The absorption and education ministries are to re-examine state-funded Hebrew-teaching methods for new immigrants, in light of data showing that about one-third of immigrants who came to Israel after 1989 have trouble speaking the language.

A committee consisting of ministry officials and outside experts has been established to scrutinize the systems in use, the ministries announced yesterday.

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Absorption Minister Ze'ev Boim told Haaretz he was not ruling out the privatizing of Hebrew studies if the new committee recommended it.

The ministry published the statistics, which relate to the level of Hebrew among immigrants from the former Soviet Union, to coincide with the launching of a new interactive TV channel designed to help immigrants learn Hebrew.

Boim said yesterday that the interministerial committee had been established following meetings with immigrants in which he had been surprised at the low level of their language skills.

The survey, carried out by Mutagim, found the Hebrew reading and writing skills of 42 percent of the immigrants to be low or very low, and 29 percent spoke Hebrew at a low or very low level. Only 1 percent of those interviewed reported speaking Hebrew exclusively at home, while 67 percent speak only Russian at home, and 23 percent speak mainly Russian.

The remaining 9 percent reported speaking both languages with equal proficie ncy. Similar findings emerged from a Mutagim poll carried out for the Absorption Ministry in 2001. The latter survey found that immigrants mainly used their Hebrew relatively extensively only in the workplace: 28 percent reported speaking mainly Hebrew or only Hebrew at work.

However, more than 90 percent of immigrants reported almost never using Hebrew in conversation with family and friends, and more than 70 percent said they were consumers only or mainly of media in Russian.

The state funds 500 hours of Hebrew-language classes, known as ulpanim, for every immigrant, under the aegis of the adult education division of the Education Ministry.

The Absorption Ministry contributes about NIS 15 million each year to the language classes, in addition to a large chunk of the adult education division's budget of about NIS 50 million. Immigration and Absorption Committee Chair Michael Nudelman described the findings as a "catastrophe for the state." MK Marina Solodkin blamed the Education Ministry for not dealing with the matter with the appropriate urgency. "Many immigrants ask me whether the state is indifferent as to whether we speak Hebrew or not. It is the responsibility of the adult education department to improve the standard of teaching at the Hebrew schools," Solodkin said.

Meir Peretz, director of the adult education division, pointed out that in contrast to the state-funded 500 hours of Hebrew lessons per immigrant, international studies have shown that an average of 1,320 hours are required to learn a foreign language. He also said, "eighty percent of teachers in the Hebrew schools are academics while 20 percent are experienced teachers. We need to examine the linguistic integration of the immigrants alongside their general integration," Peretz said.

Interactive TV station launched

The ministry announced that the new television station, which will available on cable and satellite TV, will broadcast news in easy Hebrew, and provide word puzzles intended to ease immigrants into the Hebrew language. Viewers of the channel will be able get assistance in five languages, including Russian and Amharic, by using their remote control.

The channel's set-up costs will be covered by the broadcasters, in the hope that they will attract new subscribers to their networks.