Beginner I Yiddish (Monday)
Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)
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: Perl Teitelbaum
Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for those who are new to Yiddish or would like a review.
What topics will this class cover?
This class will develop your skills in beginning listening, speaking, reading, and writing in Yiddish. The content will come from the first two units of In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook by Asya Vaysman Shulman, Jordan Brown, and Mikhl Yashinsky including its multimedia website component. Topics will include getting acquainted, geography, basic verbs, times of day, days of the week, and greetings and farewells. We will work on grammatical structures which include articles, gender, number, regular verbs in the present tense, sentence units, verb placement, questions, subject pronouns, and more. The Jewish holidays of Purim and Passover will be marked by level appropriate songs and texts.
Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. 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 alefbeys, 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).
Additional resources will be provided by the teacher through Canvas.
Perl (Paula) Teitelbaum was born and raised in a Yiddish-speaking home in post-war Wroclaw, Poland, where she also attended a secular Yiddish day school. After immigrating to the United States in 1967, she became actively involved in New York City’s Yiddish-speaking circles. During her professional career, Perl has taught Yiddish as well as Spanish and English to Speakers of Other Languages in a variety of settings. Her experience of having acquired foreign languages in adolescence gives her a deep understanding of what her students’ learning process might be. She enjoys chatting, singing, and reading books in Yiddish with her grandchildren.
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