Many people think there are only 2 ways to teach Hebrew: Grammar/Translation, or Hebrew Immersion. But what if there was a middle road? What if we could improve Hebrew learning outcomes without committing to full immersion, using our existing teachers and teaching structures?
Mrs. Dvorky Kaplan, shlucha in Oak Park, Michigan and Mrs. Avigail Bakaleynik, an educator in Chicago, Illinois, both know that this middle path exists.
Each of them has a degree in Second Language Acquisition – the field that studies how languages are learned and acquired. Each of them has learned and acquired second (and third) languages themselves. Working together, they are driving an organization called Hebrew Our Way | עברית בדרכנו – which brings this knowledge and skill into the Torah-based school system throughout the Diaspora, in a way that is compatible with our deeply held values and environment.
Hebrew Our Way is starting by training the teachers who are already teaching Hebrew as a language — Ivrit teachers in the girls high schools. But 80% of the teachers working with Hebrew language skills are not native Hebrew speakers. Many are not that comfortable with Hebrew as a language. Hebrew Our Way shows them how to apply crucial language learning skills and principles to Limudei Kodesh instruction.
What does HOW do? We offer a clear program of study and implementation.
1) Introductory Course – which provides a professional level of understanding of what happens when people (students) learn/acquire language.
2) Follow-Up Mentoring – which ensures that the new concepts and skills are applied correctly to be most effective.
3) A Network of Like-Minded Professionals – our graduates form a friendly, helpful community of graduates of the program to compare notes from the field and to help each other out.
4) Collection of Materials – HOW is actively building a body of study units that each member can modify for use in their own classrooms, matching the proven, professional, and effective approach taught by Hebrew Our Way. Plus, we soon plan to launch an automated system for formatting easy-to-use and easy-to-share lesson plans using the HOW guidelines.
What is especially exciting this summer is that HOW is receiving grant money to subsidize the follow-up mentoring portion for current and prior participants. The next course is forming now.
HOW offers a ray of hope for anyone who ever wished their child, student, or self could learn Hebrew/Ivrit/Lashon HaKodesh within the regular day school or yeshiva environment. More than a hope, though — because we know it works. We have a decade of proof from the day school system in Mexico, and 40 years of evidence from other ACTFL-based language programs.
As we know, some students do fine learning the dikduk and kriyah. They somehow pick up the language structure and can read, write, even speak and listen on an acceptable or maybe even a superior level. But many, most, of our students are not able to do this on their own. And connecting to Hebrew is so incredibly important — for connecting to the davening, for understanding the learning, and for feeling at home in Eretz Yisroel.
To learn more about this initiative, visit www.hebrewourway.org or WhatsApp Dvorky at (313) 367-9486
