Classes

[fanofstuff666]

So...on Monday, Hebrew lessons began. It was the first time I'd ever taken a language class where the teacher didn't speak English--or at least much of it--from the get-go. The pace is also fast, very fast. I'm relishing the challenge

Comments

Foreign Languages

[anonymous]

It must be exciting to see how the rest of the world learns languages - and much faster. Your confusion and infusion with German is normal. Your brain has activated second language acquisition areas in general but has not figured out that there is more than one right now. So your subconscious thoughts are "must communicate - not in English" and the next best comes up. After a while your "next best" will be Hebrew. This is natural and nothing to worry about. It shows that you are immersed and your brain is doing what it is supposed to do.
It would be interesting to hear if your Latin was activated at all. My guess would be "no", as it is a dead language and thus resides in a different part of your brain that deals with organization rather than communication. But then again, you never know.
To learn the alphabet: learn 6 letters a day REALLY WELL. After four days you know them all. Then restart and focus on the ones that have more than one letter per letter (end-of-the-word etc.) as well as those that look alike to the untrained eye.
Read ALL the signs you come across. One big challenge is to get past different fonts that obscure the subtle differences between the letters. See if you can get various Hebrew fonts on the computer or laptop. Type something (or copy and paste a text that you know, then change font and read it again.
For writing: always copy the entire lesson in your book in neat handwriting. By chapter 6 you should have made great progress. By chapter 12 your handwriting should almost look native. Three hours practice per day should do the trick. That is in addition to the classes.

Re: Foreign Languages

[fanofstuff666]

The only problem with copying the lesson is this: We have no textbook. It's entirely lecture, which is a HUGE problem for me, because I'm not very good at learning without many visuals.