Learning a new language can be difficult. It can be even more difficult trying to find the right place, and way to learn it effectively like you should. The internet does a great job giving you options and advice, but it’s up to you to find one that fits your learning goals and pacing. A topic like the Hebrew Alphabet for beginners can seem intimidating. Especially for those of us that haven’t really studied in other languages since our early schooling. But thankfully, below you’ll find one of the best places to start learning today.
Here, you’ll find courses, teachers, and strategies that make learning the Hebrew Alphabet as well as the Hebrew language, in general, a more comfortable experience. This will be written to inform you on what you can expect as a student at The Rosen School of Hebrew
The Rosen School of Hebrew prides itself on its educational quality and the users themselves. Using the widely-acclaimed teaching method of Aharon Rosen. Aharon Rosen, a world-renowned Hebrew teacher, understood the problems that could arise from learning a language far from home and his method helped diminish potential language barriers with the help of passionate teachers who utilize the most effective way to teach new students and foreigners. You can pick from a variety of courses ranging from Yiddish, Hebrew for Kids, and Biblical Hebrew, to really refine your skills and fluency in the language.
How does the method work? You will be connected with your teacher once a week in a remote class along with all of your international classmates. Extensive academic content is there to help you gain a deeper understanding of your course work along with your peers, who you are able to discuss with on the forums. All of this for an affordable price that includes flexible class times.
The teachers are the ones who really make it shine. Each instructor is a native speaker with decades of experience. They’ll help you through any and all complications you may come across. You can take Biblical Hebrew, Modern, and Aramaic classes from Dr. Yosef Flavio Horwitz, who has 25 years of teaching experience across four different languages.
Interested in Yiddish? Dr. Shina Golani can help you with that. With many praised articles in academic and mainstream publications, she has enough experience under her belt to make you a fluent speaker and reader.
Adina Mor Haim brings her expertise from teaching as a professor at the Israel Institute of Biblical Studies to your home during classes as a Biblical instructor.
But what do the students say? They love it! Constant appreciation for the teachers’ patience is shown all across the board, with many claiming that they feel confident in their new language skills. The course design, pacing, and teachers themselves are seemingly admired by all that take the course.
Easing in the Beginners: Level 1
You may be anxious at the beginning of the course. Wondering how many topics it could cover and if you will actually like your teachers. Put those feelings aside. From here, you’re in good hands.
This first lesson will cover the basics, and give you a solid foundation to continue learning. You’ll learn your pronouns, numbers, the first 6 letters of the alphabet, prepositions, and verbs. This course has nine-teen different modules. Starting from you being able to introduce yourself and ending with you learning how to identify family members and household rooms correctly.
400 brand-new words will be learned after you take this class, and the daily discussions in the language will be very frequent to help nail down every syllable and make those listening skills really shine. Your ability to identify the Hebrew Alphabet in its entirety will be very apparent for you at the end of the class. You may even be shocked at how well you learned the subject so easily with teachers Tamar Weyl, and Shira Coghen-Regev having developed the course.
It only takes two hours a week for nine months to complete this course, just like it will for every remaining level. Don’t worry about regressing, as you have more than enough resources to make sure you’re still on top of everything. Plus, this level, as well as every other, counts as two credits at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem! How cool is that!?
Getting More Confident: Level 2
Ready to start reading fluently? Learn another 350 new words to round out your vocabulary? Teacher’s you’ve learned from that you know you can trust? You can find that here on Level 2.
Focusing on different conversations in many environments, you’ll gain your share of confidence from your gradual increase in fluency.
Written assignments are used to challenge your ability to properly learn complex sentences, and you can expect to see personal experiences arise in the classroom from your teachers detailing Israeli life. Adjectives, adverbs of time, and questions will be taught on this level. The basic building blocks from the previous level are built upon in this one. You may even be given strategies to use to help you overcome any troubles you have in future levels. If you loved Level 1’s teaching flow, then you will be comforted to know that the same teachers in Level 1 also designed this course.
Confidence that starts here rolls over to the next level, and you’ll start to realize how to break down all the problems you’re facing. Take the time to really practice what you’re learning here. You may not have much to go over now, but after each level it’s always a good idea to review and practice all prior material. The dedication will show to your teachers, and may even inspire your peers.
Becoming an Intermediate: Level 3
This is where the difficulty may ramp up, but so will your skills! The Beginner status wears off here, and the intermediate title is only deserved after proving you’ve learned everything below. Native Fluency isn’t here yet, but it’s closer than when you started.
Learning casual conversation in varying places can be exciting, and possible after sticking through this course. Cause and effect will be added into your vocabulary, pairing well with the conditionals of speech that are direct or indirect. You’ll be asked to give your opinion on the central issues of Israel. Thus, you will understand how each course is truly unique and adds more knowledge than you would realize right off the bat.
Past tense is also heavily stressed in the Level. Many modules are dedicated to present, past, and future tenses, with small breaks in between them dedicated to learning verbs. At the end of the course, you should have learned 250 new words. As stated, your casual conversation skills will broaden. You can stop for a friendly chat in a supermarket, or have a small talk over cuisine.
