University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee
Hebrew 101 Syllabus
Fall 2014
M-T-W-R 1:00-1:50, CRT B-84
Instructor: Yael Gal- Ben Yitschak
E-mail: yael@uwm.edu
Office Hours and Location: Tuesday / Thursday 2:00 -3:00 and by appointment.
Curtin Hall 822.
Office phone: 414-229-6875
Welcome to the Hebrew program and best wishes for a wonderful and enjoyable year!
Course Description and Objectives:
The first year course in Modern Hebrew provides a comprehensive introduction to the Hebrew
language and culture while ensuring a solid command of the fundamental grammatical
structures. The emphasis of the instruction is on enabling students to develop basic
communicative skills in standard Modern Hebrew. Students will also work on Hebrew spelling,
read Hebrew literary works, sing modern Israeli songs; use the pronunciation of Modern Israeli
Hebrew; write short compositions, sentences, stories etc. and learn basic grammar.
Class will be conducted for the most part in Hebrew in order to provide a concentrated,
immersive environment that accustoms students to the language. Through grammatical
instruction, written and verbal exercise, oral review and regular homework, students will
gradually acquire language fundamentals. Additionally, elements of Israeli society and culture
will be introduced as appropriate to illuminate language instruction.
No prior knowledge or familiarity with Israel is assumed or necessary to succeed in this class.
Learning outcomes
It is expected that by completion of Hebrew 101, students will be able to:
• Read Hebrew in print and script and write in Hebrew script.
• Engage in basic communicative exchanges in a variety of situations: provide personal
information about one’s self and others, ask and answer questions about school and academic
subjects, places of residence, the campus, schedule, type of food they like. Briefly describe
one’s family, people, places and actions.
• Read short passages and dialogues, focusing on comprehension, fluency and pronunciation.
•Write short compositions (dialogues, letters, paragraphs, journal entries) .
• Listen to, understand and analyze basic Hebrew directions, passages and conversations.
• Identify and utilize the following parts of speech: nouns, pronouns, adjectives, verbs,
infinitives, possessives and prepositions.
•Utilize the Internet to reinforce reading, pronunciation and vocabulary skills, and to learn
more about Israeli society and culture.
• Demonstrate knowledge of the basic aspects of Israeli and Hebrew culture.
• Have a basic understanding of and appreciation for diversity in Israel society.
Required Textbook:
Brandeis Modern Hebrew (2005 edition with a CD) by Vardit Ringvald, Bonit Porath, Yaron
Peleg, Esther Shorr and Sara Hascal. – Please bring book to every class.
Using the CD reinforces correct pronunciation, helps develop listening skills and supplies the
correct vowel sounds necessary for reading the text.
The textbooks have been ordered for purchase through UWM bookstore, or can be found at
various on-line retailers.
You may wish to consider acquiring a good Hebrew- English/ English- Hebrew dictionary.
Recommended: Rav Milon –The Multi Dictionary - Edna Lauden and Liora Weinbach.
Can be purchased on line or through Israel Connection: www.isrconn.com
Student Expectations:
Attendance: Attendance at all classes’ sessions is required to provide for maximum exposure to
the language and it’s essential to student achievement. A successful learning of any language is
acquired step by step and requires daily learning and practicing. Therefore, students should
make every effort not to miss class. Attendance is taken daily. If for any reason you cannot
attend a class, please notify me in advance, via phone or e-mail. It is your responsibility to
obtain any notes from a classmate, complete homework and be prepared for the next class.
You are expected to come to every class on time and not to leave early. If you must leave class
early for one reason or another, please inform me at the beginning of class. The class time that
you will miss by being late or leaving early, will be detracted from you attendance. (e.g., leaving
class 10 minutes early 5 times will equal absence of one 50 -minute class).
You are allowed 5 absences throughout the semester. After that, you will lose points for not
attending. Students with 15 or more absences will automatically FAIL the course.
Here is how it lays out:
1-5 absences: 15%
9 absences:
7%
6 absences: 13%
10 absences
5%
7 absences: 11%
11 absences
3%
8 absences: 9%
12 or more absences: 0
Classroom Participation:
Class participation is an important part of this course and will reflect the student’s daily
preparation and active participation in class discussions and activities. You will be encouraged
to speak Hebrew and respond to class exercises as much as possible. Although not every
student enjoys speaking in class, all students will be expected to participate regularly. Don’t be
afraid or too shy. Mistakes, omissions, errors and mispronunciation are a natural part of
learning another language. You are free to make mistakes- by doing so, you will progress.
Assignments:
