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In addition to teaching language skills, the Hebrew studies curriculum for overseas
students is designed to focus on subjects related to Israel and the physical and
cultural aspects of the Israel experience such as geography, environmental quality,
history as well as cultural and current affairs.
We believe that students who participate in this program come to Israel with the
expectation of acquiring the language in its cultural, historical and contemporary
context, as related dynamically, immediately and naturally to life in Israel.
In addition to training students in academic skills, we also encourage experiential
learning. The program includes trips to places of special interest, guided viewing
of Israeli films and exposure to Hebrew literature – poetry and prose – and other
Israeli arts – the plastic arts, theater, music and dance.
The curriculum is comprised of 11 levels. The beginners’ level is taught as an intensive
course only. The other levels are offered as intensive and semester-long courses,
as follows:
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Beginners’ levels: |
Beginners |
Intensive course only |
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Level 1
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Intensive course and semester course of 8 hours weekly (Book 1)
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Level 2
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Intensive course and semester course of 8 hours weekly (Book 2)
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Level 3
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Intensive course and semester course of 8 hours weekly (Book 2)
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Intermediate levels: |
Level 4 |
Intensive course and semester course of 8 hours weekly (Book 3) |
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Level 5
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Intensive course and semester course of 8 hours weekly (Book 3)
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High levels:
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Level 6
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Intensive course and semester course of 6 hours weekly (Book 4)
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Level 7
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Intensive course and semester course of 6 hours weekly (Book 4)
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Advanced levels:
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Level 8
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Intensive course and semester course of 6 hours weekly (Book 5)
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Level 9
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Intensive course and semester course of 6 hours weekly (Book 5)
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Level 10-11
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Intensive course and semester course of 6 hours weekly (Book 6)
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Beginners Level
This course is designed for students who have no prior knowledge of Hebrew; it is
offered as an intensive course only.
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Course goals |
- To familiarize students with basic forms, words, and structures of the Hebrew language
- To teach the fundamentals of reading and writing Hebrew.
- To develop the students’ ability to express themselves on daily matters and to hold
simple conversations in Hebrew.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 1, Units 1-13
OR
- Et le’ivrit, Matah Publishers, Tel Aviv, Part 1, Units 1-8
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Vocabulary |
The syllabus includes approximately 400 words covering different aspects of the
students’ personal, social and cultural needs, on themes such as: making an acquaintance,
at home, in the family, day-to-day life, shopping, trips and visits. Speech acts
such as requesting information, inquiries, questions, etc. are also included.
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Syntax |
Simple verbal and nominal sentences: pronouns, interrogatives, yesh and ein, transitive
verbs, use of the definite article, sentences containing indefinite verbs, inflection
of the possessive shel, inflection of basic prepositions. Adverbs of place and time,
agreement of nouns and adjectives (gender and number), numbers.
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Morphology |
Pa’al (shlemim) verb pattern: ayin-vav, lamed hey, lamed-aleph and pi’el verb pattern
in present tense; infinitives and modal verbs.
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Teaching aids |
For the purpose of developing various language skills, recordings of texts and exercises
have been prepared for classroom use.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 1.
Level 1
This course is designed for students who have completed the Beginners Level and
mastered the material in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 1, units 1-13, or similar
material, and who have a working vocabulary of approximately 400 words in Hebrew.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 1 to the end
OR
- Et le’ivrit, Matah Publishers, Tel Aviv, Part 1 to the end
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Mitahbir liktiva, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv
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Vocabulary |
Words covering topics from the students’ life, such as scenery and surroundings,
the history of Tel Aviv, trips, parent-child relations, the Jewish experience and
so forth.
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Syntax |
Impersonal clauses, clauses of time and purpose, direct and indirect speech, yesh
li /ein li, inflection of prepositions – li, lakh, et, oti, im, sheli, shelakh
– and smikhut.
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Morphology |
Pa’al verb pattern: ayin-vav, lamed-hey, pey-aleph, pey-yod, past and present
tense.
Pi’el shlemim: past and present. Partial knowledge of future.
Pi’el, niphal, hitpa’el: present and infinitive.
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Listening comprehension |
Listening to simple passages recorded on audio cassettes.
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Conversation |
Part of each lesson will be devoted to free discussion, enabling the students to
develop their ability to communicate in contemporary Hebrew in daily situations
in Israel. Speech acts including expression of anger, questions, request and instructions.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 2.
