Find your course
Answer a question or two and we’ll point you to the right course for the October–December Session.
Have you studied ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi with ʻŌlelo Online before?
Do you feel ready to move on from CH1A?
Which course did you take most recently?
Do you feel ready to move up a level?
Welcome! Every program teaches in its own order, so the best way to choose is a quick note to kumu Kaliko. Tell him where and how long you studied, and he’ll suggest the right course.
The course ladder
Most students take each course for two or three Sessions before moving up. CH1A repeats every Session, and students who feel they’ve completed it move on to CH1B.
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CH1A
Absolute Beginner Conversational Hawaiian
For true beginners. Week one starts with pronunciation and reading; by week eight you are writing your own paragraph-length stories. CH1A repeats every Session, and many students take it twice.
Mondays 12:00 pm HST2:00 pm HST5:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM1A, Fridays at 12:00 pm HST
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CH1B
Forming Solid Foundations, Learning Patterns
Builds on your CH1A pepeke foundations: ʻaike equational patterns, possession (a and o), telling time and position words.
Mondays 1:00 pm HST3:00 pm HST6:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM1B, Fridays at 1:00 pm HST
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CH2A
Beyond The Basics And Into Conversation
Take your Hawaiian beyond the basics: directionals (hunekuhi), “if… then” patterns, precise time-telling, and tricky words like loaʻa and lilo.
Tuesdays 12:00 pm HST2:00 pm HST5:30 pm HST
Optional lab: HM2, Fridays at 2:30 pm HST
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CH2B
Telling Stories, Developing Confidence
Connect your sentences into real storytelling with traditional Hawaiian literature and audio: hoʻo, compressed possessives, nō, naʻe and paha.
Tuesdays 1:00 pm HST3:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM2, Fridays at 2:30 pm HST
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CH3A
Sustained Conversations, Deeper Thinking
Longer, more natural Hawaiian, beyond simple sentences.
Wednesdays 12:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM3, Fridays at 5:30 pm HST
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CH3B
Building Proficiency, Expanding Domains
The next big step: real-world discussion, literature and culture, mostly in ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi.
Wednesdays 1:00 pm HST3:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM3, Fridays at 5:30 pm HST
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CH4A
Emerging Fluency, Long Discussions
Sharpen speaking, reading and writing with traditional literature and native-speaker recordings.
Thursdays 1:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM4, Saturdays at 10:00 am HST
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CH4B
Functional Fluency For Daily Speakers
Full immersion from day one: lively discussion, native-speaker recordings and traditional literature.
Thursdays 2:00 pm HST
Optional lab: HM4, Saturdays at 10:00 am HST
Papa Mele: Learning Hawaiian Through Hawaiian Song Analysis
For anyone who loves Hawaiian music or hula and wants to know what the songs really mean: poetic lyrics, kaona (hidden layers of meaning) and line-by-line analysis.
Thursdays 12:00 pm HST4:00 pm HST
Every course, at a glance
- Eight weeks, live on Zoom, one hour a week, taught by kumu Kaliko Beamer-Trapp. $80 per course for the whole Session.
- Pick any Section, any week. Most courses are taught at more than one time on the same day. Come to whichever Section suits you that week.
- Nothing to miss. Every Section is recorded, and the videos and class notes from all Sections are shared with every student in the course’s community Space.
- Optional labs are practice courses taught by kumu Kalani Stoleson, also $80 for the whole Session. Add one at checkout alongside your course.
- No textbook needed.
Times are Hawaiʻi Standard Time (HST); your own time is shown in brackets. Hawaiʻi doesn’t change its clocks, so if you live where Daylight Saving Time ends on November 1, classes will start one hour earlier for you from then on.