Description

This course is taught by Graham Sommers, a Latin and Hebrew instructor for the Davenant Institute and developer of Hebrew tools like Picta Dicta and short stories. This course is for total beginners. It is built around learning to read fun and easy Hebrew stories written for newcomers to Hebrew. Grammar is covered step by step. Students will learn to speak, read, and write in simple Hebrew. Vocabulary is acquired through Hebrew Picta Dicta, a new online tool which introduces words through hand-drawn color images. Instead of memorizing English equivalents, students learn to associate the image directly with the Hebrew word. Active elements of language acquisition are emphasized from the very beginning: students will compose in Hebrew and answer basic questions in Hebrew about the stories they read. Students learn to read unpointed Hebrew prose by listening to an audio recording of the narrative. Finally, students will work their way through the Communicative Hebrew lessons produced by Aleph and Beth which provide an immersive approach to learning the language. Class time is spent exercising the skills of listening, reading, writing, and speaking. It takes places over the course of 10 weeks, with a weekly 1.5 hr online class; expect 6 – 8 hours of homework a week.

You can view the syllabus here.

Runs from 4/12-6/18/21