Level 2
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 1 and mastered the
material in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 1 in its entirety, or similar material,
and who have a working vocabulary of approximately 800 words in Hebrew.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 2, Units 1-5
OR
- Et le’ivrit, Matah Publishers, Tel Aviv, Part 2, Units 1-6
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Everyday Hebrew Dialogues, Ad Publishers, Tel Aviv
- Mitahbir liktiva, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv
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Vocabulary |
Words about daily life, health, seasons of the year, work and leisure, the arts,
Israeli politics, kibbutz and the city, popular science, description of a person
(characteristics, colors, etc.), holidays, etc.
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Syntax |
Prepositions – inflection in the plural form (elay, eleiha, alay, aleiha);
personal and demonstrative pronouns as subject (ani moreh) or predicate (hamoreh
zeh ani); construct forms and compounds including the definite article,
relative clauses (she + she) and object phrases.
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Morphology |
- Verb patterns (binyanim): hiphil, hitpa’el and niphal: past,
present and future tense.
- Completion of the future form in all verb patterns learned in lower levels (pa’al
shlemim, ayin-vav, lamed hey, lamed-aleph and pey-yod and pi’el shlemim).
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Newspaper |
Sha’ar lamathil - Headlines and simple items from pages 7, 8.
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Listening comprehension |
Listening to simple passages and dialogues from Everyday Hebrew Dialogues.
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Language laboratory
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Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 3.
Level 3
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 2 and mastered the
material in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 2, units 1-5, or similar material.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 2 to the end.
OR
- Et le’ivrit, MATAH Publishers, Tel Aviv, Part 2, to the end.
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Everyday Hebrew Dialogues, Ad Publishers, Tel Aviv
- Mitahbir liktiva, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv
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Vocabulary |
Topics such as modern man, adulthood and aging, women, health and illness, the arts
and entertainment, the Israeli press, professionals, student jobs, completing forms
and questionnaires, the history of Israel and development of the Hebrew language.
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Syntax |
Simple and complex temporal clauses. Prepositions, negative forms (af pa’am, af ehad),
copula (oged), relative pronouns (she... ha ..), regular and hypothetical
conditions, comparison and contradiction, verb forms + pronoun, nominal sentences
in past and future tense and sentences of conclusion.
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Morphology |
Further knowledge and command of all forms of the past, present and future, and
some forms of imperative in active conjugations, including the niphal. Use
of gerunds derived from the different conjugations. Request verbs and their constrains.
Classification of verbs by semantic function.
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Newspaper |
Sha’ar lamathil - Selected excerpts.
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Listening comprehension |
Recorded programs in simple Hebrew, such as excerpts from Shalom yerushalayim,
the news and Everyday Hebrew Dialogues.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 4.
Level 4
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 3 and mastered the
material in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 2 in its entirety, or similar material.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 3, units 1-5.
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Mitahbir liktiva, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv
- Practicing Grammar - Level 3, internal publication.
OR
- Netiyot hapo’al + targilim, Nira Keidar, Tel Aviv
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Syntax |
Clauses of contrast and comparison, superlative expressions, conditional clauses
(regular and hypothetical), cause and purpose sentences, prepositions, cardinal
and ordinal numbers and derivation of adjectives from nouns. Differentiation between
construct forms and noun+adjective forms.
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Morphology |
Further knowledge of active verb patterns (shlemim). Passive: nifal, pu’al
and huphal (mainly third person), past, present and future tense
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Oral expression |
The course includes a series of oral assignments. Every student will be required
to prepare short lectures (approximately 3-5 minutes) on pre-assigned subjects (8-10
subjects per course), such as: description of an object of personal importance,
the story of a place, a personal recommendation, a complaint, culture or language
shock, persuasion to do something, explanation of reasons for a phenomenon or an
incident, description of a character, a work of art, and so forth.
Other options, at the instructor’s discretion, might be: humorous things that happened
to me as a language learner, my Israel experience, and the like.
Some of the oral assignments may be substituted with reading simple literary texts
or daily newspapers.
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Rhetoric |
Answers to questions, summaries of newspaper articles and news items. A written
assignment at least once a week: essays on topics such as an ecological problem,
a personal story, a play or a film about the Holocaust, a personal trauma, etc.
