Source: Yeshiva University
Mekorot Be-Ivrit is an innovative summer program (June 28 - August 4, 2011) designed to prepare present and future Jewish Studies teachers in elementary and high schools, and yeshivot, to be comfortable teaching in correct and fluent Hebrew. Morning sessions will concentrate on immersing participants in a Hebrew environment. Afternoon sessions will be dedicated to modeling the use of Hebrew in teaching classic Jewish sources. The summer program will be followed by a full year program that includes mentors in schools who will work with teachers to develop and strengthen their skills.
Mekorot B'Ivrit aims to train teachers to integrate spoken Hebrew into the Limmudei Kodesh classroom, and to create a comfort zone around Hebrew. Comfort with Hebrew leads to a willingness to engage with the language and to developing Hebrew language skills. Students will thus have a greater capacity to engage meaningfully with classical Jewish text, in their original form.
Components
This Summer Intensive program emphasizes vocabulary, both used in the classroom (modern Hebrew) and in texts (classical Hebrew). Lead teachers will integrate technology and use inductive models; immersing participants in a Hebrew environment every morning.
Afternoons are dedicated to modeling the use of Hebrew in teaching classic Jewish sources: Bible, Siddur, Rabbinic Literature, with vocabulary correlated to that studied in the mornings. Participants will become comfortable giving model lessons in Hebrew, and will receive feedback and support from a team of lead teachers.
The Summer Intensive program will be followed by a full year program that includes mentors in schools who will work with teachers to develop and strengthen their skills.