At this point in my learning, I hope to successfully gain new vocabulary while maintaining older vocabulary. To retain what I’ve already learned, I try to review it every other day in my spare time, alongside my new vocabulary, since I’ve added both to my Quizlet library. Quizlet is one of my favorite tools because I can practice recall in both languages, which is helpful when I need to recognize Yiddish in its transliterated form or recall it from memory when thinking in English. I also hope to learn the Yiddish alphabet. I’ve revised my language learning goals and now want to challenge myself by learning to read in another script. It feels a bit like cheating—or at least inauthentic—since I’ve only been reading Yiddish in the Latin/Roman alphabet. I don’t believe I’m experiencing the full depth of the language through transliteration alone. I’m still keeping up with my online Yiddish classes, which teach through stories and songs. What has surprised me the most is how many phrases I already knew from everyday English. For example: klutz (clumsy person), schmooze (flatter or network to gain favor), and schmutz (dirt). It's also exciting to recognize these words in shows such as We Were the Lucky Ones and other depictions of Jewish families and communities. So far, my learning strategies—through the book, the classes, and Quizlet—are going well. I’ve been able to practice new grammar and sentence structures, and I get vocabulary from both the live online classes and the book. I recently started using Duolingo, which I plan to continue since it offers a mix of vocabulary and grammar lessons. I find it especially helpful because it’s interactive and provides immediate feedback, which allows me to correct mistakes quickly rather than reinforce them. The instructor who leads the online lessons has become my “community partner,” since they teach live and I’m able to ask questions about the Yiddish material they present. I don’t have any other changes to my language learning goals at the moment, aside from resuming my focus on learning the Yiddish alphabet and minimizing distractions. In researching where Yiddish is used today, I learned that it’s commonly spoken among Orthodox Jews in New York and other major cities with significant Jewish populations. Orthodox Jews are known for their strict adherence to traditional Jewish laws and practices, emphasizing faith and community. This contrasts with my own family, who are non-practicing Jews and primarily express their connection to Judaism during major events and holidays such as bar/bat mitzvahs, funerals, and Hanukkah.
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