Beginner I Yiddish (Monday I)
Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $385**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)
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This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.
Instructor: Nina Warnke
Who should take this course?
This course is for students who are new to the Yiddish language or would like a review.
What topics will this class cover?
This class will teach the alef-beys (alphabet) and build reading, speaking, and writing skills. By the end of the class, students will have acquired the grammar and vocabulary necessary to have simple conversations about themselves, daily activities, and interests. This course will also cover languages, countries, and days of the week, and even do some simple math in Yiddish.
This course will discuss songs, poems, stories, and proverbs from a wide variety of sources, places, and times—and, of course, talk about Purim and Passover—to introduce students to the wealth of Yiddish culture.
Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. The first two class sessions will include instruction/review of the Yiddish alphabet. However, students who have no prior experience with reading and writing the Yiddish or Hebrew alphabets are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before class, as the course will move at a fast pace. The tools and videos provided here will be helpful in getting a handle on reading and writing the alef-beys, and are designed for independent use.
Course Materials:
This course will use the textbook In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, Mikhl Yashinsky (Purchase). The instructor will provide any additional course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.
Nina Warnke currently teaches online Yiddish language courses for Gratz College. She was born and raised in Germany, where she started to learn Yiddish before studying in the Oxford Summer Program and receiving her Ph.D. in Yiddish Studies from Columbia University. During that time she directed the YIVO zumer program for a few years. Since then Nina taught Yiddish language, literature and culture courses at Indiana University, the University of Texas at Austin and Vanderbilt University. She has researched and written extensively about the Yiddish theater and is also working as a translator of Yiddish and German texts.
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