Living Biblical Hebrew - Ancient Hebrew Poetry

About This Course Frequently Asked QuestionsIs this course different? If so, what is different about this course?This course is unique for biblical Hebrew. The student starts learning the language like achild, in Hebrew and not via a second language. A new way of thinking and learning is openedup for a student. This is an experience that cannot be duplicated by reading an English bookabout biblical Hebrew. This learning experience is essential for any student who wants to reallyknow biblical Hebrew. It lays a foundation for internalizing the language and provides betterlong-term efficiency.Is this course really biblical Hebrew?Yes, absolutely. All words in the lessons are biblical Hebrew and are used in the syntaxpatterns of biblical Hebrew.If my goal is to read biblical Hebrew, why should I study a course with so many voicerecordings?Because it is more efficient. You will learn significantly more words and structures in lesstime and with longer retention than with grammar/translation methods. You begin to learn thelanguage through listening comprehension and monolingual immersion. You will be able to readmore material per study hour, and more easily. It is also fun, as the student will soon discover.Listening is essential for profound language learning because that is the way human beingslearn and store their first language. While it is true that massive and extensive reading is the bestway to complete advanced language learning, such reading is most efficiently accomplishedwhen it rests on a foundation that has been developed through listening comprehension. For moredetails see the technical notes at the end of this section.Will I understand everything in these recordings with the pictures?Hopefully not! An important aspect of successful language learning is teaching the studenthow to guess and understand new situations. The student needs to learn to deal with the newlanguage directly. This develops a feel for the language. It is important for successful languagelearning and long-term retention that a student learns to relate to the new language as itself andnot as a paired extension of some other language. Successful modern language programs makeuse of these principles around the world. This is currently the only biblical Hebrew course thatuses and develops such a process, which makes it such a must experience for students of biblicalHebrew.What kind of pronunciation is used?An oriental Israeli pronunciation is used in this course. This provides a standard that shouldbe understandable anywhere in the world. Israelis appreciate this as a pleasing dialect for readingbiblical Hebrew. It is also the official standard for Israeli radio.Specifics for biblical Hebrew teachers: the five vowel sefardic system is used; both ayin andet are pronounced as true pharyngeal fricatives; the Israeli uvular resh is used; the consonants