Because I studied Hebrew last semester, my goals for this semester were very high. I wanted to make a lot of progress in terms of my familiarity with the language and my ability to read fluently. Most of my goals are not specific, but rather mark an improvement in my familiarity with Hebrew and fluency in reading, writing and speaking.
- Goal 1: To begin to read without vowels (as adult Hebrew-speakers do)
- Goal 2: To improve my speech and pronunciation and be more comfortable speaking
- Goal 3: To become more comfortable writing, and be able to spell words by guessing their spelling
- Goal 4: To be able to have a short conversation about a specific topic with my tutor (i.e. food)
- Goal 5: To be able to have a conversation with my best friend in Israel that is partially in Hebrew
To work on my first goal, Emily and I have been doing a lot of reading (with vowels). When we come across words I do not know, I write them down on flashcards and put them into a pile. I look over those flashcards in between meetings to become familiar with the words. When Emily quizzes me on them (I will attach a quiz as an artifact), I write down the answers, doing my best with the spelling and vowel usage. I have found that on my last couple of quizzes, I have stopped including the vowels in my spelling. It is much easier to write without them and I am comfortable enough with Hebrew that I can reread what I have written without the vowels. This feels like a huge accomplishment and one that was a goal of mine, but I still did not think that I would achieve it!
To work on my second goal, Emily and I have been repeating the words that I read in my workbook or on the internet. This is probably the goal that I have done least well on throughout the first part of the semester. We speak the words that I do not know, and I repeat them as I write them down, but we have not spent a lot of time or paid a lot of attention to fluency in speaking. We do not have conversations in Hebrew (although I am definitely not at this level yet), or even try to. For the second half of the semester, my goal is to learn phrases and words in Hebrew that relate to my final project (which will be on food) and know enough that I can organically string them together in a couple of sentences.
To work on my third goal, I write down every word that Emily and I read. I have made flashcards of every single word we have encountered, and I rewrite them and look at the spelling and vowel use. When I have quizzes, it is my job to repeat the words and to spell them correctly. I have found that my spelling is getting much better and I no longer need to memorize the spellings of words, I can just guess using the knowledge that I have - and I am usually right! This is a great feeling.
To work on my fourth goal, I really need to do more. Emily and I have been reading though my workbook and occasionally articles on the internet and that is where I have gotten my vocabulary. We felt that was more organic than trying to focus on specific subjects. However, I do want to be able to have a short conversation about one specific subject, and so I think we are going to start learning more phrases and words related to only one topic in an attempt to increase my fluency, even if it is just in one subject.
To work on my fifth and final goal, I think all of the work I have been doing this semester culminates in my ability or inability to fulfill this goal. All of the fluency exercises that I use every week will determine if I can comfortably communicate with a native speaker. I am so excited to try this out!!
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