Sheltered
Initiation
Language
Learning Hebrew
Lesson 2: practice fluency.
Preparation: Say the associations aloud,
row fetch a DOCTOR a MAN on a leash Charlotte IS SINGING he IS STANDING UP calmly he IS BUYING a cone, Ed but leave Reeta if she won't speak IN HEBREW |
now say the words.
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Step 1:
Word-Quiz Translate each of
the following: 1.
doctor 2. is
singing 3. in
Hebrew 4.
man 5. Dad
6. is
standing up 7. is
buying 8.
apricot 9.
meat 10.
fish 11.
please
Step 2:
Pattern-Drill Ish koneh
dag. Now, practice the
sentence-pattern by saying your own sentences.
It might seem like you cant do much yet: But, because of the mathematics of combination, when you know twenty words, you can say almost a hundred sentences; and with 40 words, you can say many hundreds of sentences.
Step 3: Talk
now! For the
"narrative" and "descriptive" sentence-patterns introduced
in these lessons, you can talk about an imaginary "party":
What does everyone do there?
When
you talk with native speakers: Use what you
know, and avoid what you dont know. Say
what you can say, adjust your needs to your vocabulary.
Catch whatever words you hear, and guess meaning as
effectively as you can. Dont
self-correct. Ignore corrections: have
conversations, not lessons. If not understood, add more
sentences.
Take
the initiative: Talk first, take the lead. Avoid
saying "what?"
Thats the best way to
know whats going on.
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES: "skip-comprehension."
(a) Word Search: Translate each word instantly if you know it, and say "zip" if you dont know it.
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1. |
rofé |
ish |
bad |
kam |
sar |
dug |
2. |
meshamesh |
dag |
shar |
basar |
roveh |
koneh |
3. |
vakashah |
batsal |
mishmish |
esh |
be'ivrit |
abba |
(Note: You know only 11 of these words.) |
The lesson here is that knowing what you dont know is just as important as knowing what you do know. In real-world use of a foreign language, you will inevitably hear much that you dont understand. You must get used to picking out what you do know, and make your best use of it.
Never say "what?" !!! |
Dont be like the many "perfect" students of foreign language, who tour the world, dictionaries open, endlessly repeating, like robots: |
Throughout your studies, you should never ask for repetitions, or say "what?" (even in the foreign language): Just say whatever you can, making no attempt to sound logical. This trick may be artificial but not as artificial as saying "what?" all the time! If you follow this advice and never say "what?", you will soon find yourself speaking naturally. |
(b) Write down (in English) each word that you know in the following story.
Paam ahhat betsohorayim, rofé ehhad ba pitom labayit hatsanua shel hamoreh, veomer: "Dag, bevakashah!" vehamoreh motsi dag larofé. Harofé lo omer "todah", rak yoshev veokhel. Veahhar kakh harofé omer: "Basar, bevakashah!" vehamoreh motsí larofé basar. Od hapaam hu shotek, veahhar kakh hu omer: "Mishmish, bevakashah!" vehamoreh motsí larofé mishmish. |
Now, write your own one-sentence story (in English), incorporating all the words you recognized.Your one-sentence "story" is, in effect, a "summary" of the given story. If you practice writing summaries in this way, you will find yourself improving their quality and accuracy.