By now, a certain sense of motivation should carry you through to the next courses of the Rosen School of Hebrew. After all, you’ve gone from a Beginner to Intermediate speaker within three levels.
Advanced Speaking: Level 4
Israeli history becomes a strong center point for this course. You’ll learn about many figures, places, and historical events that seemingly fade into your lessons. Poetry is introduced here, as well as other literature pieces. Each of these helping you with developing complex sentences, expanding your conditionals, and bringing in new adjectives. This level will have an emphasis on future tense verbs, but your earlier introductions from the previous levels will help you here.
This level is different from the previous three, seeing how it was designed by a completely different teacher. Ouzi Rotem takes over, and introduces new ways to express complex thoughts and emotions. Extra practice lessons are available on-demand with other video courses for when you feel like you may need some extra help.
By now, you’re halfway through the entire course, and any self-reflection on how much you’ve improved will just bring in more drive to excel. You understand how the method works, and how reliable the teachers and your peers can be.
Expert Level Confidence: Level 5
Congratulations! You’ve officially reached Expert Level. Not so long ago, you were just starting out with introducing yourself and learning how to identify objects by their gender. This course is filled with exercises that bring you back to nouns, but be prepared to learn more complex sentences. Modal verbs and time expressions lessons will be taught in-depth here to really increase your abilities in this level before moving onto the next.
Be prepared for your literature pieces to really branch out. You’ll go over songs, popular poetry, and many other pieces of key literature that expose you to the different social groups in Israel. Recordings and many written and speaking assignments are to be found here. A crucial tool when developing your overall fluency. 350 new words will be added into your lexicon, so remember to really utilize these when you’re not studying. Practice doesn’t stop out of the classroom.
Every level after this delves deeper into the core values of Israel, and by now, you should know that the more you immerse yourself, the more material you have to practice with.
Native Speaking: Level 6
The reading assignments here will be geared towards native speakers. This will include more poetry, examples of short stories, and even agricultural projects. When reaching this level, you’ve officially had 1,700 words added into your vocabulary. An amazing number to have learned in just six levels. After this course, you should be more than confident enough to start up conversations on a variety of topics. Many may even be surprised at how well you are doing for someone who isn’t a native speaker, and only started learning a few years ago.
Understanding the verb groups, and their exceptions come into play on these courses. Complex sentence structure that was introduced in earlier levels is brought back, and you’ll be using all the rules you have learned to tackle the new set of problems that are constantly being presented. Personal experiences and situations will be brought up as a way to get you to practice the grammar you have learned up until this point. Don’t be shy about sharing. Any problems you have can be fixed by your peers, who are most likely as shy about it as you are.
Now is a really good time to practice every skill you’ve learned. Introducing yourself to media can pay around this time. Even though you may not be able to understand everything you hear or read, you can rest assured it will be covered in the following levels.
Getting Near the End: Level 7
Get ready to really put your skills to the test. Here, you’ll be diving in modern news surrounding Israel politics, mainly from newspapers that have been added into this level. Prepare to cover topics such as economics, Judaism, education, art, learning more notable public figures, and even digital communication.
Ouzi believes the resources used to teach in this level are critical to expanding your awareness on the Hebrew grammar. The modules in this course are going to be more challenging, but it’s something you should expect with the last level being directed towards a native speaking level. In module 12 “Psychology and Nature” is brought up. This really shows you how deep into the culture you will be going. Everything from feminism to animal rights is touched on in this course.
Fluency is right around the corner, and realistically attainable at this level. After all, by now you can really surround yourself with the people around you, and give opinions or insight that you would have been hindered to give only a few years ago.
From Beginner to Fluent: Level 8
You’ve done it! 8 levels later and you’re fluent in Hebrew! Now, you’ll be able to read things like books, magazines, and even newspapers perfectly. Keeping up with the news as it’s on TV will prove to be no challenge at all for you and your new language. Want to browse Israeli websites and even give your own opinion? You can!
Orna Zalmanova rounds off the last level, praising you for sticking with the course and imploring you to use what you’ve learned. The syllabus for this level is short, but makes sure that you’re updated on everything going on around you. Texts from society, religion and state, archaeology and sciences are reviewed in this level to help you with the policies for a final time.
It’s important to not stop here. You still have resources you can use, and it would be very wise to. Set aside some time to look through other classes offered by the Rosen School of Hebrew you would be interested in. Take Biblical next, or Yiddish. Continue to nurture the knowledge you’ve learned here. If anything, it’ll let you connect with people that you typically couldn’t, on a deeper level.
Getting Started Today
Confident that you’re in the right hands? Comfortable with the idea of being invested in another country? You have the opportunity to make it possible. From a multitude of resources that you can use out of the class-room, constant access to your peers, and understanding teachers, your journey into the Hebrew Language and Israeli culture can be a pleasant one.