Learning Journal #5

This week I have been working on building my vocabulary and becoming more familiar with the Hebrew alphabet. I started with writing down each of the letters as best as I could, with their pronunciation next to them and what they are called. I wanted to also include basic Hebrew words that start with those letters, but it turns out to be harder to put together than I thought. I think I need to find a resource that has already done this. Next I went online and found this awesome video (clearly for kids) that has a song and lots of images for each letter. Here is a link to the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT4btENpqOE&feature=related
If I can start finding videos for word groups such as animals and foods, I think that would be the best way to build my vocabulary.
After that, I began writing down some of the terms I think I will actually use. I already had greetings done, so I expanded to things like please, do you have, how much, i am a student, i want, etc... then I started adding words to go with them like water, money, waiter, coffee, in order to put these statements into complete sentences. Speaking them aloud as I write them has been the most effective way to learn so far, so now I always study alone, usually in my house off campus so that I don't bother anyone.
The Rosetta stone is another interesting tool. I made it through the first lesson, and I can see why people think it is effective, and how it is supposed to work. Unfortunately for me, I think I also need to write down the words as I speak them so that I can see them. I also don't like the fact that I am alone. I want to be able to talk about this vocabulary with other people, and Rosetta stone does not embrace that technique.

The reading was once again interesting, but not very useful for my learning. I liked the chapter on how we use tone of voice. I think it would be a great cultural post to hear some different ways for Israelis to say the same thing, but to have totally different meanings by changing their tone of voice. It will be interesting to discover the similarities and differences in tone of voice between the Hebrew language and English. Besides that, the other sections on how babies learn vowels and how we make sounds and organize them are interesting, but cannot be applied to my Hebrew practice.
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