Learning Hebrew is an important aspect to making a successful aliyah. In a comment left to one of my previous blog posts, Batya Medad wrote: "We've been in Israel since 1970 and can't imagine living any place else. Hebrew is the key." Also Nefesh B'Nefesh lists Hebrew as the #1 most important thing for finding employment in Israel. The following are 8 Hebrew language resources that I have found helpful. Please note that I already have a basic grasp of Hebrew (i.e. how to read Hebrew text, basic vocabulary, etc). These resources have helped me to build upon those basic Hebrew language skills.
1. Index cards.
Most of us have not used index cards since high school. I don't know of any better way to reviewing Hebrew vocabulary and phrases than index cards. They are easily carried around for spontaneous review and can be sorted.
Rosetta Stone is a popular software program that "uses a combination of images, text, and sound, with difficulty levels increasing as the student progresses, in order to teach various vocabulary terms and grammatical functions intuitively, without drills or translation" (Wikipedia). Rosetta is used to train U.S. Army and State Department personnel before deployment to foreign countries.
I take notes while I go through each lesson and later transpose them to index cards for review. Rosetta is great for expanding and reinforcing vocabulary and for learning grammar essentials.
3. Pimsleur
The Pimsleur method is a series of audio CDs to help build conversational Hebrew skills. Instead of teaching pure vocabulary and grammar like Rosetta, Pimsleur teaches you how to have conversations. For example, Rosetta teaches you how to say "I prefer the red dress over the blue dress" while Pimsleur teaches you "Here is 5 shekels for the beer." In my mind, both Rosetta and Pimsleur are necessary. Each teaches the student a different skill.
Both Rosetta Stone and Pimsleur comes in 3 levels and can be bought through Amazon's website.
4. Reshet Bet and the Israel Radio Toolbar
A big challenge to being functional in Hebrew is learning how to understand native Israelis when they speak. Listening to Israeli radio, such as Reshet Bet's "Hayom Haze," is a great way to attune your ear to the native Israeli's Hebrew. Hayom Haze, recorded twice daily, can be listened to on demand over the internet (see links to Hayom Haze on Tsvi Sadan's website).
The "Israel Radio Toolbar" for Internet Explorer is an excellent tool for listening to Reshet Bet and other Israeli radio stations. You can also watch Israeli TV and the Knesset live using the toolbar.
Arutz Sheva is an Israeli media network affiliated with the Religious Zionist movement. However, even if you don't associate yourself with Religous Zionism, Arutz Sheva's podcasts in Hebrew are great for downloading and listening to radio programs on the go. For example, I listen to a show by Yehudit Fogel on advice for families. I listen to the show in the car and it has helped me tremendously to understand native Hebrew.
I do not know of any other source of downloadable podcasts in Hebrew. Please let me know if you know of other sites with downloadable content.
6. Lo Lifnei Hayeladim
"Lo Lifnei Hayeladim" is an Israeli sitcom similar to Saturday Night Live. It is shown on Israeli TV at "Arutz 10" and is fantastic because it displays Hebrew subtitles underneath. The subtitles help me follow what the characters are saying when I don't understand them orally. Since the show is comprised of short skits, I have learned vocabulary specific to various types of situations, such as vocabulary for job interviews. Every episode ever aired is available online. The downside of this show is that the skits are not always clean.
Hamatchil is a weekly newspaper with articles relating to world news, Israel news, and Jewish holidays. It is designed for non-native speakers and is written in easy Hebrew with nekudot and definitions after hard words. Reading this newspaper is excellent for building vocabulary, especially vocabulary relating to contemporary issues.
Rav Chaim Sabato is a Cairo-born Israeli rabbi who studied in Mercaz Harav and founded the Hesder yeshiva in Maale Adumim. He has four popular novels in Hebrew that are easy to read, several of which have been translated into English.
I am currently reading his second novel, Tiyum Kavanot, which is a moving account of his experiences as a soldier in the Yom Kippur War. It is a great book and I highly recommend that you read it. It has been translated into English by Toby Press and is titled Adjusting Sights.
For links to other Hebrew learning resources, see Jacob Richman's "Learn Hebrew Sites" and Nefesh B'Nefesh's "Ulpan and Hebrew Learning Resources Online."
I really like the Rosetta Stone approach. I agree about using it to and reinforce expand vocabulary. I sometimes "hear" the computer in my head reminding me of the language. I wish it were a little stronger on the grammar end but that's why there are other resources, like the ones you list.
ReplyDeleteI use Rosetta Stone through an online school and I really do think it's worth the time, money and effort. I got it through the school's website - http://www.cbcwebcollege.com where it was only $180 per year. It's a little different than buying the disks but it also provides 24/7 access to Hebrew and all the other 30-some-odd languages they have now at no extra charge. That's handy because I have been curious about some of the other languages to see if they easier or harder to learn.
Anonymous, thanks for the comments and telling us a "cheaper" way to access Rosetta Stone. I think that the price of Rosetta ($480 for all 3 levels) turns off a lot of people from using it. $180 per year is much more reasonable! Chag Kasher V'Sameach!
ReplyDeleteThere's also 'English Hebrew by Subject' a new book and CD for boosting your vocab and self-expression. Its very practical and full of useful terms, especially for Olim. You can see a sample chapter and listen to the CD on www.engheb.com. They also have a free mailing list with very good monthly phrase sheets.
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Sarah - Thank you for sharing! I am going to check that website out right now.
ReplyDeleteSarah - I just looked at the book on the website. It is awesome! Just the type of thing I was looking for. I am going to order it (I hope you can get it in the U.S.).
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