Home assignments support material studied in class, at times, introduce new concepts. This is
your opportunity to practice. Reviewing new vocabulary and grammatical patterns nightly is
important; language learning requires consistency and is inherently cumulative. You can’t learn
a language without practice. Daily assignments will include: reading, textbook exercises, writing
short compositions and journal entries with new vocabulary, preparing flashcards and listening
to the CD (in your textbook). Homework is due on the day after it is assigned unless otherwise
instructed and will be checked daily to ensure completion.
Not all homework needs to be turned in: some of it we will go over together in class. At any
time, however, the instructor may ask students to turn in homework assignments, and this
work will count toward the homework grade. If students wish to turn in additional homework
to get more feedback, the work will be corrected and returned, but not graded.
Students may submit corrections of their homework to raise the grade.
Assignments must be neat and legible, doubled- spaced and written in pencil. Please include
date, your name, assignment’s title or page number. If you wish, you may use Word-processing
to type in Hebrew.
Using Hebrew on the computer: To download Hebrew fonts onto your Windows® at home,
please search “Hebrew XP”, “Hebrew Vista” or “Hebrew Windows 7”) on Google.com or
Yahoo.com and go to the first website (www.petri.co.il). Hebrew letter stickers or keyboards
are also available online. If you use a Mac please see the attached sheet.
Unit Tests, Oral presentation and Final Exam:
Tests:
There will be 3 unit tests (one test upon completion of each unit in the book) of equal weight in
the Semester. Tests are a means of measuring the students’ understanding of the studied
material.
There will be no make- up tests. In case of an excused absence due to illness, emergency (with
proper documentation) or observance of a religious holiday, you will be allowed to make up the
missed test. Made up tests must be completed within a week’s time.
Oral Presentation:
Each student is expected to prepare an oral presentation (approx.5 minutes) in Hebrew. The
oral presentation will be based on the topics learned in class. Be creative and use visual aids
(power point, prepare a movie clip, write a song, do a puppet show etc). All presentations must
be accompanied by a written script in Hebrew of the material presented.
Final Exam:
There will be a final examination. It will be cumulative, covering all the material we have
learned in the semester. Further instructions will be given closer to the end of the semester.
The final exam will be given on Saturday, December 13, 2014 at 12:30-2:30 p.m.
Students should keep a copy of each graded assignments. This is very useful if for any reason an
instructor’s records get lost, or if students have a question about calculation of grades. Protect
yourself and keep your work. Students should also keep a copy of this syllabus.
Extra Credit:
Extra credit assignments may be made at the instructor’s discretion and will be available to the
entire class; they will not be made on an individual basis. The assignment should reflect
exposure to Modern Hebrew language, literature and to Israeli culture such as attending a
lecture about Israel, poetry reading or watching an Israeli movie. The instructor will inform
students of such opportunities and what is expected of them to do following the event (e.g.,
writing a short composition or reflection about the event they attended).
No extra credit assignments will be accepted after final exam and after final course grades have
been submitted.
Grading Scale:
The final grade will be determined in the following manner:
Attendance and Participation - 15%
Homework assignments
- 25%
Tests
- 30%
Oral Presentation
- 10%
Final Exam
- 20%
Grade ranges:
93% and up
A
80%-82%
B-
67%-69%
D+
90%-92%
A-
77%-79%
C+
60%- 66%
D
87%- 89%
B+
73%- 76%
C
59% and below
F
83%-86%
B
70%- 72%
C-
Additional Points:
In case of academic misconduct, such as plagiarism, copying someone’s homework, cheating on
tests or exams, using Google Translate to write compositions and journal entries, doing an
assignment for another student or having someone else do your assignment , the offending
student will be penalized in accordance with the policy of UWM.
The University Policy about these issues and others (e.g., students called to active military duty,
discriminatory conduct, incompletes, etc.) can be found at:
http://www.uwm.edu/Dept/SecU/SyllabusLinks.pdf
If you need special accommodations in order to meet any of the requirements of this course,
please contact me as soon as possible. Students who have a Visa from the Student Accessibility
Center should give it to me as soon as possible
Religious Observances: Students will be allowed to complete examinations or other
requirements that are missed because of a religious observance.
I’m very excited to be your Hebrew instructor. It is my privilege and responsibility to make this
an optimal learning environment. I will help you increase and strengthen your Hebrew
knowledge and skills. Please come to class with any questions you may have and I will try to
