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[ARCHIVE] Review of Several Popular Language-Learning Resources (Free & Paid) for Learning Modern Hebrew

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Corinnebelle

[ARCHIVE] Review of Several Popular Language-Learning Resources (Free & Paid) for Learning Modern Hebrew

Post by Corinnebelle »

SenorDustin wrote:

I really love Hebrew so far! I originally started learning Hebrew because of its ties to Biblical Hebrew and fell in love with the Modern language along the way. Because of its unique script and lack of vowel markers, Hebrew can be a daunting language. To help me, I have tried out many different resources to see if one is more effective than the others. I have tried many, but not all of them, including some that you have to pay for. Below is a ranking of what I have found to be the 5 most helpful resources for learning Modern Hebrew on your own.
1 - Hebrew from Scratch: This is by far the best series out there for learning Modern Hebrew. This is the official textbook series used in Ulpanim in Israeli universities. Consisting of a great textbook, audio companions, and optional workbooks, this series breaks down learning the language into small, manageable pieces; however, it gets you practicing with each of them in very interesting (and sometimes silly) ways right from the start. One of the features that I love the most about Hebrew from Scratch is the אז יאללה ביי section found in each chapter. Each one teaches useful slang phrases that you will be sure to hear in Israel. The illustrations and funny dialogues make learning more enjoyable as well. I ordered all of the materials from myisraelbooks.com and they were reasonably priced for a college textbook series. Many times, they ship with DHL out of Israel.
2 - Mango Languages: Modern Hebrew - Though not free, many libraries (in the U.S.A.) carry free access with just a library card. The focus of Mango Languages is to give you useful phrases that you would use in everyday situations and travel. There are also helpful cultural and grammar tips to help you deepen your understanding. Mango Languages' least desirable feature is that it is fairly short, but very useful. It breaks things down into bite-sized pieces that are easy to manage. Overall, the focus on useable speech is Mango's best asset.
3 - Duolingo Hebrew from English - Don't worry, I wasn't going to leave this one out Duolingoers! I love Duolingo dearly as a learner and foreign language educator, but the Hebrew course (though good) leaves much to be desired. Many students are turned off by not being able to easily type at the beginning nor being able to learn common sound combination patterns. Also, the course still follows a grammar-specific tree that all Duolingo courses used to follow, which adds huge loads of difficult grammar concepts (like new verb forms, adjectives, prepositions, etc. all at once and overwhelming the learner). With all of this being said, the Hebrew course is probably the best free option available on the internet.
4 - Rosetta Stone Hebrew Course - I remember seeing an ad for a lifetime account for all languages for $189 or something like that. I didn't waste a second and bought a lifetime account in less than ten minutes because of the deal. I have tried out several languages on there, but focused primarily on Hebrew. Though the original course only has 12 units (as opposed to the 20 units that more common languages like Italian, German, French, etc. tend to have), Rosetta Stone's best feature is the immersive, deductive learning style that pushes you and introduces grammar through context. I also like getting the opportunity to practice speaking in somewhat realistic situations. I am only 1/3 of the way through the course, but I have learned a lot of grammar through practice. Also, my favorite Hebrew experience so far, you get 2 free live tutoring sessions. I sweat when I'm nervous and I was pushed so hard in the live tutoring sessions that I was soaked at the end; however, my resolve to learn Hebrew and improve myself grew a lot as a result. Rosetta stone, to me at least, has been a scheme akin to essential oils in the past, but their new model might be worth the cost for you to have lifetime access to 20 languages.
5 - Memrise Hebrew Courses - I have a lifetime Memrise account, but there are only community created courses for Hebrew on Memrise. As a tool, it is super useful for practicing vocabulary. With Hebrew, the best courses have audio. I am currently working on a more comprehensive Hebrew from Scratch course from the 2019 revised edition. I have already completed a Biblical Hebrew vocabulary course (all with audio!) (https://www.memrise.com/course/5542849/ ... ith-audio/) consisting of every word occurring 10x or more (1903 total) in the Torah, plus 97 common proper nouns to make a nice, even 2000 words. Besides the courses that I have made for myself, the companion Duolingo course (made by Mazzarano, who helped make the Duolingo course) is the most useful. It has great audio and works well to help with pronunciation of words on the Duolingo course. Besides these, the best stand-alone course would probably be Modern Hebrew Complete. The downside of all of these courses is the lack of variety. You can usually only learn phrases in isolation from one another; making this not a very great tool for grammar, but fantastic for vocabulary.
Bonus: Hebrew programs to avoid!
Mondly: there are some awkwardly placed (and sometimes outright wrong) phrases taught on Mondly. It is not worth the free lifetime account that I scored when the code was... MONDLY.
Clozemaster: because of the lack of niqqud symbols, the robot voice is often wrong, which makes the whole thing a waste of time.
Colloquial Hebrew: I have heard that this volume of the popular series is a dumpster fire. I own the Colloquial Afrikaans and love it, but steer clear of the Hebrew course. It has bad reviews.
What do you think? Do I have the order wrong? Are there some great tools out there that I'm missing (other than paying for online tutors)? What experiences have you had with these same tools? Let me know!

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