Beginners’ Hebrew language acquisition course for children

The course is built with practicality and usefulness in mind. The areas of interest are interconnected and relevant to our daily lives. Right from very early on in the course, the participants will acquire the ability to carry on a conversation on various topics. Using Ivritli’s unique method, the participants will find themselves communicating freely while gaining confidence in the group setting.

The lessons will be conducted in Hebrew only, making creative use of various tools to make the language readily accessible.

Graduates of this course will master basic vocabulary - the part most vital for effective communication. They will be able to express themselves in coherent sentences, holding a basic Hebrew conversation. The language course provides children with the indispensable fundamentals for proceeding further into the Hebrew speaker courses.

The main gateway for children taking their first steps in the Hebrew language.

The course is suited for students who speak no Hebrew at all and those who have basic comprehension but can’t speak fluently.

The division in this course is into three learning groups:

Preschool - for ages 3-5

Junior - for ages 6-10

Teens - for ages 11-16

Over the course of the year, the students will learn new fundamentals of the Hebrew language - nouns, adjectives, and sentence structure. All this will be done with emphasis on fluency and on how the students express themselves.

The lessons will be conducted in Hebrew only, making diverse use of various aids to make the language readily accessible.

Using Ivritli’s unique method, the students will find themselves communicating and expressing themselves right off the bat while feeling free and gaining confidence in the group setting.

The language course provides students with the indispensable fundamentals they will need to advance into the Hebrew-speaker courses.

Our Method

The course is divided by Hebrew level and by age and level and adapted according to the student’s cognitive development.

Every age group has several study units structured for systematic, gradual progress. In each unit, the students will meet a new story with exceptional, captivating characters. Along with these characters, the students embark on an age-appropriate quest to discover a new topic with an ever-growing vocabulary. The students will learn to identify with the characters through the story and to express themselves. In each session, they will practice expressing themselves while developing their reading and writing skills.

During the school year students will learn new fundamentals of the Hebrew language - nouns, adjectives, and sentence structure. All this will be done with an emphasis on fluency and on expressing oneself on about day to day topics.

The teachers at Ivritli will, with every lesson or experiential activity, teach new linguistic skills, all of which are important for the student’s development. These skills are divided according to various fields, laying the foundation for reading and writing skills.

The method we use at Ivritli is based on multidisciplinary education. Students learn Hebrew through the study and investigation of various knowledge areas, all of which have been specially adapted to suit their stage of development.

The ideas at Ivritli are derived from the worlds that children and adults inhabit. They are based on experiential education. Through active participation, students can combine the acquisition of knowledge and skills with enjoyable, enriching, and creative learning.

During the sessions at Ivritli, we encourage association-based games, vision, and use of a broad world of similes thereby stimulating the students’ curiosity and encouraging creative thinking.

The classes at Ivritli develop thought, creativity, and imagination. They allow the students freedom of action.

The environment we create at Ivritli helps build the students’ personalities and ties Hebrew studies into an enjoyable, invigorating, and constructive experience, in addition to instilling Israeli values and customs.

So how does it all work in Ivritli’s sessions?

The sessions consist of a range of activities all following the same structure and delivered in small groups.

The students approach Hebrew through everyday functions. It’s a fun method, helping to teach the language through multisensory stimulation. This way, using the useful words we’ve learned from one lesson to the next, the language filters into those everyday situations we all experience, becoming a naturally flowing part of our vocabulary.

During the sessions at Ivritli, the teachers remain attentive, the teachers remain attentive to the students while working within a clear lesson framework with its share of rules and restrictions. They navigate the sessions according to whichever subject matter arises spontaneously in the virtual classroom.

The students at Ivritli have choices. The atmosphere and the conversation legitimize new ideas and innovative ways of expressing oneself so that the students feel that their voices are being heard.

What values do we instill during Ivritli’s activities?

Development of grammatical awareness and love of the Hebrew language
Teaching a healthy lifestyle
Encouraging and motivating toward independence, creativity, and achievements
The joy of learning, investigation, curiosity, and initiative
Logical thought
Human and family dignity
Solidarity and helping others, social engagement and commitment to nature

Learning and functional skills in the various areas

Linguistic proficiency: vocabulary and verbs, syntax and morphology, sentence types
Development of listening and verbal skills
Phonological awareness and alphabetic knowledge
Writing opportunities
Graphomotorics / creativity
Music
Didactical games
Art
Social emphases: conversational skills, listening skills and verbal skills, pragmatics

Acquisition of literacy and consolidation of reading fluency
Reading comprehension
Encouragement of reading
Development of writing skills and written expression
Combining erudition in various knowledge-based fields
Broadening the students’ minds and knowledge