Before making Aliyah to Israel, my adviser said to me, “You know you can live in Jerusalem, work in English, and never have to speak Hebrew.”  And he was right. I could.

But I didn’t want to do that.   I didn’t want to be like so many people I have met that proudly say, “I have lived in Israel for 20 years and don’t speak a word of Hebrew.” I work as an English teacher, so the majority of my day is spent speaking English.   All the Hebrew that I’ve learned has been picked up along the way.   I could only order a taxi, give basic directions (as long as the land marks contain either traffic lights or bus stops! ), and make an appointment.

One day I noticed that the only Hebrew conversation I could have was with my friend’s four year old.  This was the moment that I decided that my language skills should be better than a four year old.  After deciding to make the move to Israel, I had to take the plunge and learn.  I found myself at a stage of my life in Israel being totally hindered by my lack of Hebrew.  I had to move forward with my language studies!

I knew it wouldn’t be easy for me at 58 not only finding the time & energy but also the right method of learning (My experience at ulpan was a short lived at only six days for a variety of reasons).  However I normally rise to a challenge, found the motivation, and started to take pleasure in communicating with others.  Knowing myself as well as I do, I know I will get frustrated by having to remember masculine and feminine, (so much easier if I was French) but I wasn’t going to be thwarted. I concentrated solely on conversational Hebrew. I found it fit my schedule better to learn online with a cup of tea next to me and my cat on my lap (it truly did help to encourage relaxation as I enter the world of the virtual classroom.)

I’m several weeks into my adventure and I’m hoping you wish me luck as this almost to be “Safta” immerses herself in Hebrew every Sunday evening with my class at Istudyhebrew.com

http://istudyhebrew.com/index.asp?q=20&kbid=1843

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I know from some student’s points of view it’s more conducive to learn from the comfort of their own home. You can completely disregard also the pressure of travel and parking.

However, as an English teacher, I was interested to hear a teachers prospective.

I telephoned Osnat who is qualified language teacher with over a decade of experience as a language teacher and is also a Hebrew teacher with Istudyhebrew.com. I wanted to specifically ask her opinion ons virtual classroom. She reminded me that in a normal teaching day, where time is taken from lesson preparation to travel, the teacher often arrives hassled and maybe not able to totally focus on the lesson.

As an online teacher, Osnat only has to walk to her computer with her lesson plan. When she logs into her computer to greet her students, she is fresh, relaxed and able to give 100% attention to her student’s needs.

Osnat teaches all levels of students with each group comprising of students on the same starting level, from extreme beginners who have no knowledge of Hebrew to advanced students. She explained how the students build up a relationship with their on line class, but because there is no webcam it overcomes the student’s initial embarrassment and they learn in a stress free environment.

The students support and encourage each other’s efforts. Since the classes are small, Osnat can customize the lesson to suit the individual students learning needs. I was struck by Osnat’s professionalism but also her friendliness. She put me at my ease and I could imagine her building up an instant rapport with her students.

When I asked her what the best part of her job was she didn’t hesitate for even a second with her response: “My student’s success hinges on knowing that they have achieved their goal in a relaxed and happy manner”.

Before my conversation with Osnat I was somewhat apprehensive about undertaking a Hebrew language course on line but now I’m excited. Knowing that my teacher will also be professional, personable, and able to help me through the mine field of learning Hebrew, and I am looking forward to sharing my experience with you.

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Ulpan Gordon Flyer 2009

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• We will open a class for beginners in the 1/9/09 4 days a week 5 months the price 3115 N.I.S.

• We also open a class for beginners in the 1/9/09 twice a week 5 months the price 1330 N.I.S.

• We also open a class for beginners in the 3/9/09 twice a week 5 months the price 1330 N.I.S.

• You can register and pay by the phone in order to keep a place.

• We don’t give any letter for the visa.

Our phone numbers are 03-5223095, 03-5223181

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Winthrop Consulting Partners, a leading education and career consulting firm based in the US and Israel, is now offering educational courses for English Speakers in Israel.

Courses available include:

• SECURING CAREER AND FINANCIAL SUCCESS IN ISRAEL
• HOW TO START YOUR OWN BUSINESS IN ISRAEL
• MINI MBA
• DECISION MAKING FOR LIFE
• NEGOTIATE YOUR LIFE TO A BETTER PLACE
• REAL ESTATE & BROKERAGE IN ISRAEL

All courses are taught by Harvard and Kellogg Business School Alumni, and will be held in Tel Aviv.

