The first goal for a beginning Hebrew student is to learn how to read and pronounce Hebrew words and sentences, even if the the student doesn't understand the meaning. Hebrew does not use the Latin alphabet used by most of the western world. The student must learn how to recognoize and pronounce 22 Hebrew letters and several vowel points, which are written above or below the consonants.
The beginner student must examine his goals. While some students want to learn to read the Hebrew Bible, other students are preparing for a trip to Israel, and need to learn modern Hebrew. Other students might want to learn how to read the sidur (Hebrew prayerbook).
To learn Biblical Hebrew, a great way to start is with the "Top 400 Words of the Hebrew Bible". These words are included with the "At Home with Hebrew" software tutorial, and are also sold on audio-CDs, so the stduent can learn in the car.
The Hebrew verb system of the Bible and modern Hebrew are not that different. Modern Hebrew tends to use much more of the present tense, and Biblical Hebrew tends to use more of the past tense. Many nouns overlap, but the subject matter is quite different.
Hebrew words with various silent or interchangeable letters may confuse beginning students. In Hebrew, there are two silent letters "ALEPH" and "AYIN" that students often mix up. Further, there are two letters "SHIN" and "SAMECH" that have the "S" sound, and two letters "TAV" and "TET" that have the "T" sound.
It is also important to learn Hebrew numbers, even though the student must learn both the masculine and feminine forms of the numbers. One of our games involves the computer speaking a phone number, and the student tries to type that number in on a mock-up of a cell phone. Learning to tell time is another way to practice Hebrew numbers.
Children enjoy learning Hebrew through playing games. One of our games is memory-match, where the student turns over two "cards" at a time. If the numbers match, the cards disappear. Even adults love these types of games.
One other thing a student must consider learning is cursive letters. This is more common for the modern Hebrew student. Even after mastering the basic 22 letters of printed Hebrew, cursive Hebrew is almost like learning a second Hebrew alphabet. The student should, like a young child, practice writing the cursive letters over and over, usually on lined paper. - 15615
The beginner student must examine his goals. While some students want to learn to read the Hebrew Bible, other students are preparing for a trip to Israel, and need to learn modern Hebrew. Other students might want to learn how to read the sidur (Hebrew prayerbook).
To learn Biblical Hebrew, a great way to start is with the "Top 400 Words of the Hebrew Bible". These words are included with the "At Home with Hebrew" software tutorial, and are also sold on audio-CDs, so the stduent can learn in the car.
The Hebrew verb system of the Bible and modern Hebrew are not that different. Modern Hebrew tends to use much more of the present tense, and Biblical Hebrew tends to use more of the past tense. Many nouns overlap, but the subject matter is quite different.
Hebrew words with various silent or interchangeable letters may confuse beginning students. In Hebrew, there are two silent letters "ALEPH" and "AYIN" that students often mix up. Further, there are two letters "SHIN" and "SAMECH" that have the "S" sound, and two letters "TAV" and "TET" that have the "T" sound.
It is also important to learn Hebrew numbers, even though the student must learn both the masculine and feminine forms of the numbers. One of our games involves the computer speaking a phone number, and the student tries to type that number in on a mock-up of a cell phone. Learning to tell time is another way to practice Hebrew numbers.
Children enjoy learning Hebrew through playing games. One of our games is memory-match, where the student turns over two "cards" at a time. If the numbers match, the cards disappear. Even adults love these types of games.
One other thing a student must consider learning is cursive letters. This is more common for the modern Hebrew student. Even after mastering the basic 22 letters of printed Hebrew, cursive Hebrew is almost like learning a second Hebrew alphabet. The student should, like a young child, practice writing the cursive letters over and over, usually on lined paper. - 15615
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See demonstration of the above features at work in our free videos at our Learn Hebrew Alphabet website.