answer them and clarify any difficulties you may encounter. I will also be available to assist you
outside of class during my office hours or by appointment. Please do not delay. If you have any
questions or concerns come and see me, or e-mail me your questions or concerns.
You must use your uwm.edu email address in order to receive information regarding this class
JEWISH STUDIES MAJOR/MINOR:
This course is part of the Jewish Studies major and minor. The major offers two tracks: Hebrew
Studies and Jewish Cultural Studies (which does not require Hebrew language). With its
combination of core courses and electives, the Jewish Studies program allows students to
create a course of study that can focus on religion, culture, Israel, Holocaust, media, or
immigration. A dynamic and innovative major, Jewish Studies prepares students to work in our
multicultural world.
For more information on the Jewish Studies major and minor, please the coordinator, Dr.
Rachel N. Baum, rbaum@uwm.edu; 229-5156.
IMPORTANT DATES TO REMEMBER:
September 18, 2014: Class does not meet in person. Alternative class will be offered.
November 26-30, 2014: Thanksgiving Break
December 11, 2014: Last Day of Class
December 13, 2014: Final Exam
CALENDAR
WEEK ONE – WEEK THREE
Sep. 2: Welcome and introduction to the course. Go over the course objectives, methods,
materials and responsibilities. Get to know your classmates.
Unit one: Learning the Codes and Get Acquainted- pages 1-45
Read also the Preface and the Acknowledgment at the beginning of the Brandeis Modern
Hebrew and the course syllabus.
In unit 1 you will learn: How to make Hebrew sounds, How to write Hebrew letters and when
Hebrew letters serve as numbers. You will also learn to introduce yourself, to tell information
about yourself and about your teacher.
Grammar: Pronouns (singular) Conjunctive “Vav”.
Test # 1
-
Demonstrate proficiency of the Hebrew alphabet (block and script letters) and the
Hebrew vowels. Know the names of each letter and the order of the Hebrew alphabet.
-
Read with comprehension texts about yourself and others.
-
Answer questions about yourself and others.
WEEK FOUR – WEEK SEVEN
Unit 2: Learning Environment – pages 47-109
In unit 2 you will learn: Where you and other students study, what you and other students like
to study and what you and other students need in order to study.
Grammar: Plural pronouns and nouns, demonstrative pronouns, Pa’al (basic verb conjugation)
–Present tense, prepositions “In, in the, on”, verbs Binyanim, infinitives, verb types, roots, the
radicals, definite direct object marker, nouns (singular and plural) , adjectives and declension of
adjectives.
Test # 2
-
Demonstrate reading comprehension with texts about students and their learning
environment.
-
Answer questions about yourself, your peers and your learning environment.
-
Demonstrate understanding of the concepts of gender (masculine and feminine) and
number (singular and plural) in nouns, adjectives, pronouns, verbs and numbers.
-
Demonstrate your understanding of understanding of the essence and terminology of
the Hebrew verb: root, root category, paradigm’ tense and infinitive.
WEEK EIGHT – WEEK ELEVENTH
Unit 3: Living Environment- pages 111-157
In unit 3 you will learn: Where students live in Campus or outside of Campus, What students
have in their homes/apartments/dorms. You will also learn about the map of Israel , what kind
of information the map gives you. and what the major cities are.
Grammar: Prepositions: “To, to the, from, from the, of, et”, the verb “to have”, numbers. Verbs
in Pa’al ‫ ע"י‬/‫ ע"ו‬in present tense.
Test # 3
-
Demonstrate familiarity with the map of Israel
-
Read with comprehension about people’s living environments.
-
Demonstrate that you know to use the possessive forms.
-
Demonstrate that you know how to use the Hebrew expressions “have” and “don’t
have”.
WEEK TWELVE – WEEK FOURTEEN
Unit 4: Food – pages 159 – 199
In unit 4 you will learn: What you can eat and drink in Israel and in other places, where you can
find food and drinks in Israel and in other places, how to pay for food and your food
preferences.
Grammar: Verbs- Need/must/have to. Pa’al, regular- infinitive, can/ able to, Pa’al ‫ ע"י‬/ ‫–ע"ו‬
infinitive, Pa’al ‫ ל"י‬/ ‫ ל"ה‬- infinitive.
-
Demonstrate that you have the skills to get food in Israel.
-
Answer questions about eating habits.
-
Read with comprehension about food
-
Demonstrate understanding of the infinitive in Hebrew, and be able to use it correctly.
WEEK FIFTEEN December 11 – December 12
Oral presentations and review for the final exam.
Choose one topic out of the following four topics:

My friends and I

Places to travel in Israel- Finding a place to live, furnishing it, and shopping for food.

Describe your family and tell an interesting, funny or important family story/memory.

Food – Share recipes, act a scene in a restaurant or in the grocery store.
Prepare an oral presentation (approx. 5 minutes), use visual aids and hand in your written
script in Hebrew. Note that your presentation cannot be read from your written paper or from
any other written source.

This syllabus may be modified at the discretion of the instructor. Changes will be
discussed in class and/or via email.