Contact Abby: abenton@winthrop-consulting.com for more information, and to be eligible for an early registration discount!

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Why am I writing a Hebrew Online review?

It’s no secret that the Hebrew language is challenging. It can be particularly challenging when immersed in Hebrew without any prior knowledge or preparation.  This is exactly where I found myself last year when I tried Ulpan Gordon as a tourist in Israel. Overwhelmed. Confused. Frustrated.

Lately I’ve been thinking about my experiences last year and remembering how anxious I was having just arrived in Israel.  At the time I found little assistance from Ulpan Gordon before I arrived and was starting my journey to learn Hebrew completely blindfolded.  I had never studied Hebrew before, couldn’t read or write it, and felt about as green as a pony in a pasture.

With my experiences in mind, I contacted the co-founder of Hebrew Online to ask if I could give his program a try as a solution to alleviate much of the anxiety new students at Ulpan Gordon feel.  Hebrew Online is a year long program that teaches Hebrew with native Israeli teachers via the computer.   I couldn’t think of a better way to help future students of  Ulpan Gordon than practice with a native Israeli speaker prior to arriving.

After discussing the situation with the founder, he was kind enough to allow me two weeks to try his online Hebrew learning program to determine if I felt it was something future students of Ulpan Gordon could use.

Let me just say that after only spending an hour with Hebrew Online, I wished that I had taken advantage of their distance learning program before I enrolled in Ulpan Gordon. It would have saved me a lot of headaches and anxiety.  Nothing will prepare you more for studying at Ulpan Gordon than Hebrew Online.

What classes are offered?

One of the great advantages of Hebrew Online is the ability to study in a level that’s best suited for you.

Some students may already have basic knowledge, such as having learned the aleph-bet in Hebrew school along with basic words as a child.  Other students know a great deal of Hebrew but are lacking grammatical structure.  Or, you could be like me and begin your studies barely knowing that the language is written from right to left.  Your specific level of learning will be determined prior to enrolling in a course. This way, you can take full advantage of your time in the course.

The different class levels include:

• Beginners Level A: Adult students of all ages (over 17), whose mother tongue is not Hebrew and do not speak, read or write Hebrew.
• Intermediates Level B: Adults who can hold a basic conversation in Hebrew, know the alphabet and can read and write short and simple texts.
• Intermediates Level C: Adults who can hold a basic conversation in Hebrew, read and write basic Hebrew and wish to improve their fluency and understanding skills.
• Advanced Level D: Adults who are able to conduct a conversation in Hebrew on different topics, read Hebrew texts such as newspaper articles and express themselves in Hebrew writing.
• Advanced Level E: Adults who are able to conduct a conversation in Hebrew on different topics, read Hebrew texts such as newspaper articles and express themselves in Hebrew writing.

My Five Immediate Impressions:

1. They’ve made distance learning so easy, it makes me wonder why I never tried it before.  If you’re not technologically inclined, the support center of Hebrew Online gladly takes all of the burden from you. I was contacted via phone not only to review the class I would be attending but also had an 30 minute online session the day before my first class to make sure all of my equipment was working correctly (computer, microphone, keyboard, etc).  Oh yes, and have I mentioned yet that they mail you a high quality headset and Hebrew letter stickers for your keyboard?
2. The instructor is very kind and patient. While you normally wouldn’t expect otherwise, I wanted to make sure to mention that the instructor I experienced was very professional and welcoming.
3. Time flies when you’re having fun! The class meets once a week for 1 hour sessions.  During my class sessions there were usually 4-5 other students in the class with me.  That hour goes fast when everyone is participating and enjoying themselves.
4. The course is structure very similar to an Ulpan in Israel. The style of teaching is based on the same moto as Ulpan Gordon, “Learning Hebrew with Hebrew”.  This means that the instructor will try to use English as little as possible.  I can’t stress how important this point is in the learning process.  Nothing helps a student of a foreign language more than being completely surrounded by their adopted language.  I was glad to see Hebrew Online also subscribing to this ideology.
5. Hebrew Online gives you a chance to not only sharpen your language skills but also boost your confidence as a foreign language speaker.  This is exactly what someone needs if their apprehensive about total Hebrew immersion in an Ulpan classroom setting (ah hem… like me).  It’s amazing how much more stressful learning Hebrew can be when you’re being stared down face-to-face by an Israeli teacher along side 30 other classmates.

Not sure if it’s right for you?

This is the most brilliant part of all.  You can get a trial lesson!  Fill out your contact info and a counselor with Hebrew Online will get in touch with you to determine your level of knowledge.  Take a trial run of a class to see for yourself.

