Dear Elisha,
I enjoyed reading your piece, but found it to be somewhat surprising. I have taught Hebrew to non-speakers for quite a few years in the Greater Boston area (I went back to Israel in 2012 to take care of my late mother), in different disciplines. Both my colleagues and I have been implementing immersion methods and activities, your ideas included (Hebrew songs, games, acting, collaborative work, and getting students be part of creating teaching/learning materials are recommended. And, please, don't forget humor!). I am happy to report that I was amazed by the knowledge of the Hebrew language and its use that our students acquired. And it seems to become better and better thanks to the devotion of their teachers. The secret is Teaching and Learning with Joy/Fun! (well, I already wrote that in my doctoral dissertation in 1994, and others have been copying that since...).
We recently received a reassurance for that through the annual Hanukkah project of the ×¤×•×¨×•× ×‘×™× ×œ×ומי מתוקשב למורי עברית (×—×™× ×) (http://online.mofet-international.macam.ac.il/course/view.php?id=9), an international writing contest "Choose the Light" (לבחור ב×ור). Not only have we received numerous entries from all over the world (China and Cambodia included), but also the ideas and the level of writing were incredible! We all feel pride in both students and teachers. We welcome teachers of Hebrew as additional language to subscribe to our forum and website. It is free.
Cordially yours,
Dr. Dania Shapira, Israel
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/15/2019 09:38AM by mlb.
