HOW TO LEARN MODERN HEBREW

Something that blew my mind about language learning was a ​Quora answer​ I read a
few days ago. The gist was that when we set out to learn a new language, the
question shouldn’t be: “How long until I’m fluent?”or “Should I study this language?”
Rather, it should be, ​“Will I use this language?”

We are only fluent in the languages we use. ​I think about my dad, who emigrated
from Mexico to the United States as a child. He admitted that his native Spanish was
rusty, and his English was far superior now as an adult.

Well, have you heard this

phrase before? “​Use it or
lose it.” ​It means we should
actively set out to use Hebrew
as much as possible, or lose
our skills. I know, it sounds
sad. I used to be ​obsessed
with Modern Greek, but
because I haven’t used it in a
while, I’ve ​forgotten a lot.

Anyways, there are four

camps of language learning:
listening, reading, speaking,
and writing. ​Theoretically, if
we want to improve in each
aspect of the language, we
should spend as much time as
possible actively engaging in each activity, respectively.

If we can’t find reasons to use Hebrew, ​then we should make reasons.​ To practice
listening, spend a while finding good songs, movies, radio stations, etc. For reading,
invest in awesome books like Harry Potter, the Bible, or comic books if you’re so
inclined. If these reasons aren’t strong enough, then scour the internet or your local
Jewish community and find yourself a friend who speaks Hebrew fluently. Even

😉
better, fall in love with them. If you can’t or don’t want to, find yourself a Hebrew
celebrity crush. Problem solved. ​

When we use a language, the activities should be a natural extension of what we

already do. If you love video games, why spend hours watching makeup tutorials? If
you hate reading, then why spend your time poring over Hebrew encyclopedias?
 GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT.

Have you heard this phrase before? ​Garbage in, garbage out? ​It’s important that
the resources we use to learn Hebrew are high quality (in other words, grammatically
correct). A really common method in the language learning community is to use Anki,
basically online flashcards that use the system of “Spaced repetition.”

But the flashcards will actually harm your learning if you’re not careful about the
garbage you’re putting into the flashcards. Find​ good garbage ​to put into your
flashcards. ​Your flashcards are only as good as the garbage you put into it.

If the garbage is bad, it will be like ​“toxic input”​ for your language learning. It
reinforces negative habits of bad grammar and bad pronunciation that can be difficult
to break. If your Hebrew pronunciation is terrible at the moment, I do not recommend
recording your voice to pronounce the words you put into Anki. You’ll be hearing bad
pronunciation over and over again! It will just be ​reinforcing ​bad pronunciation.

If you’re a beginner, do not be crafty and write your own sentences in Hebrew for
your Anki cards, unless you get yourself a native Hebrew speaker to correct your
sentences. Every time I’ve gone to one, there’s always been a mistake. Every.
Single. Time.

If you don’t want to go through the trouble of writing your own sentences in Hebrew,
then scour the internet for quality resources. Find audio of ​native pronunciation,
script of ​pre-written sentences,​ and ​accurate translations​.
I’ve noticed that when I watch some movies on Netflix, the Hebrew audio ​does not
match up exactly with the Hebrew subtitles. Since I’m a beginner, making Anki
flashcards out of these Hebrew movies will confuse me even more.

Instead, I use good quality Hebrew resources. Let me simply share them with you:
HebrewPod101​, the free lesson on ​Pimsleur​, ​ Modern Hebrew Bible​ paired with this
really good Hebrew translator​, ​Teach Me Hebrew​, and the best one of all: ​the
Hebrew FSI Basic course. ​(testimonial)​ ​(free download)​ ​(pdf).

When we are finding those resources we’ll be actively repeating, memorizing, and
learning from, it’s imperative that it’s ​good garbage. ​And this isn’t just limited to
flashcards as well. If we send an email in incorrect Hebrew, we will also ​read ​the
incorrect phrases we wrote, which ​reinforces ​this bad habit. And the next time we
write an email, that incorrect phrase we last used will be fresh in our mind.

Eek. Not good.​😬

😉
So be careful about your input. Guard your precious garbage. A little leaven ruins the
whole batch. ​ Try using only correct Hebrew from the very beginning. Of course 
we need to practice, of course we will make mistakes. But unless we have a native 
speaker to correct us and to learn from our mistakes, we run into the danger of 
reinforcing those mistakes. I’ve heard a story about a mother who spoke incorrect 
English, even after years of being immersed in the English-speaking country. Even 
after constantly being corrected by her child, she would never change her speaking, 
because ​bad​ h
​ abits are hard to break.  

Garbage in, garbage out. D

​ o you have some good Hebrew garbage, or nah? 

