There are many reasons to learn Hebrew. Perhaps you are traveling to Israel and want to be able to speak with the locals. Many Jewish people do not speak the language and want to learn to feel closer to their roots. Maybe you just think the language is interesting and want to add it to your list of skills.
But what is the best way to learn Hebrew? You have many options available, including online classes.
Learn Hebrew Online
One of the best ways to learn anything, including a foreign language, is by learning it online. Online courses provide the flexibility that you just can’t get with in a person course. You can learn anywhere at any time, no matter your schedule is like.
Online schools offer a variety of resources, from video lectures to online discussions with students from all over the world. Many start at all different times of the year, not just on a set university schedule. You also have the luxury of being able to fit the courses around your life, not the other way around. Finding an online school can be difficult at times, but luckily, there are many resources available for studying Hebrew.
About the Rosen School of Hebrew
You’ve decided that learning Hebrew online is the best option for you but what is the best way to learn Hebrew online? One option is the Rosen School of Hebrew. This is an online school that is partnered with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. This makes the courses unique from other online offerings because they are fully accredited. This means that students can take the courses for college credit.
The Rosen School is named for Aharon Rosen. He is considered to be a pioneer of teaching the Hebrew language. When he immigrated to Israel in 1924, he organized classes for new arrivals. With his knowledge and love of the language, he was able to teach many students Hebrew in a way that was enjoyable for them.
This online school offers language courses in Modern Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew, Biblical Greek, Biblical Aramaic, and Yiddish. Students can also take Holy Land Studies, Jewish Studies, and Bible Studies. Every course is designed to help people learn about Jewish language, history, and culture. Whether or not you are a Jewish person, you can learn a vast amount from this one site.
This school has dozens of certified teachers. They come from a variety of backgrounds. Many of the Modern Hebrew teachers are native speakers. They have taught Hebrew at universities, elementary schools, high schools, and private language schools all over the world. They have published teaching books, articles, and dictionaries related to Hebrew. When you take any course with any teacher, you can trust that you will be getting the highest quality language education possible.
How to Learn Online
Online courses with the Rosen School have three main components to help you learn: live video lessons, forum discussions, and academic resources.
The live video lessons are taught by certified teachers. Each course will have about 2 hours per week of video lessons, where you will be able to listen to and interact with your teacher in real-time. Many of the teachers are native speakers or professors at schools in Israel, though you will also learn from teachers in other parts of the world. Each one has a passion for the languages and subjects they teach, something that is apparent to past students.
Every class also has a discussion forum. In these forums, students are able to speak with one another, consult with their teacher about additional questions outside of the live lessons, share blogs and articles, and more. This is a great way to gain additional practice. It’s also a great way to meet people from all over the world!
The Rosen School also has a huge library of online resources available to all of their students. Students will be able to watch and listen to previously recorded lessons, watch educational videos, use online dictionaries, read articles and blogs, and more. Because this school is associated with The Hebrew School of Jerusalem, you know that every resource offered is a valuable one.
Levels 1-3
Anyone who has never studied Hebrew before is going to want to start at Level 1, of course. This course is going to go over the basics of the language, beginning with the vowels of the alphabet. If you didn’t already know, Hebrew does not use the Latin alphabet, as English does, so you truly will have to start at square one when learning the language.
In this course, you will also learn over 400 vocabulary words, including the words you’ll need to introduce yourself, talk about your family, and do things like order a cup of coffee.
Level 2 will teach you how to speak Hebrew in different contexts. You’ll go over what to do at a restaurant, a clothing store, the doctor, the market, and many other places. You will also learn how to speak about the weather. You will build on your knowledge of nouns and verbs from Level 1 and discover more about the forms they take in Hebrew.
You’ll learn aspects of Israeli culture as well, such as what a typical Israeli breakfast is. By the end of the course, you’ll have more than 350 new vocabulary words and will have developed your reading skills.
Level 3 is all about grammar and Israeli slang. This course has a higher focus on Israel than the last two. You’ll get a review of the present tense verbs you already know and then move right into learning the past tense.
The classes aren’t just focused on grammar; you’ll read letters students wrote to their parents, watch television programs, and read stories in order to learn not only new vocabulary and grammar concepts but cultural aspects as well. At the end of this level, you will know an additional 250 words as well as grammatical concepts such as conditionals and direct/indirect speech.
