INTENSIVE LANGUAGE/CULTURE COURSES

Students at the School of Hebrew will be enrolled in one of five levels according to their proficiency as determined by placement tests and prior experience with Hebrew. Students who wish to take an additional course in classical Hebrew will need to have attained at least the “intermediate- mid” level as defined by the ACTFL proficiency guidelines.

The course descriptions below are general and details may vary. Students will receive detailed syllabi when they arrive at Middlebury.

All courses in the seven-week program provide proficiency-oriented instruction in listening, reading, speaking, writing, and grammar. Students will engage in activities that will enhance presentational, interpretive, and interpersonal modes of oral and written communication.

Daily activities normally include four to five hours of classroom instruction plus additional work in computer laboratories. Schedules, texts, and staffing are subject to change. All students in the School of Hebrew will engage in extensive reading and listening activities using the texts from the invited lecturers, novels, short-stories, plays, movies, media items, and journalistic accounts.

Beginning Hebrew

This course sequence is designed for students with no previous classroom instruction or functional ability in Modern Hebrew. Most students completing this course sequence will be able to initiate, sustain, and close a conversation dealing with familiar topics, and will be able to write short narratives and read authentic texts based on specific reading strategies. The majority of students completing this level usually achieve Intermediate levels in all four language skills.

Intermediate Hebrew I

Students enrolling in this level are usually those who are able to function at the proficiency level of "novice high" or "intermediate low," according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. In this class, they will strengthen their knowledge of grammatical and syntactical structures and improve their mastery of the language while increasing vocabulary and functional communicative ability. Most students successfully completing this sequence will emerge with a proficiency level of "intermediate high" depending on motivation, effort, and diligence.

Intermediate Hebrew II

Students enrolling in this sequence will have a proficiency level of at least "intermediate-mid" according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. Students will continue to strengthen their knowledge of grammatical and syntactical structures and will continue to master the language while increasing vocabulary through extensive reading. Students completing this sequence will emerge with a proficiency level of "advanced-low" or "advanced-mid” depending on motivation, effort, and diligence.

Advanced Hebrew

Students enrolling in this sequence will have a proficiency level of at least "intermediate-high" according to the ACTFL proficiency guidelines. In this sequence, students will continue to increase vocabulary through extensive reading; they will practice writing and speaking at different registers; and they will study cultural and literary texts in depth. Students completing this sequence will emerge with a proficiency level of “advanced- mid” or “advanced-high” depending on motivation, effort, and diligence.