 
 HABITS 

Speaking of habits, we need to make an important habit of being consistent in our 

language learning. If our ultimate goal is to use Hebrew a lot and thereby become 
fluent, we need to make daily Hebrew learning habits. 

This means it’s far better to learn Hebrew spread out in one week, rather than seven 
hours one day and nothing for the rest of the week. We need to aim for frequency 
and consistency. If you don’t make a strong Hebrew learning habit, if you don’t 
incorporate it into your daily routine, chances are you’ll stop using Hebrew over time 
and give up. 

So what habits can we make? Here are a few simple ideas: 

- review our Anki flashcards 

- read a Hebrew newspaper or news article 
- listen to a Hebrew news station daily 
- read the Torah or the daily Jewish prayers 
- speak to native speakers habitually (E.g. Tuesdays and Thursdays) 
- memorize one new Hebrew phrase every day 
- Go through a unit of the Hebrew FSI Basic Course every other day 
- You get the drift ;D 

Implementing specific habits takes foresight and the ability to make a plan of action. 
It might be hard coming up with a habit, but once it’s ingrained in our being, using 
Hebrew will become a normal part of our daily routine, just like brushing our teeth, 
eating breakfast, or tying our shoelaces. 

 
 METHODS

Lydia Machova says in ​this video​ that when she asked polyglots the best way to
learn a language, they all gave different responses. This is because we all have our
own unique personality types, learning styles, and ways of learning languages.

In this guide, I won’t tell you which method is “the right” one.

Instead, I will provide you with a couple of effective language learning methods that
have already worked for many. But honestly, if your goal is to learn Hebrew, and if
you do not have money to buy a course, or access to a native teacher, then you will
need to develop ​flexibility and resourcefulness. ​Resourcefulness to find new
methods and tricks--and the flexibility to change a method when it isn’t working for
you.

Language Learning Methods

Goldlist Method​ (spaced repetition but on paper)
ANKI​ (spaced repetition but online, with options of audio, adding images, etc.)
Antimoon Method​ (although the blog is about English, reading this was SO helpful)
Luca Lampariello’s Method​ (​VERY​ helpful for me)

Also, if you buy a course I ​do not​ recommend getting Rosetta Stone. I’ve heard very
bad reviews about it. Pimsleur is very good but it’s very expensive.

(@Me when I find an awesome language learning method).

 Hebrew Tips and Resources
1. Learn the Hebrew alphabet first​. This should go without saying. One should
be able to pronounce the letters and sounds of the Hebrew Alphabet.
2. If you want to learn the Hebrew basics, like colors, numbers, the
alphabet​,​ in a fun and interactive way, then use ​Jitap​. It’s amazing. And free!!
3. I’m BEING COMPLETELY HONEST BUT I learned so much Hebrew from ​this
one video!​ It’s amazing AND entertaining. (I would replay the same clip for a
word or phrase over and over again until I was able to say it).
4. Knowing nikud is helpful, but it’s not essential. I studied it for a few hours, but
just realize that native Israelis don’t use nikud unless it’s absolutely
necessary.
5. I found this​ image of the Hebrew alphabet​ and it’s been my Macbook
wallpaper ever since. If I don’t want to study Hebrew actively, I turn on a
Hebrew podcast​ to play in the background while I practice writing a letter of
the alphabet over and over again.
6. If you want to speed up your Hebrew progress, set up an environment of
Hebrew immersion.​ Always be listening to a Hebrew podcast, song, or
audio. Print or hang up the alphabet and hang it up in your wall. Change your
phone configuration settings, and your Google language, to Hebrew.
7. I’ve forced myself to only pray in Hebrew and read the Bible in Modern
Hebrew, and this is good motivation to learn Hebrew prayers and memorize
Hebrew verses whenever I can. Two days ago I bought a ​Hebrew Bible ​and

😊😊
I’m excited to get it in the mail. It will be an awesome motivation for me to
keep learning to read Hebrew. ​
8. Use ​Discord​ and ​Hellotalk​ to meet Israeli friends!!

