Ulpan--First Impressions

I have now completed my first week of intensive Hebrew classes, called in Hebrew ulpan.  Let me share some of my initial thoughts about this week's experiences:

Ulpan is intense.  It requires constant, full attention to every single word the teacher says.  From the very first day, 99.8% of what the teachers have said has been in Hebrew.  The only times they speak English are 1) when they perceive you really aren't understanding what they are saying; 2) when they need to explain some advanced instructions; or 3) if they need to give an English word to help you understand a concept.  Even in the case of #3, it is rare that they speak English.  They first explain the concept in Hebrew or by using pictures, expressions, examples, or motions, and then only resort to English if the students still don't understand.

Ulpan classes are held for five hours a day, five days a week (Sunday through Thursday).  There are two breaks, one for thirty minutes and one for fifteen minutes, during the day.  The rest of the time is constant learning.  The ulpan sessions last at this schedule for two months in the summer to complete one level.  A student can also complete one level in either a semester or a year during the regular school year.  There are six levels of Hebrew ulpan (Aleph through Vav).  Hopefully I will complete level Aleph (beginners) by the end of September.

My particular class level is moderately-advanced beginners level.  It is taught by two different teachers, Sharon and Nadav.  Both are Israelis, of course.  Sharon is the main teacher, and Nadav teaches for a short time in the afternoon.  Both are relatively young, probably thirties.  I don't know about Nadav, but Sharon is not a religious Jew.  She doesn't keep kosher, for example.  Nadav's appearance reminds me of the character Gob from Arrested Development (played by Will Arnett).  He amuses me because he always has a smiling grin on his face, whether he is writing on the board, watching us read, or asking us questions.  I'm not sure what is going on in his mind, but he seems to find amusement constantly.  Both teachers are absolutely delightful.  They are passionate, full of energy, expressive, funny, and brilliant.  They know their subject material backwards and forwards, and can correct any detail of the students' response in an instant.  I don't know about Nadav, but Sharon has taught ulpan for four years now.  She constantly says that she loves her job, and it is very apparent.  Both teachers laugh easily, and interact gracefully with the students.  The teachers are excellent at earning rapport with the students.  They learned names the first day.

So, if classes are taught almost entirely in Hebrew, how do we learn?  That's a difficult question for me to answer because I have to pay attention so carefully to what the teacher is saying that there's not a lot of spare brain power left to pay attention to the teaching methods, but here's a few observations on how they teach.  First, the teachers know their material so intimately that they can do it almost automatically.  They teach constantly without pause and apparently without effort.  Second, they have an excellent curriculum.  Currently, we are using a book with audio cds put out here in Jerusalem.  The teachers have a list of topics to teach, and they fly through this list each day.  Thus, for all the Hebrew levels the curriculum is pretty established from class to class.  Third, the teachers use a very wide variety of teaching methods.  Sometimes the teacher will say something and have the class repeat it together.  Other times we'll be divided into groups of two people to read a passage in Hebrew.  In our groups often we'll make up conversations in Hebrew similar to what we just read, but slightly different so that we're coming up with the conversation ourselves.  Sometimes we'll read a passage and then be asked questions about the passage.  We'll listen to a recorded conversation several times and be asked different questions about it each time.  The teachers often use questions to get us to think. They'll ask individuals or the group different questions, and they will encourage us students to ask questions about things we don't understand.  Fourth, when we learn new concepts, the teacher will first use the concept which will spark us to ask what this new thing means.  Then the teacher will explain the concept.  They'll use different ways of explaining the concept.  Sometimes they can show pictures.  Other times they'll act out the concept.  Sometimes they'll explain the concept by using concepts or words we already know.  They'll say that this word is the opposite of that word, for instance.  Fifth, they use homework.  Everyday we have about an hour's worth of homework to reinforce our learning for that day.  The homework usually consists of a lot of writing or fill in the blanks.  You can see a photo of a sample page of my homework on my Flickr page.  Ulpan is somewhat difficult because many new vocabulary words are added every day, and new concepts are introduced every day.  The student has to pay attention to literally every word the teacher says in order to keep up.  After five hours, it is somewhat draining!

Lastly, what about the students in my ulpan?  There are about 20 students in my class right now, about an even mix of males and females.  These students are from Germany, USA (California, Texas, New Jersey, Pennsylvania), France, Israel (Jews and Arabs), Denmark, Spain, Turkey, and Canada.  There are also students here in other classes from Italy, England, Argentina, Australia, South Korea, and many other countries.  Right now there is also a group of priests from the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome here studying Hebrew.  During breaks in my class there is a flurry of talking in Spanish, French, Arabic, English, German, and Hebrew.  Most everyone speaks English quite well.  It is astonishing that so many different people from different places have all come to this one place, and that we will all be able to communicate well in Hebrew very soon!  Most of the students in my ulpan class are probably in their early twenties, although there are a few older adults.  All of them are really wonderful people.  Some of them are only here for one month of ulpan, some for two months, and others for the whole year.

Now that I know what ulpan is, exactly, I am ready to endorse it as the best way to learn Hebrew, without exception.  I am astonished at how well they are able to teach it, and how quickly we learn.  I have a feeling we will cover an enormous amount of material in the next few, short weeks.  If anyone has any inclination to learn Hebrew, I urge you to come to Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, or Haifa and do ulpan for one or two months next summer!  There is no substitute!

If possible, I hope to record a sample video of class one day in the near future and post it online.