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Sheltered Initiation Language Learning |
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Hebrew Lesson 3: confront grammar. |
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Sheltered
Initiation
Language
Learning Hebrew
Lesson 3: confront grammar.
Study as before, though in a partly new way.
Preparation: associations.
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she ma' MOM he, shah, insulted the WOMAN do you have very good FRIEND? the TEACHER wants more, Ed |
…now say the words.
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Note 1: Nouns for
females often end with -ah. Note 2: Verbs and
adjectives typically also take the ending
-ah
when used with
female subjects. Note 3: The "rhyme"
is characteristic of spoken Hebrew. Note 4: With
"ani"
(I), the verb changes ending if the subject is
feminine.
BEWARE
OF "GRAMMARITIS"
Remember that not using an ending is better than struggling
to put on what might be the wrong ending. The three child
go tomorrow to many store is a lot more comprehensible
than The three childs will went tomorrow to many
storedren (not to mention The three child hmm ribuy?
children nakhon? ken, children go? atid will go? ulai im
benoni, lo: mekor hapo’el will go tomorrow…).
This kind of "grammaritis" will destroy your ability to
learn, as well as speak.
Step 1:
Word-Quiz Translate each of
the following words. 1.
Mom 2. Dad
3.
woman 4.
teacher (masc.
& fem.) 5.
I 6. friend
(masc.
& fem.) 7.
doctor
(masc.
& fem.) 8.
man 9. is
standing up 10. in
Hebrew 11. is
buying 12. is
singing 13.
apricot 14.
meat 15.
please 16.
fish
Step 2:
Pattern-Drill morah kamah.
To learn the new ending, you
must use a special Pattern-Drill, with pairs of sentences:
One sentence uses the simple verb-form, the other uses the
new form, e.g. "The male teacher stands up" and "The female
teacher stands up."
In SILL, all new grammatical
categories are taught one at a time, "asymmetrically" rather
than in tables (paradigms). Tables are used mainly to review
learned categories. Each new category is, in a sense,
"optional": Not using it is a "shortcut," which will
maximize comprehensibility. Step 3: Talk
Now! 1. Compare various
males and females: What are they like, and what do they
do? 2. Talk about what
you do at a party, in comparison with what others
do.
To continue studying
the language: Study five words at a time,
following each study-step until fluent: 1
Word-quiz, 2
.. Pattern
Drill, 3
.... Talk
now! Also, do frequent
Talkathons on your own (in the car, etc..): Talk to
pets, pictures, friends, whoever, for as long as you
can.
..
Talkathon
Practice by
talking to a picture or a pet for as long as you can without
stopping! When no specific "Talk
now! " is assigned, you should be able to make up your
own topics, or just have a
Talkathon!
COMPREHENSION EXERCISES
a) Responding
Each question contains one key-word that you know. Respond to the question by making up a new sentence (a statement, not a question) using the known word; follow with 2-3 other sentences. (If you don’t recognize any words, say any 2-3 sentences.)
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1. Mah oseh abba? |
7. Atah yodea mashehu al ha-rof'ah? |
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2. Mah atah yodea al ha'ish? |
8. Ha'ishah, bemah hi mitaseket karega? |
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3. Bemah mitasek abba akhshav? |
9. Mah osah imma bederrekh klal? |
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4. Ekh harofé mevader et atsmo? |
10. Mah atah hhoshev al ha-hhaverah? |
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5. Mah yakholim lehagid li al ha-hhaver? |
11. Mah koreh la-moreh? |
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6. Ha-morah osah mashehu meanyen? |
12. Mah osah harof'ah hahhadashah? |
b) Root-search
As you hear each word, translate it instantly if you know it, and say "zip" if you don’t know it. Many of these words are forms of words you know, with different endings, etc.: You may not know the meaning of the ending, but, if you recognize the "root", you have the most important part.
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1. |
dagim |
mitlabet |
ishim |
hhaverot |
rof'ím |
marbits |
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2. |
sharim |
kamot |
diuk |
konim |
hhaverot |
sharot |
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(Hint: you know all but two of these words.) |
The following are mostly words you've already learned, but with prefixes. How many can you recognize? (Translate without saying the Hebrew word.)
. A B C D E F 1.
ha-dag
la-rof'ím
she-konah
be-tselem
ha-basar
ba-dag
2.
ve-ani
ha-dagim
la-zuz
ve-shar
la-ishah
le-imma
3.
ha-bá
ve-kam
she-be-ivrit
la-morah
ve-koneh
ke-abba
(Hint: you know all but two of these words.)
The lesson here is that you can recognize many words even if you don’t know what form they're in. In many cases, the form is meaningless; in others, it is still more important for over-all comprehension to recognize the word than to understand its form.
You can study two or more endings and prefixes at once — but not for speaking: Learn them as "pencil grammar," for abstract grammar knowledge. As long as you don’t try to integrate pencil grammar into your speaking, it will not threaten your developing fluency.
Vocabulary Review
Below is the entire vocabulary of these three lessons. Can you translate each word instantly, confidently, and correctly? Practice these words until you are fluent.
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fish meat apricot |
Dad Mom man woman |
friend (m/f) doctor (m/f) teacher (m/f) |
is singing is buying is standing up |
Hebrew I please |
Can you say your own sentence with each word? Practice saying sentences until you are fluent.
These few words can be combined into hundreds of sentences: This ability to combine (rather than memorize fixed sentences) is the key to creative and fluent speaking.