I’ve tried free online Hebrew programs before and have left the site either confused, bored, uninspired, or all three!.  I’ve purchased books that did little to motivate me.  I’ve had the pleasure of attending Ulpan Gordon and understand now that instruction from a native Israeli is the absolute way to go.  And now that I’ve studied with Hebrew Online, I’m confident that I’ve found my alternative to Ulpan Gordon if I ever find myself too far away from the school.

You don’t have to take my word for it (although after having experienced the ups and downs of learning Hebrew, I hope you do).  I encourage you to contact Hebrew Online for more details.

If you’re serious about learning Hebrew or plan on attending an Ulpan in the future, click here.

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The types of people you’ll meet at Ulpan Gordon astound me every day.  The students at Ulpan Gordon are from all over the world and every single one of them are truly amazing… including Ann!

Would you like to answer a few questions about your Hebrew experience and be featured on ulpangordon.com? Contact me here!

1)  First things first; where are you from?
Vancouver, Washington, U.S.A.  (Not Canada). It is a small city just outside of Portland Oregon.

2)  How long have you been studying Hebrew and what was your biggest motivation to learn?

I began studying Hebrew in 2003 -a year long class- and continued somewhat sporadically -with a private tutor- about a year ago. I had been coming to Israel at least twice a year, and I was tired of only knowing three words and one sentence (Afo hasherutim?- Where is the toilet?)

3)  Which class did you take at Ulpan Gordon?

I took the first aleph class -but I joined in the middle- after four months. I could only stay for a month.  It was twice a week for two and a half hours- the class was mostly tourists and foreign workers.  It was like a mini UN!  There were three fellows from African countries;  a man from Italy; someone from Brazil; others from Argentina and Bulgaria.  One woman from France was the only new immigrant in our class.

4)  Walk us through an average class session…

Our teacher went slowly and patiently though the book with us.  He might begin by asking us how our weekend was – and calling on students to answer in Hebrew.  He would hand back our homework – we had some each class session.  The first class I joined there was an exam!  We did a lot of group reading of the passages – and then, mostly in Hebrew (but using English when we got too stuck), the teacher would ask us questions about the passage we read.  We were not encouraged to use vocabulary that was not from the lessons in the book.  The teacher spoke in familiar vocabulary -and wrote on the board a lot to emphasize the words and their spelling.

5)  What was your instructor like at Ulpan Gordon?

My instructor was fabulous – but he doesn’t usually teach the aleph class.  His name was Zookie.

6)  If you could give one piece of advice to future (or current) students of the Hebrew language, what would it be?

Be patient with yourself- Hebrew is so much fun but you need to stick to it.

7)  And finally, what’s your favorite Hebrew word?

Savlanut סַבְלָנוּת (which means “patience” or “be patient”)- but that is a word I learned years ago- not in the class.

Would you like to answer a few questions about your Hebrew experience and be featured on ulpangordon.com? Contact me here!

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1. Genderization!

In Hebrew the nouns, verbs, adjectives, pronouns… heck, just about nearly every word has a gendered conjugation.

The conjugation of verbs are difficult for every student of foreign languages but in Hebrew it can be particularly tedious.   I think the number one difficulty new students have when beginning to learn Hebrew is sorting out this complexity.

This is especially true for native English speakers who have tried very hard in recent years to eliminate gendered words completely from the language.  Remember that push for  political correctness?  We’ve rooted out gendered English words such as “waiter/waitress” and “steward/stewardess” and replaced them with the gender neutral “server” and “flight attendant”.

Be prepared to study hard when it comes to Hebrew verbs as the different forms are conjugated by gender, tense, and number (this means learning at least 12 different forms of each verb!).

2. Lack of vowels

Where, oh, where have the nikudote gone??

Someone once told me that native Israeli children stop reading Hebrew with nikudote (or vowels) by the time they’re in 1st grade.  Having just learned the Hebrew alphabet and barely read simple words with nikudote at the time, I felt sheepish knowing that a five year old child could read circles around me even WITHOUT the nikudote.

The reality is that when you’re first starting to read Hebrew, the nikudote are a big help.  Otherwise, you’re simply guessing the pronunciation of a word.  For example:  כסא (chair).  Transliterated, the letters are K-S-A.  If I had never heard this word before, I might guess the pronunciation as ‘kasah’, ‘kesah’, ‘kosay’, or any other combination of vowels.

But in fact, with the nikudote ‘ כִּסֵּא ‘ it’s now clear that this word is pronounced “keesay”.