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Listening comprehension |
Recorded programs in simple Hebrew, or watching television programs such as Ivrit
basiman tov or panel discussions at the appropriate level.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 5.
Level 5
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 4 and mastered the
material in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 3, units 1-5, or similar material.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 3, to the end.
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Rav milon, Ad Publishers, Tel Aviv
- Exercises for Learning Verbs - Level 3, internal publication.
OR
- Netiyot hapo’al + targilim, Nira Keidar, Tel Aviv
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Syntax |
Attributive sentences: analysis and construction of components
Distinction between compound or construct forms and noun+adjective forms
Temporal clauses (continued), relative clauses and relative pronouns (as direct
and indirect objects);conditional clauses, use of conjunctions. Negation (af pa’am;
shum; etc.); the copula: use and agreement.
Manner adverbials (adjective-based and abstract noun-based).
Noun declension (commonly used forms only: my father, his brother, his wife, etc.)
Required prepositions.
The definite article.
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Morphology |
Passive verb patterns: past, present and future and their use in daily language
and the media.
Pa’al ‘pey noon’ in future tense.
Nif’al - shlemim including gutturals and lamed-hey pattern.
Hif’il pey, pey-nun, pey-yod and ayin-vav patterns
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Oral expression |
Discussions related to study material, based on news items, following daily news.
Group work on Sha’ar lemathil newspaper or Yediot Aharonot headlines.
The course also includes a series of required assignments to be performed orally.
Every student will be required to prepare short lectures (approximately 3-5 minutes)
on pre-assigned subjects (8-10 subjects per course), such as description of an object
of personal importance, the story of a place, a personal recommendation, a complaint,
culture or language shock, persuasion to do something, explanation of reasons for
a phenomenon or an incident, description of a character, a special experience or
something of a given color, description of a hobby, an object of art, and so forth.
Other options, at the instructor’s discretion, might be: humorous things that happened
to me as a language learner, why I came to Israel, and the like.
Some of the oral assignments may be substituted with reading simple literary texts
or daily newspapers.
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Rhetoric |
A written assignment at least once a week: essays on topics such as an ecological
problem, a personal story, a play or film about the Holocaust, a personal trauma,
etc. In addition, answers to questions, summaries of newspaper articles and news
items in class or as homework.
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Listening comprehension |
Recorded programs in simple Hebrew, or watching television programs such as Ivrit
basiman tov, Betty Ben Basat (1-2 episodes of the series), Hakayitz shel
Aviya (on the Holocaust) or listening to a pre-planned panel discussion.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 6.
Level 6
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 5 and the material
in Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 3, or similar material.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 4, units 1-5.
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Enrichment textbook |
- A Taste of Hebrew Literature, Mayrose, Tel Aviv (appropriate passages of
poetry and prose)
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Hapoal lerama dalet, Academon, Jerusalem.
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Syntax |
Use of copula; direct and indirect speech; complex sentences – analysis and construction;
attributive clauses; relative clauses; regular and hypothetical conditional sentences;
use of conjunctions for addition, reservation, comparison and contradiction, reason
and consequence Subordinate phrases; using asher, she ha; contrastive negation
(not this but that); other negators: bilti, i, hoser, hasar, eini, einkha
...
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Morphology |
Verbs: further knowledge of the different verb patterns. Work on groups of special
verbs. Passive forms (nif’al, po’al, huf’al).
Hif’il verb pattern: derivation of verbs from adjectives and colors.
Hitpa’el verb pattern: kfulim (identical 2nd and 3rd consonant and ayin-vav.
Special verbs of certain semantic fields for wishing, referring, speaking, etc.
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Nouns |
Abstract nouns; noun + adjective; derivation of gerunds; prepositions; noun + possessive
pronouns
Study of syntactical and grammatical structures will progress parallel to study
of the texts in the book. Students will learn how to deal with complex syntactical
patterns found in the reading passages in the textbook and newspapers.
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Rhetoric |
At this stage, time will be devoted in class and in assignments to improving written
expression, both personal and academic: reports on articles and items from the press
and from the textbooks. Preparation of abstracts and summaries.
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Oral expression |
Conversation and discussions about the reading material and other topics that the
students prepare in advance. There will also be functional discussions related to
regular daily needs, such as apartment hunting, strolling, social situations at
parties, on trips, leisure activities on the beach, etc.