😉
9. If you want to find shows with Hebrew audio and subtitles, then browse Netflix
by audio​. Even better,​ change your VPN​ to Israel to unlock more movies ​ ​.
10. To practice your Hebrew, read along while playing slow audio, like songs with
lyrics, children books-- and from there you can slowly work your way up.
11. If you want to practice your Hebrew blind typing, use this ​website​.
12. If you are tired, simply listen to the audio of the ​ Modern Hebrew Bible​. Or a
podcast. Listening to Hebrew in the background, even if we are not focused
on it, can really help us distinguish the sounds and letters of a language.
13. If you want to hear the pronunciation of a word, copy and paste it in ​Forvo​.
Also, ​Reverso contex​t is good for seeing a word in example sentences.
14. If you don’t have​ Hebrew Keyboard Stickers​ yet (I got some in the mail
yesterday yay :D) then use this ​website​ to type out Hebrew letters.
15. If you’re busy, then use ​Duolingo​ during your spare moments. =D
16. Download ​Audacity​ for free ​and use it to break down audio very easily and
simply (there’s a huge learning curve so you can email me), but so far,
listening to audio repetitively on Audacity has helped me SO much. If you
want the best Audacity tutorials, then watch ​VoiceOverMaster​ on Youtube.
 HEBREW RESOURCES
(Listening, Reading, Speaking, Writing)

Youtube Videos for the Hebrew Alphabet:

Rossenwasser method ​(This was ​most​ helpful, but sadly they only have one
episode free.)
Quick Review Hebrew Alphabet
Hebrew Alphabet - Lesson 1 - Learn to write and read Hebrew in only 6 lessons!
Hebrew Alphabet - Writing The Letters (Handwriting and Print) - NO AUDIO
‫ אותיות האלף בית‬- ‫איך כותבים אלף‬
Alphabet Song
Another Alphabet Song LOL

Youtube Channels I Follow:

iGod.co.il
Disney Hebrew Sub
kidstv
‫ ערוץ‬KIDZ
‫אולדסקול‬
News Channel
Jai.Life
Poetry Slam Israel

Podcasts and Radio

Streetwise Hebrew - great for Hebrew
slang!
I don’t know what this podcast is called
LOL
Apparently listening to this radio station
is a part of every Israeli’s morning
routine
apparently this station gives traffic
updates every 15 mins

News Website with Audio (meant for beginners)

bLAh blAh bLah

Here are the songs that inspired me to start learning Hebrew:

Prince of Egypt Deliver Us
Prince of Egypt When You Believe
Kshehalev Boche​ + ​Lyrics
Bereshit Olam​ + ​Lyrics​ (Also here is my ​Spotify​ if you want to check it out.)
Intermediate-Advanced Resources
Hebrew-Hebrew Dictionary
Random Free Hebrew Poetry Course
Random Free Hebrew Course About Moses’s Face
Hebrew Verb Tables
I think this is a Hebrew dictionary?
ONLY join this Israeli Discord server once you can hold a fluent conversation in
Hebrew. The reason is because only Hebrew is allowed on the server

Inspirational Language Learning Video

FAIL TO WIN

Spongebob says: YOU CAN DO IT!

 My Personal Method
Okay now I’ll share my personal method! For me, I have a revolving assortment of
activities to choose from. This ensures I don’t burn out and that I personally enjoy
using Hebrew, may it be through reading, writing, speaking, or listening.

- I​ might be reviewing Anki cards in my personal deck. ​On one side I have
the Hebrew pronunciation with the Hebrew script, the backside is English with
a picture, and I add an extra “hint” which is the English transliteration.
- I might be learning from the FSI Hebrew Basic Course. ​This is my main
“course.” I recommend that when you learn a language like Hebrew, you go
through a structured course, so that you’re always advancing. A perfect
example of that would be FSI which is 100% free. If you are interested in
using FSI, you can ask me anytime and I can tell you how I use the resource,
because it took me a while to figure out how to use it.
- I might be actively listening to a podcast, song, or the Bible. ​This is
where I try to pick up words that I understand from what the people are
saying. This is the main ​podcast​ I listen to all the time, as well as​ the Modern
Hebrew New Testament.
- I might be practicing my Hebrew typing on that ​website​ I mentioned
earlier. ​In the background, I play Hebrew audio (like songs, podcasts, radio)
so that I can subconsciously pick up the sounds and words while typing at the
same time.
- I might be MAKING Anki cards.​ This can be relatively time consuming, so I
make sure to make good quality cards on things I genuinely struggle on. If I
keep forgetting a certain word or phrase, I will add it to my Anki deck.
- I might be (trying to) talk or write in Hebrew with Hebrew natives on
HelloTalk. ​I love HelloTalk because I have found SO many friends, or at least
acquaintances, that way.
- I actively talk to myself or pray or think in Hebrew.

Overview:
1) Don’t “learn” the language, ​use ​the language.

👏 👏 👏 👏 
2) Find good quality “garbage.”

😊
3) Make daily language learning habits. BE​ CON SIS TENT!
4) Find the language learning method that works for you. ​  

My contact: ​gabrielacesanchez@gmail.com
Thank you for reading. I hope this helped! :D