Elementary Modern Hebrew I (4 cr / 3 cr)
A. Weiss
JSTU-H 100 (10858) / NELC-H 501 (10968)
MW 10:10-11:00 (BH 135); F 9:30-10:45 (BH 135)
GenEd WL
Meets with NELC-H 501
This course meets three times a week and is offered as the first semester course in the Modern Hebrew program. As such, it addresses appropriate material for the beginning level. The course requires no prior Hebrew background. Class sessions are conducted exclusively in Hebrew. Students are exposed to spoken Hebrew, during each class; they are expected to communicate in Hebrew, with one another as well as with the instructor.
This course starts by focusing on the writing systems in Hebrew. It covers the print and the script systems as well as the vocalic system of Modern Hebrew. Conversations are practiced daily, using basic question - answer structures, focusing on the simple sentence structure. In addition, the course focuses on the present verbs in Hebrew. Expansion to the sentence structure is introduced through the use of conjunctives. The basic gender/number distinction of Hebrew is introduced for both the verbal and the nominal systems. Hence, the course structurally introduces the morphology of the language.
This course uses readings from the workbook, to work on basic reading comprehension. Students use a set of accompanying CDs to work on listening comprehension exercises. Writing skills are developed as students write daily assignments on various topics and complete the writing of a simple essay assignment. Speaking skills are practiced daily in class. As part of the course, students prepare and do short presentations in class on various topics. Students develop listening comprehension skills using the CD set at home and doing listening- comprehension exercises in class. Further skill development is supported by the use of certain software, allowing students to hone their language skills at their own individual pace.
