By Sylvie Moscovitz
As an American studying abroad in a country in which a language other than my own is spoken, I saw this semester as a fascinating opportunity to immerse myself in a unique cultural environment. A semester in Israel is a chance to learn from teachers, friends, and from my surroundings, especially when it comes to Hebrew. I learned Hebrew from Kindergarten until 12th grade at the Schechter School of Long Island, and it was always one of my favorite subjects. I left day school with what seemed to be a fairly vast knowledge of the language, but after three years without practice, living in a Hebrew-speaking country seemed both exciting and challenging.
Once actually arriving in Israel, I was unpleasantly surprised to realize how much Hebrew I had forgotten over the past three years. However, I knew that the upcoming three weeks were going to provide me with some of the most crucial words and grammar rules that I would need for the entire semester.
I had always heard of Ulpan, of people who said they went into the class with no knowledge and left with the ability to have conversations with Israelis, order food in restaurants, and ask for directions. I was excited to have the opportunity to improve my own language skills, and to practice communicating in a way that did not come easily.
I was placed in Ulpan Gimel, the middle, or “upper intermediate” level.
Throughout the classes, I have reviewed words and concepts that I learned throughout my years at Schechter, along with discovering new ways to look at the language and write/speak properly. Don’t get me wrong, waking up early and spending nearly 5 hours every morning for three weeks is certainly intensive, but I feel as if my knowledge of the Hebrew language, specifically in terms of grammatical rules, is growing with every day.
My two Ulpan teachers, Gershom and Avishag, are phenomenal educators, and they each provide a slightly different way to look at the structure of the language. However, they each provide different tips and tricks to successfully and properly speak and write in Hebrew.
I do think Ulpan is a fantastic way to learn Hebrew, especially for Olim Chadashim, a few of which are actually in my class. However, as a student whose Ulpan grade counts for GPA credit, I do, unfortunately, feel as if the stakes of my grade are higher than the stakes of my learning. This provides me with the challenge of balancing my desire to learn the language in a way that I will actually remember with trying to memorize words and concepts for a test, which my brain may choose to discard after the fact. I feel as if I have actually been learning a lot in Ulpan, from both professors and my fellow students, and I hope that I will be able to not only remember the Hebrew, but actually be able to use it in the future.