Unfortunately, Hebrew is rarely written with the nikudote in every day life.  The challenge for new students is knowing how to pronounce a word without any vowels.  This can only be overcome by hearing the pronunciation of words and practice, practice, practice!

3. The letters ‘chet’ and ‘reysh’

Oye vey!  How do they pronounce those letters!

The gutteral “chet” seems to be universally difficult for students of the Hebrew language while “reysh” is especially challenging for native English speakers.

With chet, most students must learn to make its gutteral sound which is similar to the German ‘ach’.

As for ‘reysh’, native English speakers (especially Americans) tend to pronounce it as they normally would like in the words “round” or “really”.  But in fact, the Hebrew letter ‘reysh’ has a distinct pronunciation amongst native Israelis.  I can only describe the sound as originated at the back of the tongue instead of at the front.

Native Israeli friends of mine describes an American’s use of the letter “R” as sounding like a cartoon dog as opposed to the Israeli’s softer and more elegant pronunciation.

Again, practice makes perfect and the more you hear this sound in your ear, the easier it will be to emulate it.

4. Most Israeli’s Already Know English

If you’re studying Hebrew in Israel, it may seem like an advantage that most Israeli’s know a decent level of English.  But to students of the Hebrew language, it may serve as more of a crutch than an advantage.  Practicing Hebrew with native Israelis can be difficult when you can easily explain yourself in English to them too.

While at the ulpan, the instructor will speak with you completely in Hebrew and this may be the only other time in public that you will be forced to listen and speak only in Hebrew.  If trying to practice Hebrew with people in stores and shops, you may find it tempting to switch to English when things get difficult.  Alternately, Israelis will switch to English when they hear your mistakes in Hebrew and foreign accent.

A good tip to use when in Israel is to activate Hebrew subtitles on your television and dedicate an hour or two to listening and watching Israeli programs (especially the news).  This is a nice alternative if you aren’t quite at the “public speaking” level yet still need to hear native Israelis speak.

5.  Hebrew Words That Sound Like English

It’s confusing, to say the least, but be aware of several Hebrew words that sounds suspiciously like English but who’s meaning couldn’t be more different:

Pay special attention to the words I’ve highlighted. Me is who is he is she. Confused yet? I know I am.

Is there something particularly difficult for you that I haven’t listed here?  Add it to the comments section!

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During this week of Purim, Ulpan Gordon is only open on Sunday to celebrate the holiday [see the holiday closure schedule here].  The Ulpan follows the same holiday schedule set my the Ministry of Education which essentially means that all the children throughout Israel will only have school on this one day too.

Of course saying “school is in session” only on Sunday this week is an overstatement.  We only studied from 9:00 am – 10:30 am (a whopping hour and a half) and were then released to party… Purim style!

As an American, I immediately associate this holiday with Halloween although Purim is historical rather than mythical.   Purim is celebrated as a festival to commemorate the deliverance of the Jewish people from the evil Haman, as apposed to Halloween which is a festival to celebrate cavities in our teeth from too much candy.

Naturally, I didn’t wear a costume (because I simply couldn’t fit my Wonder Woman outfit in my suitcase) but Ulpan Gordon was kind enough to supply hats, masks, Hawaiian leis, and noise makers for all of us to wear.

The class was also instructed to bring a gift of cookies or sweets to trade with another student.  Another facet of Purim is to send gifts of food to friends and giving charity to the poor.   Some people bought candy bars or little gift baskets.  Other people baked cookies or bought their own “Oznei Haman” (אוזני המן, or, Ears of Haman).

Besides supply celebratory “gear” for the students to wear, they also set up tables scattered throughout the common area with drinks and cookies.  It’s traditional to drink sweet red wine on this day (it’s actually considered a good dead to drink as much wine as humanly possible), so Ulpan Gordon supplied several bottles for the students to consume along with soda, water, and juice.

Afterward I wandered down the street and fell into a parade of children following a brass band and showing off their Purim costumes.  Enjoy the video I took of this seemingly random and impromptu parade!

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The first photo set shows the corner of Ben Yehuda Street and Lasalle Street.  I’ve always found that it’s good to have a visual image of a location when trying to find it for the first time.

The second photo set shows the outside of Ulpan Gordon including the common area where students gather during breaks.

Ulpan Gordon
7 Lasalle St, Tel Aviv 63409
Israel

Have a photo of your own to add?  Post it in the forum!

Click to Enlarge

Photo Set #1:

Photo Set #2:

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