Intensive course of Hebrew with the Polis Method
Learn to speak Ancient Hebrew as a Living Language
The Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Pontificia Università della Santa Croce) is pleased to offer a specialized course in Biblical Hebrew, intended for all those who wish to acquire a basic reading proficiency in Biblical Hebrew texts. The course caters for true beginners, and no previous knowledge is required of participants.
In accordance with modern educational techniques applied in the teaching of living languages, students will be immersed in Hebrew from their very first lesson- by speaking, reading and even writing. We believe that the fastest and truest way to acquire a language, even a dead one, is through hearing it spoken out loud and practicing orally with the teacher and fellow students. Biblical Ancient Hebrew back to life is no easy task, and in our efforts to present it in the classroom we made use of textbooks for Modern Hebrew, while making the necessary changes. In this way we hoped to create a teaching method centered on the ancient texts, but offering the interested student a larger vista of the Hebrew language, and the opportunity to continue his studies in both Biblical and Modern Hebrew.
The course will be held during the month of July 2011, Mondays through Fridays for four hours a day (9:00-13:00). During the first two hours, students will be given grammar lessons. The later part of the day will offer students a wide range of entertaining and educational methods to increase their familiarity with the language and the ancient texts- songs, poems, prose and even a newspaper dating from the 8th century BC! In addition, throughout the month, we will concentrate on reading the Book of Jonah. This book, written between the late fifth and early fourth centuries BC has an interesting literary history and is ideally suited for those wishing to take their first steps in Biblical Hebrew texts. At the end of the course, students will have read through the entire book and will have attained the necessary level to continue reading further biblical texts on their own, with the help of a dictionary.
The course was developed and will be given by Eran Shuali, an Israeli teacher. Mr. Shuali has had extensive experience in teaching Hebrew to foreigners during his life outside of Israel, and is adept at presenting Hebrew to students in creative and innovative ways, without the use of other languages.
General information:
Level I (beginners: no knowledge of hebrew) : 80 Hours
Location: Pontifical University of the Holy Cross (Rome, Italy) URL: http://www.pusc.it
Dates : July 4-29, 2011, Monday-Friday, 4 hours a day (9.00 am to 1.00 pm)
Price : 550 euros