The William Davidson Graduate School of Education offers two summer Hebrew programs for educators: Ivriyon, an immersion program for teachers of Judaic subjects, and the Hebrew Pedagogy program, providing professional training and development for teachers of Hebrew as a second language.  

Ivriyon: Hebrew Immersion Institute for Day School Educators

The Ivriyon summer institute prepares day school educators to teach Judaic subjects engagingly and effectively in Hebrew. The program combines intensive language immersion with classroom teaching simulations to develop participating educators’ Hebrew language skills. 

What Participants Gain

The five-week immersion program focuses on developing participants’ expressive skills through intensive communicative practice, teaching practice, writing, grammar review, and vocabulary expansion. At Ivriyon, educators will learn to:

  • Teach their lessons in Hebrew
  • Create a Hebrew environment in their classrooms
  • Lead discussions in Hebrew with students
  • Write grammatically correct learning materials
  • Help students articulate ideas and feelings in Hebrew
  • Converse comfortably with Hebrew-speaking colleagues

Who It’s For

Ivriyon is designed for day school teachers of grades K–12 and for graduate students of Jewish education who plan to teach in a day school. However, the program is open for all educators interested in improving their Hebrew proficiency. 

Participants should come to Ivriyon with an intermediate to advanced level of Hebrew. Note that the program is not open to fluent speakers. 

Program Structure

A Typical Day Includes:

  • Warm-up: Participants begin the day with a casual conversation in Hebrew to develop ease of expression while integrating new vocabulary and grammar.
  • Classroom Simulations: Participants rotate teaching sample lessons in Hebrew while fellow participants act as class members. Lessons are followed by constructive feedback and reflection.
  • Individual Projects: Each participant chooses an educational project in Hebrew to develop over the course of the program and present at the program’s closing session.
  • Language Study: Each participant will take an afternoon Hebrew language course on the intermediate or advanced level (as determined by the Hebrew Placement Exam).

Contact Us

For more information, please contact us at hebrew@jtsa.edu or (212) 280-6094. 

Teaching Hebrew as a Second Language: Pedagogy Institute for Hebrew Language Teachers

The goal of the Hebrew Pedagogy program is to lay out the principles of teaching Hebrew as a second language for teachers in Jewish day schools and to build a professional foundation for instructional practice. 

Two intensive courses are offered, each eight days long. Teachers may take one or both courses. 

Courses are taught by Hilla Kobliner, a veteran Hebrew teachers educator. 

What Participants Gain

Classes attend to the various aspects of teaching Hebrew as second language: planning an instructional unit, assessing outcomes, developing language skills, building linguistic awareness, gaining cultural knowledge, and developing thinking modes and independence in learning. 

We will discuss fundamental and essential roles of the teacher in general and the Hebrew language teacher in particular, and we will think deeply about the pedagogical and didactic implications of each of these roles on the elements of Hebrew language acquisition: skill development, impartment of linguistic knowledge, and acquaintance with Hebrew culture.

Whom It’s For

The Hebrew Pedagogy summer workshops are for Hebrew language teachers in grades 2–12 and for Hebrew coordinators. Hebrew fluency is required. 

Teaching Hebrew as a Second Language: Grammar as a Means to an End
June 26, 27, 28, 29, 30 and July 5, 6, 7
8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ET on Zoom

This course develops pedagogical skills for teaching Hebrew as a second language, with a focus on teaching grammar. We will examine the roles of grammatical knowledge in the development of learners’ comprehension and production skills in the various stages of language acquisition. We will develop in detail the linguistic insights we want our students to develop in syntax, morphology and semantics, and then learn to design instructional units for various ages and levels with attention to the acquisition process of grammatical skills and linguistics awareness. A variety of exercises and activities will be presented, created, and assessed in terms of their contribution to learners’ progress and learning experience.

Teaching Hebrew as a Second Language: Infinite Ways to Crack a Text
July 11, 12, 13, 14, 18, 19, 20, 21
8:30 a.m.–1:30 p.m. ET on Zoom

This course develops pedagogical skills for teaching Hebrew as a second language, with a focus on teaching reading comprehension. The course will attend to different genres of texts, developing strategies of understanding different texts, cultivating various thinking skills and creativity along with oral and written expression as well as planning an instructional unit, assessing outcomes, building linguistic awareness, and acquiring cultural literacy and independence in learning.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact us at hebrew@jtsa.edu or (212) 280-6094.