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June 1, 2001
Hebrew study and summer fun
August mini-ulpan offers an intensive language-learning experience.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
You don't have to travel to Israel to participate in an ulpan,
a Hebrew language work-study program. You only need to venture as
far as the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver (JCC) this
August to take part in the second annual Vancouver Summer Mini-Ulpan,
a week-long Hebrew immersion course taught by Israeli teachers Rahel
Halabe and Shoshana Hofman.
The curriculum, prepared by Halabe, is intended to enrich students'
vocabulary, improve their conversational skills, deepen their understanding
of Hebrew grammar and encourage them to read Hebrew books.
"We try to balance it," Halabe told the Bulletin. "So we
have some grammar and conversation and storytime and even games
... Hebrew Monopoly or other board games." In addition to the time
spent in the classroom, students have the opportunity to try out
their learning in the real world.
"I translated Sabra's menu," said Halabe of last year's course.
"And we went to eat in Sabra and they [the students] were supposed
to order everything and be served in Hebrew. The co-operation of
[owners] Shimon and his wife was excellent."
There are also optional extracurricular activities for those who
still have the energy after a day of intensive study: a visit to
a coffee shop or seeing an Israeli movie, for example. One trip
last summer included shopping for antiques, in Hebrew, along Main
Street - "I didn't know that, but one of the store owners spoke
Hebrew," said Halabe.
The idea for a Vancouver-based ulpan came from Or Shalom member
Lorne Mallin, said Halabe, and last year's course took place at
Or Shalom, with financial help from the Jewish Community Foundation
of Greater Vancouver. The 16 students included a woman from Victoria
and a man from Cincinnati.
"Usually when you have ulpanim, it's for a longer time, it's for
a few weeks, you have this leisure of doing things," said Halabe.
"In fact, [the material we have for the mini-ulpan] is much more
than people can absorb in a week." Because of this, she wrote all
of the students before the course, telling them not to panic; that
the idea is for them to keep the material for reference and further
learning afterwards.
"Not all the students will reach the same level. It depends on
how much they prepare in advance every day, how much they participate
and what their starting point is," said Halabe. "But everyone will
come out with much more than they came in with."
Alan Morinis is one of the students who participated in the first
mini-ulpan last year. He said he wanted to learn Hebrew in order
to discover sources in the Jewish tradition and prayer, and to gain
the skills to communicate with people in Israel.
"Doing the once-a-week class was just so slow. Through immersion
in the ulpan, my learning took a leap," said Morinis.
"Besides the expected course material and drills, we did things
like read children's stories and listened to popular music, which
varied the classroom time and added the spice that makes learning
easier," he continued.
Irv Nitkin, another mini-ulpan graduate, said the course exceeded
his expectations.
"Although I can read 'prayer-book' Hebrew reasonably well, my conversational
Hebrew was very weak," said Nitkin, explaining why he attended the
course. "Grammar, tenses, etc., needed a lot of work." Nitkin said
the most valuable part of the experience "was the opportunity to
actually live and converse in a Hebrew environment for a few hours
each day. Also, the written material continues to be a valuable
resource."
Another former student, Jan Fishman, told the Bulletin that
he took the course to improve his understanding of, and ability
to speak, modern Hebrew. He said there were two aspects of the mini-ulpan
that he especially appreciated.
"Having a day-to-day lesson structure allowed me to assimilate
and work with what I learned in an effective way - there was less
time between lessons to forget what I had just learned; and learning
in a group environment allowed me to benefit from peer support,"
said Fishman.
All three graduates of the 2000 mini-ulpan said they would recommend
the course to others.
"It was a great way to take a big step toward learning Hebrew,
and that opened up a whole new set of opportunities to learn and
to understand our ancient language," said Morinis.
There are two summer sessions, depending on your level of Hebrew.
The first, Level Aleph, requires the student to have worked on any
Israeli ulpan
Level Aleph or completed Ora Band Shalav Aleph or equivalent. Level
Bet students will have completed the Level Aleph textbook, Ora Band
Shalav Bet or equivalent. Level Aleph runs from Aug. 20-24 and Level
Bet from Aug. 27-31. Classes take place each day from 9 a.m.-2:30
p.m. at the JCC. The cost is $300 before July 14 and $350 after;
book and material costs are $35. The price of the classes includes
JCC recreational privileges for the week. For more information or
to register, call Annica Carlsson Hyman at 257-5111, ext. 208.
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