learning hebrew 2 (program ladder)

in a previous post, i listed a full collection of hebrew resources i have used. i've tried to update them over time, but i realize that it's just a huge collection of all kinds of different things. below, i tried to organize the list a bit to help identify what can be helpful at which stage. i progressed through all of these programs, so i'm reflecting on my experience and also my best judgment about what can most help you where.

my hebrew is still in progress, but i feel like i've been able to learn a good deal so far. i started really learning when aviyah was about 8 months old, January 2007. as of august 2009, i have almost 900 verbs, 500 adjectives, and a whole mess of other nouns and adverbs. i have a good accent for an american, although israelis often think that i sound french. (now that i think about it, strangers who ask me what language i'm speaking also guess that i'm speaking french.)

i really encourage you to try it out. you really can do it! i was bar mitzvah, so i did have a working knowledge of the hebrew alphabet and i was able to read hebrew from a prayerbook. however, i really knew nothing at all about how to speak or understand any hebrew at all. i always tell the story that on my first adult trip to israel my friend tried to teach me an israeli slang word for cool: סבבה. (which is actually arabic, actually.) and i went around the whole trip screaming: סבה. (which is actually grandfather, actually.) :)

so below, i've listed several major programs and resources listed by level in order to help you plan out a learning program. i hope this helps!


A or א)

Ulpan א
Textbook: עברית שלב א
BYKI Deluxe
Learn HebrewPod (iTunes Podcast)
in Flight Hebrew
topDictionaries (iPhone dictionary)
iFlipr (iPhone flashcard program)


B or ב)

Ulpan ב
Textbook: עברית שלב ב
Rosetta Stone I
Pimsleur I
Bereshit (Easy Hebrew Newspaper)


C or ג)

Ulpan ג
Textbook: עברית שלב ג
Rosetta Stone II
Pimsleur II
Hebrew Podcast (iTunes Podcast)
vocabulearn I
Children's Books
Yanshuf (Easy Hebrew Newspaper)


D or ד)

Ulpan: Advanced Sicha
Textbook: שׁReader - Modern Hebrew Prose and Poetry
Rosetta Stone III
Pimsleur III (Janauary 2010)
Heivenu Shalom
vocabulearn II
Children's Shows (Dora)
Israeli Music


E or ה)

Disney Movies
Disney Books
Young Adult Literature
Sha'ar L'Matchil (Advanced Learning Hebrew Newspaper)