Where can I learn Hebrew? Get a language learning mentor to make language learning fast
I stumbled across this language learning technique quite by accident. As you may know, when you learn a language, you start to meet people from the country whose language you are studying. It becomes almost natural for you to become friends because you have taken an interest in their language and culture and they have done the same with your home country.
When I met an Israeli girl that had just moved to Dublin we immediately hit it off, become friends and started going to each others houses and meeting socially. At the time I wanted to learn to speak Hebrew so we agreed to meet every other Tuesday for an hour to help me. I would also help with her English so we would have a win-win situation. This soon became 2 concentrated hours of superb learning for both of us. I would say that you cannot fail if you can find your own language learning mentor.
Very quickly this became a powerhouse of learning for both of us for a number of reasons.
I would come to our evening with a set of language questions about Hebrew and she would have the same for her English learning. Imagine having someone who is fluent giving you all the answers to all your questions in one hit. The learning tended to stay in my mind and was easy to recall.
The language was much more street Hebrew and colloquial. The language usage was completely up to the minute and included idioms and slang that no text book would ever supply.
As a follow up to this I would learn the structures native speakers actually use on a daily basis rather than what I thought sounded best.
After a few months of this our language evening became quite structured with the first hour in one language and then the second in another. My course assignments were improving and my overall fluency was great. It was a fantastic aid to help me learn to speak Hebrew
There was a lot of discipline in our system as well as a lot of fun. Try thinking of jokes in a foreign language, hilarious.
I was able to find out all about Israeli culture, history and politics. This became what is now a huge hobby and interest for me. As I have since started learning a couple of other languages my interest in world affairs has increased. I am better informed and enjoy my overseas holidays so much more because I know some of the background to the country I am visiting.
As it turns out there are a number of language courses and schools that promote this sort of language learning mentor scheme. It is sometime with a tutor or someone whose first language is your target language. These schemes are particularly beneficial when you want to learn a language quickly. You do have to commit to it fully but the results are amazing.
This is a good alternative to summer foreign language summer schools because you do not have to be away from home for an extended period of time. In some ways it is a better alternative because it is spread out over a longer time and so the language learning will be more solid.
Comments are closed.