Polis – The Jerusalem Institute of Languages and Humanities

In the heart of the Holy City, a particular place is hidden among the old streets of the famous Jerusalem
neighborhood of Musrara. It is neither a synagogue, nor a church, nor a mosque, but a sort of temple of
knowledge. Although its facilities are humble but modern, its activity is ambitious and ancient in its
vocation. The Polis Institute devotes all its work to research and teaching Languages and Humanities, and its
history shows a special dedication to the recovery of Ancient languages and culture, fundamental pillars of
the world we inhabit today but do not really know. It is an academic institution that, despite its youth (it was
founded in 2011), is already internationally renowned and recognized. One of the key reasons for its success
and fame is perhaps the methodology with which it shares its name: the Polis method. How Ancient
languages are brought to life in and out of the classroom stands out in the day-to-day work of the school:
Koine Greek, Biblical Hebrew, and Latin, among others, are the languages that Polis offers in its programs
and teaches as if they were modern languages. What for many are "dead languages", for Polis are living
languages, since what is proposed is an immersive learning system in which languages are taught exclusively
in the target language. The same is done with the Modern language courses offered, and even with the
theoretical courses: the purpose seems to be, first and foremost, to train rigorously in the cultures that have
given birth to our civilization. To find out how they manage to do this, it is best to ask the project's
protagonists. For a comprehensive overview of the institute, we spoke with the Polis dean and head of the
Ancient Philology program, Christophe Rico; with the head of the Near Eastern Languages program, Tania
Notarius; and with Eyal Nahum and Tatiana Marvina, coordinators of the Hebrew and Greek and Latin
departments, respectively.

Prof. Rico, what do Ancient Languages contribute to our education?

Rico– The Western world is grounded on the Literature that was produced in Ancient languages, namely
Greco-Latin Literature and Jewish and Christian Ancient Literature. When you take, for instance, the dates
of the year, we are talking of 2024, even in Muslim countries. In this way, we can see how Western culture,
for good or bad, is the culture that has had the deepest influence all over the world. In short, we have two
pillars, which are the Greco-Latin culture and the Jewish and Christian culture. All the texts related to these
two pillars are present in Greek, Latin, Syriac, Hebrew, and in other languages such as Coptic Georgian or
Armenian. These foundational texts are all written in Ancient languages. This goes very far if you think
about it: for instance, we could say that most disciplines today have a foundational text that is written either
in Greek or in Latin. For example, if you take Medicine, the foundational texts of Western medicine are
written in Greek: Hippocrates and Galen. So the main problem is that most of these texts –and I would say
90% of them if we look at the Western world from Antiquity to the Middle Ages– is that they have not been
translated into any Modern language yet. Hence the importance of knowing the Ancient languages in order
to have access to all this amount of texts, and also because any translation, brilliant as the translator may be,
entails always a part of subjectivity and a part of loss of the original.

As one of the founders of the institute, why did you choose to teach these languages as living
languages?
Rico– I have been trained in these languages according to the so-called traditional method, which means
grammar and translation. In the academic year 2000-2001, I was teaching Ancient Greek in Jerusalem, and I
tried for two or three classes to have a full session only in Greek. The following academic year, there was a
group of seven students who asked me to teach fully in Greek. I think it also has to do with the digital
revolution, which has made people more distant from the written and printed texts and more in touch with
audiovisual resources. What we aim to do by teaching in a living way is not just to learn the grammar or to
be able to solve the riddle and decode the text, but to acquire a language, which is, to have an active
command of the language, which is much stronger. The main problem with the traditional methods is that
you lose a lot of time searching for the vocabulary; you know it more or less but always have to check, and

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in this way, you never have direct access to the language. The only way to have certainty about the words is
to talk the language, to assimilate and internalize it, and not only to learn it so that you are able not only to
recognize a word when you see it but also to produce it spontaneously. That is really when the language is
embedded in your memory.

How is it possible to revive these languages and up to which point?

Rico– The first thing is to know the sources very well; something that helped me to start speaking Greek was
the fact that I had read the New Testament in the original text at least 60 times from cover to cover. That
helped me to make a kind of mental database or a concordance that would let me find ways to say this or
that. Secondly, when you know the sources and you read them extensively, you find expressions, ways of
saying, proverbs, phrases… When reading Greek literature, I always try to write down interesting phrases,
with Isocrates at the moment, for instance. The idea is to compile all these terms and phrases and form a kind
of mental database to sound truly Greek.

