ULPAN-ORs New Hebrew Horizons: Hi-Tech and High Results
When the head of the Hebrew department at Yeshiva of Flatbush High School won the prestigious Grinspoon-Steinhardt award this month, it confirmed what teachers there already knew: their Hebrew program works.
Zipora Halper and her colleagues at Flatbush are forward thinking. Though not all of them are computer gurus, they use computers, tablets, interactive news clippings and audio programs to bring a love of the language to high school students who traditionally saw Hebrew as torture. Students graduate at a very advanced level of Hebrew for an American-based education.
Halper attributes at least part of her success to E-ToneÒ, a unique interactive, multi-media program created by the Jerusalem-based Hebrew language school Ulpan-Or International. Halper and her teachers say students adore the program, which has had dramatic impact engaging them in hearing, understanding and conversing in modern-day Hebrew.
Reflecting Ulpan-Ors philosophy that students learn best by acquiring a language through audio, video and conversation, the E-ToneÒ is a weekly series of four current events items brought to students computers with built-in recordings and exercises. Students get the recorded vocabulary on their tablets or smartphones in advance each week and then receive the audio reading of three news articles, an English translation and interactive quizzes, as well as video links to the items , which also include an Israeli commercial. They learn from hearing the language and interacting in it, much like children learn their first language. The E-ToneÒ is compatible with mobile devices such as the iPad, or iPhone.
Its amazing for us because the kids are excited, said Halper. They love it. Speaking is the very weak link in the language but this program makes them excited to speak, excited to learn. ... When they come to the classroom they have an excitement that we dont see with other plans.
The E-ToneÒ -- a play on the Hebrew word for newspaper "EETON" -- is just a single example of Ulpan-Ors approach to Hebrew studies, that uses multi-media technology, conversation and audio and video recordings to teach Hebrew. Students get immersed not only in the language but in its Israeli context, learning to understand Hebrew in its natural sound and environment even from abroad.
Founded more than 20 years ago, Ulpan-Or is a family operation run by husband and wife team Orly and Yoel Ganor who want to bring their love of Hebrew and Israel to people around the world. They use their unique Rapid Language Acquisition method to offer individual and group workshops in their Jerusalem and Tel Aviv offices, personal coaches and even long-distance learning through internet link-up. There are interactive self-study kits, flash cards, games, songs and internet textbooks, and now, Ulpan-Or is using its vast experience and approach to develop tools and curriculums for schools and academic institutions internationally.
Our mission is to help students learn Hebrew at the speed of light. We use technology - computers, smartphones and tablets - as platforms to deliver the content because the technology is fresh and accessible. Harnessing new technology and using mobile devices is also very important, in lieu of the fact that many schools in the States are already handing out iPads to their students, eliminating the need to use printed books, said Yoel Ganor, an engineer and high-tech professional who joined Orly, a longtime Hebrew educator, to develop Ulpan-Or. Students get engaged and involved. They want to share their experiences in Hebrew on social networks. They really get immersed.
The Ganors just concluded a series of workshops in major U.S. cities introducing Jewish Day Schools to their Hi-Tech programs and curriculum.
Orly Ganor says the key to Ulpan-Ors success is taking Hebrew studies from the grammar and memorization-based classroom techniques to a more intuitive learning process. Students learn from hearing the language and constant repetition and from using it in real environments. Private students who come to Israel go out on field trips with their teacher that put their newfound skills to immediate use.
For schools abroad, Ulpan-Or offers an entire language curriculum that includes training and broad support for teachers, full lesson plans, exercises for students and methods for evaluating or testing students progress. The full curriculum is so successful, Ganor says, that private and institutional donors have made funding available for schools seeking to purchase it.
Schools also have the option of buying just parts of the program. They can enhance their own program with E-Tone, or utilize Ulpan-Ors online distance learning sessions for students who are either ahead of their class or need extra help. It is particularly effective with hyperactive children or those with ADD. Ulpan-Ors off-the-shelf tools can be purchased individually. Using fun, contemporary tools, the method reduces anxiety and the education can be tailored to particular requirements.
Our material is very well structured, said Orly. But the program is not fixed and rigid. It is flexible and can incorporate special requests pertaining to special learning environments and needs.
The bottom line: Ulpan-Or students learn how to speak and understand modern Hebrew, as it is used today in Israel. They become conversational.
Students from many American yeshivas come to Israel and find they cant talk to Israelis, Yoel said. Our students say they come and can converse instantly. They recognize Israeli Hebrew from Ulpan-Ors tools and training.
Private students who sign up for a weeklong immersion course get amazing benefits from Ulpan-Ors methods. Students can also do , extended courses or private sessions.. They can take tailor-made field trips and utilize Ulpan Ors products. .In addition students participate in personal guided distance learning courses at the comfort of their home anywhere in the world, studying with a personal coach while utilizing online tools.
Programs are geared for busy professionals who learn from home or while on the road.
For example, one lieutenant in the U.S. Navy studied with UlpanOr from Iraq. Another naval officer scheduled his remote sessions for whenever his submarine emerged from the depths.
Neil Schechter, a commercial and real estate lawyer in Washington, DC, recalls conducting a long distance session while sitting on the floor of a Minnesota skyway (up-in-the-air walkways connecting buildings so people can stay warm in the Minnesota winters) during a snowstorm, because that was the only place he could find an internet signal.
I walked and walked and finally sat down in a skyway and I was speaking Hebrew and people were looking at me, said Schechter, who started eight and a half years ago with Ulpan-Or and is now preparing to take the language fluency test ahead of the Israeli Bar exam. Some people pick up languages easily and I dont think of myself as one of them. This method makes it easier somehow.
Jim Shane, who chairs the global task force for Hillel International in Boston, says he tried other programs but they just didnt work. He says his success with Ulpan-Or is because of the warmth and total involvement of the teachers and staff.
They have the best morim (teachers) - they have become mishpacha (family) to me, he said. Its the whole experience. Yoel and Orly make you so comfortable and so at home, it is so easy for you to learn.
At Yeshiva of Flatbush, Rachel Bar-Gad said shed never seen students so in love with a Hebrew learning program.
The kids love it, that is the most important thing, said Bar-Gad, who has been teaching at Flatbush for the past 11 years. My friends, when they go to Israel and they want to learn, I tell them, only Ulpan-Or.
Ulpan-Or International
Tel: Jerusalem: 972-2-561-1132 Tel Aviv: 972-3-566-1493 USA: 1-516-252-4914
