Naomi Stillman serves as the Associate Director of the NETA-CET program.
Naomi Stillman describes a Hebrew-learning program rich with technology tools.
Education can be a self-contradictory enterprise. We want students to be independent learners, but the very act of education means we believe we must impart knowledge and provide guidance. We strive to find the sweet spot in which we provide the right kind and amount of information, guidance and independent learning opportunities to help students to learn and ultimately master 21st century skills and the subject we are teaching.
This productive tension is very present in language education, where we shuttle between providing tools (grammar, information) and encouraging independent expression. To help students acquire and apply language skills we employ seemingly contradictory means – cultivating both individual learning and learning with peers, teaching grammar and content, providing closed and open exercises, using deductive and inductive approaches, reading “easy Hebrew” texts and authentic original texts and more. In this article we will explore how technology can support language learning and how we use interactive technology in the NETACET Hebrew program. The NETA-CET Hebrew program is a comprehensive Hebrew language program for students in grades 6–12, reaching students in over 120 schools worldwide. (For more information, or to request a temporary password, please go to www.neta.cet.ac.il.)
Individual learning
In the classroom, students have to keep up with the class or lose the thread of learning. But given a chance to learn on their own, students can study at their own pace and review until they “get it.” Interactive technology allows students to do just that and gives them greater responsibility for their own learning.
Example:
The NETA-CET books are full of texts and dialogues, and the majority of these are recorded. Until recently, students could only hear these recorded segments in class. Since the development of the digital books, students can hear these audio clips online (via the website) or offline (via the iPAD App). Students can listen as often as they need to, gaining understanding of the language and familiarity with the sounds of spoken Hebrew.
Learning Grammar
Grammar is an essential building block of language – but often the most intimidating aspect of language teaching and learning. In Hebrew, the verb system is notoriously difficult to master.
Example:
Our new tool, the Paalulan (Verb Machine) was developed to make verb study more user-friendly. Using the Paalulan, the student can type in a verb, in any tense, gender, or form. The wheel turns, and reveals the complete verb conjugation. To hear the verb pronounced, the student simply clicks on the speaker icon beside each form of the verb. The Paalulan also provides exercises for practice.
Content is Key
As important as grammar is, it is content and context that keep students interested and learning. Media such as video has a significant edge over printed material in enabling students to hear and see Hebrew in “real life.”
Example 1: Our books and online activities feature numerous short documentary films showcasing real Israeli teenagers. Students often become so engrossed in the story being told (i.e. the content) that they forget that they are “learning Hebrew”!
Example 2: For the first time, Hebrew students can learn current events in Hebrew from “real” Israeli news sources instead of news modified for learners. We select (and update regularly) interesting news items that are relevant to students and are not too long or difficult. Teachers can access lesson plans for different Hebrew levels.
Closed and Open Exercises
A closed exercise has one correct answer, generally a single word or a short phrase. (e.g., fill-in-the-blank exercise). An open exercise invites a longer answer. It generally involves a question that gives the student control of the response and may elicit thoughts, opinions, and feelings.
Closed exercises
It is a regrettable but inescapable fact that learning a language requires a certain amount of repetitive practice and drill. In an age in which we are repeatedly urged to make learning fun and to speak to students in their “native” digital language, worksheets are not the answer. Instead, interactive technology can be harnessed to make closed exercises more engaging.
NETA-CET’s website provides interactive grammar and vocabulary activities for different Hebrew levels. The activities are game-like, employing graphics and sounds to engage the students and motivating students to “win” by answering correctly. Students can progress through the activities at their own pace and repeat an activity as often as they like; they get immediate feedback on their answers.
Open exercises
At the same time, language learners need ample opportunities for open-ended expression, in writing and in speech. Technology offers modalities that were not available in the past.
Example: The NETA–CET digital books have built-in voice-messaging capabilities so students can send voice messages to their teachers and receive prompt feedback. We have also found that these voice messages create a kind of portfolio, providing students and their teachers and parents tangible (or audible!) evidence of their progress over the course of the year.
Deduction and Induction
In second language teaching we make use of generalizations, or rules, to make learning more efficient. Should these rules be explicitly taught, or should students infer them from encounters with many examples?
Deduction Studies show that simple linguistic structures (such as suffixes and prefixes in Hebrew verb conjugation) are best taught deductively (Bolozky, 2009). This means that the teacher spells out the linguistic phenomenon being learned and the students applies the rule to examples.
Example: The Paalulan “demonstrates” rules and patterns, providing templates and only afterwards asks students to apply the rules they have learned.
Induction More complex linguistic phenomena are better taught by “flooding” the students with examples and allowing them to “build” the rule by induction (Bolozky 2009).
Example: Interactive whiteboards allow us to visually emphasize examples by enlarging or highlighting relevant phrases. This helps students discern patterns and generalize rules.
There are many other ways in which NETA-CET uses technology to support Hebrew education. Two notable features are a customized LMS (learning management system) and the resources provided for Hebrew teachers. The complementary benefits of independence and interconnectedness apply to teachers in their own professional development. The website offers teachers a rich resource center, including an active teacher forum, online courses, and a rich variety of materials and activities. All these, and a robust menu of webinars on timely topics, allow teachers to study in a time and place most convenient for them and to connect with colleagues from around the world.
Hebrew teachers now have the opportunity to leverage the capabilities of technology to motivate students and encourage their mastery of Hebrew, with an emphasis on active communicative abilities. Even the limited sampling provided above illustrates the power of technology to revitalize and improve Hebrew language education. Audio and video, voice recordings and games, appropriately integrated into a thoughtful curriculum, help us meet students on their own ground. Technology allows students to experience Hebrew as a living, dynamic language as they learn to read, write, understand, and speak it.
References
Bolozky, S. (2009).Grammar in the classroom: the case of Israeli Hebrew. Issues in the acquisition and teaching of Hebrew, ed.
Feuer, A., Armon-Lotem, S., & Cooperman, B.D. Bethesda, Maryland: University Press of Maryland.