Students will comment on literary work, films shown, etc.
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Listening comprehension |
Recorded television programs selected by instructor.
Lectures by guest lecturers.
Guided viewing of films using worksheets before and after viewing (especially in
semester 2, about the holidays celebrated at that time: Independence Day, Holocaust
Memorial Day, Jerusalem Day), or, for instance: Malibu Women, The Entebbe Operation,
Salah Shabbati.
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Literature |
Poetry and prose appropriate for the subjects studied and discussed and the season
and holidays.
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Newspapers |
Reading news pages of daily paper. Discussion of day’s headlines (brought by students).
Note: Material may be selected from the suggested list according to the students’
special needs and preferences (focus on oral or written expression, reading literary
excerpts or scriptures – such as Megillat Esther, Megillat Ruth – their conversion
to contemporary Hebrew, the story of the sacrifice of Isaac and its appearance in
other literature, etc.) instead of reading the daily news, for instance. The proportion
between different materials will be flexible, depending on the students’ preferences
and needs.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 7.
Level 7
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 6 and mastered at
least half of Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 4, or similar material.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 4, to the end.
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Enrichment texts |
- Mita’ama shel sifrut, Mayrose, Tel Aviv (appropriate passages of poetry and
prose)
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Hapoal lerama dalet, Academon, Jerusalem.
OR
- Dikduk bekalei kalut, Mutchnik, Tel Aviv.
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Syntax |
- conjunctions
- contradictions
- words of purpose and concession
- descriptive and subjugate temporal words
- words of emphasis for negation and reduction
- subjugate clauses (she, ha)
- comparative clauses, existing and hypothetical positive and negative conditions
- content words (ha’uvda she...)
- analysis of complex sentences
- sentences of reason, result or detail
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Morphology |
- derivation of verbs from nouns and adjectives
- verbs in "beynoni" that act as nouns or as adjectives
- gerunds derived from the 5 active verb patterns
- passive and active: niphal, pu'al, huphal
- inflection of eini, einkha ..., inflection of "bilad-ey" (someone
or something)
- abstract nouns with suffix ut
- verbs that require following future tense forms only
- double smikhut; smikhut + adjective
- cardinal numbers
- use of nouns + "b" prefix as adverbs
- negation of nouns and gerunds using lelo, i, bilti, belo, etc
- internal object: "I paint a painting," "I dream a dream," etc
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Oral expression |
Time will be devoted to conversation and discussions about the reading material
and other topics that the students prepare in advance. There will also be functional
discussions related to regular daily needs, such as apartment hunting, strolling,
markets and stores, social situations at parties, on trips, leisure activities on
the beach, etc. Views will be voiced during the course on works of literature, films
viewed, etc. There will also be use of higher-register connectives, such as: akhen,
omnam, be’emet, lemashal, kegon, harei, ledugma, lema’ase, be’etzem, mistaber, kanireh,
nidme.
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Rhetoric |
A journal will be kept of reactions to films, plays, books as well as general and
personal matters. Critical summaries and reports will include identification of
structure and rhetorical elements, author's point of view, perspective and attitudes.
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Pragmatics |
Speech acts such as compliments and expression of reservations.
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Newspapers |
Reading news pages of daily paper. Gradual transition to articles that present a
view on the inner pages in editorials. Weekly assignment on such an article.
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Language laboratory |
Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 8.
Level 8
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 7 and the book Ivrit
me’alef ad tav, part 4, or similar material.
It is intended to promote the students’ command of Hebrew so that they can read
popular scientific material, newspapers and literature in Hebrew, and express themselves
orally and in writing at the level required of university students. The course is
meant to enrich the students’ vocabulary in areas such as sociology, psychology,
education, ecology, gender, life in the next millennium, etc., and to help prepare
them for participation in regular courses at Tel Aviv University.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 5 (at least 5 units).
OR
- Kadima heh, Academon, Jerusalem
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Enrichment texts |
- Mita’ama shel sifrut, Mayrose, Tel Aviv
- Tza’ad rishon bamehkar, Segal, Tel Aviv
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Targilei po’al lerama hey, Academon, Jerusalem.
OR
- Dikduk bekalei kalut, Mutchnik, Tel Aviv.
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Syntax |
- Complex sentences: analysis, breakdown and composition
- topical sentences
- sentences with connectives of reservation or emphasis, reason and consequence, contradiction
and comparison, including patterns emphasizing contrast and similarity (such as
lo x, ela . . .hen x vehen y ...)
