The emphasis in the early stages of the course will be on the acquisition of language, with five hours of elementary Tibetan per week. The teaching will be based primarily on Nicolas Tournadre and Sangda Dorje's Manual of Standard Tibetan (Ithaca, Snow Lion Publications, 2003). It is expected that, within the first two weeks, students will have grasped the essential features of Tibetan phonology, and learned the alphabet and the principles of syllable structure. The remaining eight weeks of term will cover lessons 1 to 10 of the Manual. Homework will consist of completing the grammar exercises that follow each lesson. There will also be a brief vocabulary test each week.

Students will also be expected to read a number of English-language works by way of general background to the region, and to attend a series of weekly lectures entitled “Introduction to Tibetan History and Civilisation”. They will also be encouraged to attend a series of introductory lectures on Buddhism, but in some years this series may be offered in terms other than Michaelmas. Throughout the six terms, attendance at the weekly presentations of work in progress by doctoral students of Tibetan Studies, and lectures given by visiting scholars, will be strongly recommended.