Levels 4-6
Level 4 has a lot of reading, so you will definitely be able to practice your alphabet skills. You’ll read and listen to songs, get exposed to Hebrew poetry, and read stories in order to learn more about Israeli culture. Be sure to review your present and past verb forms because you’ll be learning the future tense in this course. You will also learn about nominal clauses and how to use cardinal and ordinal numbers. 300 more words will be added to your vocabulary by the end of the course.
If you want to learn more about Jewish history, to get closer to your roots or just for fun, Level 5 will be an interesting course for you. You’ll get to practice all your skills in this course: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. You’ll read more poetry and learn more songs in between learning about grammatical elements such as impersonal clauses, the comparative, and prepositional inflections.
You will learn more about the history of Israel and about different social groups, as well as proverbs and expressions. This course will really make you feel more at home with both Hebrew and Israeli culture. You’ll have 300 more vocabulary items when you’ve reached the end of Level 5.
By this point, you have nearly 2,000 vocabulary words under your belt. Level 6 is an advanced course that will expose you to more Hebrew literature. The texts you will read are written at a native speaker level. Grammar concepts you will go over include the directional suffix, gerunds, demonstrative pronouns, the possessive suffix, conjunctions, and more.
Topics of the texts you’ll read include agriculture and painting. You won’t just be reading complex texts, though, you’ll continue to get exposed to more songs and poetry. This course will help you work on complex sentence structures that incorporate all of the different grammatical elements you’ve learned up to this point.
Levels 7-8
The last two courses are for advanced learners. The lessons in Level 7 are less about explicit grammar instruction and more about immersing yourself in the culture, literature, and history of Israel. You won’t just be reading either; you’ll get to practice your comprehension and writing skills by writing summaries of newspaper sections in Hebrew.
Education, religion, art, economics, and history are all topics you’ll find covered in the texts you read. Cultural topics include volunteering in Israeli society, money, methods of schooling, and feminism. You’ll also read about important issues like global warming, psychological treatments, and seasonal depression. Additionally, you’ll learn about the festivals of Purim and Shvat. At the end of this course, your understanding of Israeli culture and history will be greatly improved, along with your language skills.
The last course offered is Level 8. Once you’ve completed this course, you should be able to read and write, browse the internet, and speak about many different topics like a native speaker. Everything you have learned in Levels 1-7 will be implemented in this course. The exact content of the course is constantly changing, as students read articles and watch news related to current events related to religion, society, science, the environment, art, politics, and more.
Once you are finished with all eight courses, you will have enough knowledge to be able to interact with native speakers, in writing and in person.
Additional Classes
What is the best way to learn Hebrew and Jewish history and religion? In addition to Modern Hebrew, The Rosen School of Hebrew also offers Biblical Hebrew. These five courses can be taken alone or in addition to your Modern Hebrew classes to gain a better understanding of the language, as well as the Jewish religion.
There are five courses, Beginner through Expert. Keep in mind that the courses have some overlap; both Level 1 of Modern Hebrew and Biblical Hebrew Level A start by going over the alphabet. There are also some grammatical and vocabulary differences between Biblical Hebrew and Modern Hebrew, though not to the point of being confusing.
If you have gone through the Modern Hebrew courses and are eager to learn more about Jewish history and religion, this is definitely a good way to do that. Each of these courses offers 3 credits from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
What Students Think of the Courses
The responses from previous students at the Rosen School of Hebrew are overwhelmingly positive. Students love that they get to learn from a live teacher, all from the comfort of their own home or office. One student says that the courses are “challenging” but that they offer a lot of content and have helped him improve his Hebrew. Another says that he enjoys the design of the program and that he appreciates how conscientious all of the teachers are.
One thing that comes up in many reviews are the available resources in the classes. There are video lectures and many students enjoy these, while others have an easier time learning from the written lessons and worksheets. Others love that they are able to speak with other students, as well as their teacher, in the online forum so that they can ask questions and get additional practice with their Hebrew.
Decades of Educational Experience
What is the best way to learn Hebrew? From instructors who are passionate about the language, whether you are learning from them in person or online. The Rosen School of Hebrew was founded in the name of a man who volunteered to organize classes for immigrants and who had a deep love of teaching Hebrew. You will find that same love of the language from everyone involved in the school.
The Rosen School for Hebrew has enough courses in Modern Hebrew to provide you with 16 college credits from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Even if you aren’t looking for college credit, it’s a great way to learn Hebrew from scratch.
You can start at the beginning, with the alphabet, and end up being able to discuss a variety of complex topics. You’ll also be able to learn about authors, poets, and singers you may not have learned about otherwise. If you want to learn Hebrew while also learning about the culture behind the language, check out The Rosen School for Hebrew today.