- expressions of addition
- clauses of degree
- negating forms
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Morphology |
- verbs expressing development or process (hitpa’el)
- complex verbs (ahavtiha)
- adverbs
- conjugation of nouns
- smikhut + pronouns (bet-sifri)
- double smikhut and smikhut of adjectives and gerunds.
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Oral expression |
Every student will be required to prepare a paper on a subject of his or her choice
(with instructor’s approval). Discussions will be held in class on material studied,
and students will report on assigned radio programs, news and other current affairs.
In addition, they will participate in a special project, for which they will interview
Hebrew-speaking Israelis and report to the class. They will also share personal
experiences, such as an interesting encounter, special social activity, trips, tours,
parties, a museum visit , etc.
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Rhetoric |
Reflective and academic writing, organized around key sentences according to rhetoric
models, such as of comparison, persuasion, etc. Reports on scientific research and
questionnaires, abstract writing, critical review of independent reading (one of
the “Gesher” booklets, such as Shlosha yamim veyeled /A. B. Yehoshua, Ma’ase
bilti ragil / Aharon Megged).
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Language laboratory
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Audio, video and computer programs for development of language skills and practicing
the material taught at this level.
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Enrichment
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Current affairs – reading daily newspaper and listening to radio and television
news. Alternatively, use of the book Mi mefahed mikriyat iton, Dyunon; talks
by guest lecturers; guided viewing of films, such as Bluz lehofesh hagadol, Mi’ever
layam, Halakhti lehapes ahava, Hem hayu asara, Shtei etzba’ot mitzidon,
using worksheets before and after viewing.
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Graduates of this course will be classified for the next course in Level 9.
Level 9
This course is designed for students who have completed Level 8 and studied half
of the book Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 5, or equivalent material.
The program continues to prepare the students for reading scientific material, newspapers
and literature in Hebrew, and to improve their oral and written expression competence
at the level required of university students.
Students will enrich the vocabulary in areas such as sociology, architecture, archeology,
man in modern society, use of communications technology (e.g., computers, Internet,
phone tapping), language acquisition and more.
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Textbooks |
- Ivrit me’alef ad tav, Dyunon Press, Tel Aviv, Part 5, to the end.
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Enrichment texts |
- Mita’ama shel sifrut, Mayrose, Tel Aviv
- Tza’ad rishon bamehkar, Segal, Tel Aviv
- Gesher booklets for independent reading
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Auxiliary textbooks |
- Dikduk bekalei kalut, Mutchnik, Tel Aviv.
OR
- Targilei po’al lerama hey, Academon, Jerusalem.
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Syntax |
Items appropriate for advanced students, such as infinitive constructs(im zet hashabbat),
infinitive + object suffixes (levakro, lir’oto), in subjunctive clauses (bikashti
[otom] lashevet ), less commonly used copulative express (hino, hina, henam)
non-finite forms, pronoun suffixes: (1) gerunds (hofa’ato); (2) third-person verb
(hoviluni); (3) infinitives (lehavri’o); adverbials, such as (beorach
mistori) ; stative verbs (gadel, katen).
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Oral expression |
In addition to regular discussions of the subject material, there will be a special
project: a class discussion led by a panel of 3-5 students, focusing on social problems
in Israel related to issues such as immigration, Israel and the Diaspora, separation
of religion and state, ethnic conflicts, women’s status. Students will participate
as representatives of different points of view regarding the social issue discussed.
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Rhetoric |
Written assignments are an integral part of study at this level. The students will
be required to prepare papers on the basis of the study material. They will be encouraged
to read the material critically, as a goal in itself and as a means to acquaint
them with the principles of academic writing.
Different models for research reports, abstracts, recommendations, etc. will be
presented (see introduction to Ivrit me’alef ad tav, part 5).
Writing on independent reading of Gesher booklets (Har ha’etza hara’a/ A.
Oz, Hamisha sipurim /A. Appelfeld, including analysis of the text and critique.
Additional subjects for papers:
- The arts – painting and sculpture, local or international art, according to student’s
choice.
- Folklore – “translation” to a modern context (as demonstrated in Fables of Our Time),
intertwined with analysis of their psychological, symbolic meaning.
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Listening comprehension |
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