but luckily Maggie was happy to help me out at the last minute. I had worked with two non-professional Hindi teachers in Gujarat (one was awful, the other is very nice and somewhat helpful, but not a natural language teacher). Ironically, it was easier to learn Hindi from Maggie than either of the native speakers.
Now that I have returned to India, I am missing the classes with Maggie. I not only managed to learn more quickly with Maggie, but I was also much better able to remember what I have learned a week or two after class. She is patient and lets you work on ideas for a period that is long enough for you to absorb the material but not so long that it is boring. She also suggested some helpful resources I am still using in India. I highly recommend Maggie for either short-term intensive or long-term lessons for fun or practical purposes.
I’ve been studying Hindi with Maggie in Cambridge for almost two years now, and I’ve found her to be a wonderful teacher. Maggie’s extensive knowledge and open, flexible teaching style have helped me progress at various stages of my study. She is excellent at explaining difficult concepts, and she listens carefully to students’ questions and needs. Maggie also brings her own curiosity to the classes, often taking the time between lessons to look for answer to more challenging questions about nuances of grammar or culture. I would highly recommend Maggie to any Hindi learner, at any level.
As someone who has had a particularly difficult time with my Hindi listening comprehension skills, I think there’s a lot to be said about the value of Maggie’s diction and pacing for beginner and intermediate learners. She’s definitely helped me up my game in that area. Also, as a grammar hawk, she is very helpful in weeding out any bad habits you might be developing before they have the chance to take root.
I absolutely love Maggie’s teaching style. She is incredibly adaptive and has a way of really ingraining the language in your head. I always leave my lesson feeling like I am truly learning Hindi. One great thing Maggie does is incorporate different types of learning into her lessons. She helps you find outside sources that can help you better your accent when practicing at home. She also provides beneficial charts for those that learn that way (I do!). I recently traveled to India for a summer position and Maggie adequately prepared me for my trip with the time I had. Even when I was in India learning from native speaking teachers, I missed Maggie’s style and looked forward to returning to it. Learning Hindi from an educated speaker that is also a native English speaker allows for a greater depth of study when discussing things like idioms, which takes an in depth knowledge of both languages to teach.
Maggie, I was just remembering how thrilled my dear grandparents were to receive your letters written in perfect Urdu and to talk to you over the phone in both English and Urdu! As natives of Lucknow, India, who took immense pride in their beautiful mother tongue and rich traditions, they were delighted that your stay with them in Pakistan, many moons ago, infused you with a passion for South Asian languages and inspired you to study these in depth at Brown University and Harvard–and to become an expert in them. Thank you so much for embracing their/our culture and heritage, and keeping it all alive through your learning and teaching!
I made a trip to India recently, and though I knew no Hindi, Maggie sent me on my way with a cheat-sheet of useful phrases and grammar information, including the most common verbs and conjugations that I would need for basic communication. Though my spoken delivery wasn’t great, I could begin to make myself understood because I had this critical resource. Thanks Maggie, for designing this for me.
We really appreciated Maggie’s recent help with translating a holiday greeting into Hindi, for use in a special video for our global clients. She expertly explained the subtle distinctions between certain Hindi words, and patiently advised us on which to use for our particular audience. She took the time to ensure that we wrote the devanagari script accurately. “Dhanyawad”–and “shukriya” too–and happy holidays to you, Maggie!