What I would like to be able to do:
- 1. Solidly read and understand the letters of the alphabet
To meet this goal, I am going to go over the alphabet multiple times. I am also going to use the blocks and magnetic letters from the global studio to have a tangible way to practice the alphabet.
- 2. Solidly read and understand the system of vowels
To meet this goal, I will write and practice saying the vowels out loud over and over again. I think repetition is a great way to learn and since there are no good learning tools for the vowels, I will use my voice as a learning tool.
- 3. Have an accurate pronunciation of said letters and vowels
This is a learning goal on which I will need Emily's help. Speaking correctly is very important to me and I want to be sure that I am doing that. Emily's help will ensure that what I am learning, I am learning correctly.
- 4. Make introductory conversation in Hebrew (introduce myself, ask how someone is, etc.)
For this learning goal, Emily, Sarah and I will converse regularly. I think consistent conversation will be the most helpful tool here, for it will help us to have constant practice and ensure that Emily is teaching us what we want to learn.
- 5. Talk about my family
I want to learn how to say the words for family members. I know a couple of them (aba is father, ema is mother) but I would like to become more familiar with them. I will do this by using flashcards and repetition.
- 6. Count to 10
I already know how to count to 10, so this should be an easy learning goal, but I need to brush up and make sure that I have correct pronunciation because it has been a while, so I will make sure I am doing this goal with Emily so she can supervise me.
- 7. Continue with my knowledge of the Israeli army/increase military vocabulary
For this learning goal, I want to have a long conversation with Emily about the culture of the military in Israel, and I will write down some of the vocabulary that she uses and then make flashcards and use repetition to memorize/engrain it in my head.
- 8. Converse with my Israeli friend using some Hebrew (have a conversation not all in English)
This is not a goal that I can practice during the semester, it is my end of the semester goal. Hopefully I will achieve this, because it is really important to me.
- 9. Listen to a news clip or a YouTube video and recognize words and/or phrases
This is also a goal that I cannot practice during the semester (well I can, but it is more a marker of my success at the end of the semester). I will, however, continue to listen to Hebrew songs and news clips throughout the semester to increase my familiarity with the language to make sure that I can achieve this goal at the end of the semester!
How well did I meet these goals:
- 1. I definitely achieved this goal. Brushing up on my alphabet skills was much easier than I expected. I remembered all of the letters and their sounds within the first week, and my reading (using the letters, obviously) was much more fluent and easy than I thought it would be.
- 2. This was also an easy goal for me to achieve. It was a little bit more difficult to re-learn the vowels than it was to re-learn the letters, but it came back easily and now I remember all of them and can recognize any and all of the sounds.
- 3. My pronunciation, I think, is pretty good. Emily seemed to think it was good and I know I improved on it throughout the semester so I feel good about my progress. Hebrew is difficult because there are a lot of letters that make similar sounds, and there are sounds (like the throaty ch) that don't exist in english, but overall I feel confident about my pronunciation and I think I achieved this goal.
- 4. I believe I did kind of achieve this goal. I know how to say how are you, what's up, my name is, all of the things that are necessary to initiate small talk. Next semester, when I go further in this class, I plan on continuing in this sector much more. But I did achieve the goal I set for myself this semester.
- 5. I somewhat achieved this goal. I did not memorize the words for family, however we spent a week or two discussing our families and their structures and how family works in Israel vs. the US so I think that if the goal was to learn about family, I achieved that.
- 6. I achieved my goal of remembering/re-learning how to count to 10. This was something that I remember fondly from my childhood and I wanted to do it again to show myself that I have come full circle, and I was definitely successful in this.
- 7. This was my favorite goal that I achieved. I have a special interest in the Israeli military and so to learn some of the basic words to use to know how to talk about it was just great. I know how to say army (tsavah) and base (basees) and many other words, and this is a part of my Hebrew vocabulary that I really value.
- 8. This is my other favorite goal that I achieved. It is so special to me to be able to converse with Omer in Hebrew. We don't say much, but even saying "ma nishma" (what's up) or talking about his nightmares from being in the army in Hebrew is just a great great thing for me. It makes me feel like we have a more equal relationship and I am so so excited for this!
- 9. It is so cool to have achieved this goal! I love listening to a song or looking at an Israeli newspaper and recognizing a word that I hear or see. This is the ultimate goal, I think - to be able to immerse yourself in culture and be successful. I am starting to be able to do things that normal Hebrew speakers do, and I can understand them! And that makes me feel so successful.
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