Nahum– In my case, I started teaching BH (Biblical Hebrew) as a living language following several years
of teaching MH (Modern Hebrew) as a living language. As I had been already trained as a language teacher,
all I needed to do was to implement the same methods (along with new ones I learned at Polis) on Biblical
Hebrew. That said, however, obvious modifications were required to meet the special requirements of BH.
For instance, the order by which vocabulary is introduced is different in BH than in MH for obvious reasons.
Working that out in BH is quite simple, as the language is defined by a closed corpus with lists of
frequencies of vocabulary so that the order of introducing the vocabulary can be most effectively handled
with these lists. Also, given that the syntax of BH is quite different from that of MH, the order of introducing
the various verbal forms is accordingly different from the one for MH. A textbook was written based on this
layout that accompanies all the levels from beginners to advanced.

What is the purpose and history of the Polis Institute in this project of reviving Ancient languages?
Rico– The mission of the institute is clear: it is the renewal of Humanities through direct access to Ancient
texts, and the main method is to revive Ancient languages. Here the revival of Ancient languages is just a
means for something greater. The generation before me, in France, had the choice to study the humanistic
track or the scientific track. If they chose the humanistic track, they had four hours of Latin and Greek every
week from the age of 12 to the age of 17. This means that, when they arrived at university, they did not have
to learn the Ancient languages, they already knew them; they would read the texts and work on the Classics.
This is lost and gone forever. The only way to come back to that level is to teach in a living way because it is
much more efficient and you reach the new world. If most of the sources have not been translated yet, how
can we have a renewal of Humanities? When reading articles, you see that many source texts are not quoted
for the simple reason that there is no translation of the source as yet. This is a catastrophe.

Notarius– In my view, the purpose is really academic, this is: to develop an institution with a high academic
level in, first of all, teaching, and also to develop new approaches, new ideas, and new directions in our
academic activity. So it is about developing new attractive and innovative graduate programs, and that is
why, for me, it is a place of innovation, because Humanities are in crisis, something that is not new – it is
something that has been happening for the last 50-60 years–, and it should not be so. Humanities have a lot
to offer to modern society and human beings in general. It is relatively easy to initiate new things because we
are not an old bureaucratic institution, but rather quite mobile and open to new situations and needs, and
therefore we can start new programs, offer new courses, develop curriculums that are attractive to the people,
and in that way bring Humanities more to the foreground of academic life.

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To what kind of people is the training provided at Polis aimed? What would you say the profile of the
Polis student is?
Rico– Quite eclectic, actually. I would say there are several categories. First of all, we have students who
come to study rather Semitic languages and others who come to study rather Classic languages, and I would
include Biblical Hebrew among these. So, Latin, Greek and Biblical Hebrew, or else Arabic and Modern
Hebrew. Then you have Coptic or Syriac students. Some students come here because they are interested in
the Classics, either Classic Literature, History or Philosophy. Thus, one of the areas is Philology and the
Classics. Another group is constituted by people who are interested in Middle Eastern studies, like the
conflict of Middle East, History of the Middle East, the Jewish world, the Arabic world… Then there is also
an important group of people who are interested in the Bible –Biblical texts, Hebrew, Greek…– or in the
Fathers of the Church and the Early Church. Apart from the Academic Programs, we also offer Language
courses for people living in Jerusalem, so we also receive diplomats, NGO workers, and even Israelis who
want to speak Arabic and Palestinians who want to study Modern Hebrew: this is our small contribution to
peace here in Jerusalem.

Notarius– To start with, the first picture of an audience that I have in my mind are of course young students
from all over the world that are at an early career stage –students with a BA or a MA or that look for
something where they can apply their ideas and knowledge–, but also an audience that “consume”
knowledge. Knowledge and information is part of our everyday consumption, so Polis is also a place for
people who want to learn languages on a very high level, who want to talk them and not just to know
something about them. This means that Polis can also be attractive for people who are already grown up or
even who have their career already on its peak but still are interested in consuming more knowledge or have
new intellectual challenges.

Polis is famous for its method. Where did this come from?
Rico– Not many of the ingredients of the Polis method are original, but the recipe is. Most of the ingredients
were invented before and in other areas, like Total Physical Response, story building, storytelling, work by
pairs, full immersion… However, the recipe integrates all these techniques according to a well-planned
method. But let us talk about the two elements that are genuine and specific to the Polis Institute, which are
dynamic language development and living sequential expression. The former is a principle and the latter is a
technique. Regarding dynamic language development, several linguists apart from me have worked to
develop the Polis method and, in doing so, we have concluded that there is an algorithm in building up a
language. You have to find the proper algorithm if you want to progress quickly in the acquisition of the
language, and this algorithm marks what is to be taught first and what is to be taught after, you cannot mix
things up. In addition, linguistic research is very helpful in setting this path and thus the Polis method is in
constant evolution. Anyway, then we have the technique of living sequential expression, which was inspired
by the vision of François Gouin at the end of the XIX Century, and much more rationalized thanks to the
research in linguistics that has taken place in the last hundred years. Living sequential expression is basically
the idea that we have to follow the path of memory and take advantage of the power of sequentiality. How
do we learn languages? Well, first through the ear –then through actions–; that was Gouin’s intuition, that
you first hear the language: surge, ambula, consiste, conside. However, in any activity, there is always
sequentiality, logic, and steps that could be reduced to the minimum, from four to seven steps for each
activity. For instance, I cannot stand up if I was not first sitting, and I cannot walk if I have not stood up
before. This is a connection between the different actions that helps to enhance the memory. Following the
vision of François Gouin, we try to map human experience into 150 different activities that are either
frequent or infrequent and we reduce them to a set of actions; if, afterwards, you can retell what you have
done, you can talk about almost everything.

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What does the Polis method require from the teacher and the student?
Marvina– Polis teachers must exhibit a strong commitment to the method. If a student does not understand
the meaning of a word, it is easy to give a translation. However, instead of resorting to translations, teachers
employ alternative techniques such as explaining through images, actions, descriptions, etc. This also
demands resourcefulness from teachers in their explanations as well as creativity and openness to
experimentation in and outside the classroom. The method demands the same from students: commitment
and creativity. Every year we have students who feel shocked and confused in the first classes because the
situation of misunderstanding is understandably frustrating. Nonetheless, this feeling disappears soon.
Students are also encouraged to be open to experiments. When teachers introduce unusual activities, students
are urged to embrace them. From years of teaching practice, I noticed that students are extremely creative,
and they often excel the teachers in that.

Nahum– Both the teacher and the student are expected to communicate in the target language only, from day
one of classes. The idea behind this method is to create familiarity and a close "relationship" between the
student and the target language, something that is not achieved with the traditional method. Instead of
analyzing the language and treating it as a "dead fossil" inspecting it under the microscope, the student
experiences the language, is exposed to constant coherent oral input from the teacher, and is expected to
produce an oral output. However, this is not the goal per se, but just the means to reach our actual goal,
namely reading fluency in the original texts, the ability to read a text as it flows, with minimal use of the
dictionary. This method also enhances vocabulary assimilation, to a much higher degree than with the
traditional method.

How is the learning progression in the Polis method laid out, and how is it reflected in the books?
Marvina– As I said, the Polis method follows the natural progression of language acquisition: from passive
to active, from listening through speaking and reading to writing. This principle influences the structure of
the books and lesson plans. New grammatical patterns are introduced, and practiced through speaking
exercises, followed by reading and discussing dialogues or texts, and finally, students may write
compositions. Suppose you are a student focusing on Ancient Greek and enrolled in a two-year graduate
program. For two years, you will undergo six grammar-focused courses, where you will gradually be
exposed to all the grammar patterns and put them immediately into practice. You will practice more informal
and free-style conversation in a course called 'Greek lunch' held four times a week. Reading, an essential part
of learning languages, will be covered in four Greek Readings courses, where a certain text will be
intensively read and discussed. There are also two reading courses (Greek VII and VIII), where students
extensively read, discuss, and teach each other various texts of different genres. Moreover, students are
encouraged to run their own conversational clubs and reading groups to keep practicing Greek when they do
not have classes. In addition, the student will be able to attend several classes in ancient Greek dealing with
the History of Writing systems, the Theory of translation, or the Greek philology.

Nahum– The language classes start from scratch, the students are not expected to have any knowledge of the
target language. By the end of the two-year program, they reach a point where they are familiar with the
grammar of the target language and have a very large vocabulary inventory. Teaching vocabulary is never
carried out through lists or translation into other languages, but through introduction in context and then
constant usage time after time in different and new contexts. This is carried out under the realization that a
word can never be expected to be "inscribed" in the learner's memory unless it is used over and over again in
new contexts. This is also reflected by the textbooks, which contain texts and dialogues as well as exercises,
all of which integrate vocabulary items (for review) and new grammatical forms and constructions in a
natural and coherent context.

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Would you say the Polis method is applied equally to all taught languages, or are there different
strategies for each language?

Rico– That is a very good question. There are main principles that apply to all languages, but they have to be
applied differently according to each language. Language is like an iceberg, in which pragmatics is the part
that you don't see, and grammar is the emerging part. First, you have pragmatics, the way you use language
and the way speakers interact, and then you have grammar. So if we go to pragmatics, there are many things
that are common, but of course, grammar is different in each language. Some languages have an imperative,
others don’t (this has to do with grammar), but in all languages, commands are given (and this is a pragmatic
feature). My inner conviction is that the more we apply the Polis method to different languages, the more we
will come to a purer algorithm. This means that the algorithm will be similar in all languages because it will
be purely pragmatic, but there will be some steps that could be skipped in the study of some specific
languages.

Nahum– The teaching methodology is basically the same for all languages, as we believe that all languages
are of the same nature and therefore need to be taught in the same way in order to be effectively assimilated.
There are some language-specific modifications as described above, but the methodology we use is the same.

Languages are repositories of culture and, as such, they entail a specific mentality. In this sense,
teaching an Ancient language is much more difficult than teaching a Modern one. I would like to ask:
what kind of challenges do Polis teachers and students face when dealing with languages that are so
alien to our contemporary mentality?

Rico– Well, that’s very true, they have to get to the culture, and you get to the culture, through, among other
factors, a correct understanding of the language, which is essential in order to understand all that is implied
in a text, for instance. For example, the problem with Ancient Greek is that, as an Ancient language, you
don't have access to the spoken language, so it is difficult to acquire vocabulary. So what do you do if the
student has little vocabulary and wishes to read a literary text? Two different things have to be done: firstly,
we have to create many texts in easy Greek, which was done with Hansel and Gretel, a text that can be read
by someone who has had exposure to 120-200 full-immersion hours of Greek. The more texts students read,
the more easily they will get fluency. And, secondly, another thing that can be done is pre-reading activities.
That means that you have to enable the student to get most of the vocabulary before they read for the first
time a text. How do you do that? You can have a TPR activity (GIVE A DEFINITION), which will be
grounded on the text that is going to be read, and in this way, you make sure that, through previous activities,
the students have acquired most of the vocabulary they will see in the text.

Marvina– Everything that we do not know and do not understand seems alien. When I came to Israel six
years ago, it was an alien country with a very peculiar language and mentality. Now, as I learn Hebrew and
get to know the people, this country is becoming my home. Similarly, first, we may consider Ancient Greek
culture as alien to our mentality, which is not true. We consider it alien because we do not know it yet or
because we do not know that we know it already. Do you like proverbs and maxims? I do! They are indeed
repositories of people’s wisdom and reflect their mentality. Now, when you hear the proverb 'a great city is a
great solitude,' would you think that its meaning is so alien to our mentality? I would not. Some years ago,
when I moved to the big city and didn't have acquaintances for some time, I had the same thought in mind,
not even knowing there existed an ancient Greek proverb: μεγάλη πόλις μεγάλη ἐρημία. So, what I want to
say is that, first, through learning and gradually understanding the habits, tastes, humor, philosophy, and
daily routines of people who lived thousands of years ago, we cease seeing them as alien, and we often
discover that when connecting to the ancient cultures, we are recalling similar ideas that we have nowadays.

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Nahum– Indeed, not all students are familiar with the Bible and its protagonists, the culture of the Ancient
Near East, and social structures of the Iron Age, which are profoundly different from ours. One of my goals,
as I see them, is to be a teacher not only of BH (Biblical Hebrew) but also of the Bible and its cultural world.
Two major challenges we face when using BH in class are: (1) Biblical Hebrew, unlike Ancient Greek or
any Modern Language, is not a language of scientific discourse, so we somehow need to bridge that gap. (2)
Lack of vocabulary in BH to accommodate the needs of our modern world. Both of these challenges require
us teachers to focus on and restrict ourselves to genres and themes that are attested in the Bible only.

What are the current projects of the Polis Institute (apart from the courses and academic programs)?

Rico– I am happy to hear that question because we have a project that we are about to publish: the 1st
volume of a Greek thematic dictionary. It will include over 1000 pages, and it has been born from the
necessity to have a tool when looking for ways to say this or that. The idea is to compile interesting terms
and phrases and put them in their corresponding place in the thematic Dictionary.

Notarius– Some things are more or less running, like the Polis Colloquium, different lectures… Regarding
my research, which is also connected to my job as Associate Professor at the University of the Free State in
Bloemfontein (South Africa), there are two main projects. Both are under the general title of “Consultation
on Semitic Epigraphy”; one of them is connected to Ugaritic, and Polis is very helpful because it provides
research assistants for it, and this is good for Polis promotion: letting students understand that when they
apply for the Polis scholarships, they can work as research assistants for projects such as this one. Here we
have been working on the transliteration of texts, collecting data from texts and grammar books, and now
there will be an international team working on digitalization and tagging, this is computer processing of
these texts that we have collected and transliterated. At some point, this will become an open source for
everyone. The second project is more autonomous and less connected to other institutions besides Polis, and
that is Aramaic epigraphy. Here we have done several things: we have transliterated the Textbook of
Aramaic Ostraca from Idumea, which was published by Profs. Bezalal Porten and Ada Yardeni. I worked on
the fifth volume because Ada passed away. So we transliterated the previous four volumes and the fifth is in
progress, and according to my plan, they will be posted on a website called “Comprehensive Aramaic
Lexicon”.