For Learners: The Top 10 Hebrew Learning Strategies

Hey Junkies!

Let’s talk about Hebrew learning strategies. There is one great strategy that you’ll see here again and again. It’s reviewing. And it comes in many forms. So, today, you’re going to learn the top 10 Hebrew learning strategies (be sure to add your own in the comments so we can make this a top 20 list!).

These will help you speak, read, and understand Hebrew better.

Now, reading advice is one thing. Any dummy can do that. Putting it to use is another. So let’s get to it.

• You’ll learn Hebrew learning strategies.
• You’ll learn how to read & say them in Hebrew (which means you learn even more Hebrew). Romanization, Translations.
  
• Feel free to print this out for your own review.

✅ Hey, if you REALLY want to learn & speak Hebrew with 500+ audio/video courses, lessons by Hebrew teachers – Sign up at HebrewPod101 (click here) and start learning! I recommend ’em as a teacher & learner.

1. Listen and read along to understand Hebrew better.

• הקשיבו וקראו יחד עם ההקלטה כדי להבין עברית טוב יותר.
• Hakshivoo vekir’oo yakhad im hahaklata kedei le’havin ivrit tov yoter.

This my favorite Hebrew learning strategy.

It’s one of the fastest ways to improve your reading, understand and speaking skills. And boosting grammar and vocab. All at the same damn time.

Sounds too good to be true… but it’s not so easy. Why? To make it possible – you absolutely need the text of the audio that you can read along with while you listen to an audio lesson. Most resources won’t give that to you. That’s why it’s not so easy to do.

Here’s an example from my favorite Hebrew learning site – HebrewPod101 – where you can listen and read along.

Why does it work so well?

• For Reading
  • Simply put, reading is a lot easier when you can follow along with audio. You can also read faster if you practice again and again.
• Comprehension and Understanding.
  • You understand which word is which with the audio.
  • You get instant translations and instantly know what you’re reading.
  • Grammar comes a lot easier as you see it in action.
• For Speaking & Pronunciation
  
  • If you read out loud – and do it again and again, you can speak faster.
  • Hearing the pronunciation helps yours.

2. Record your voice and compare your pronunciation with native Hebrew speakers.

• הקליטו את הקול שלכם והשוו את ההגייה שלכם עם זו של דוברי עברית ילידיים.
• haklitoo et hakol shelakhem vehashvoo et hahagiya shelakhem im zo shel dovrei ivrit yelidi’im.

Highly uncommon advice. However, if you record your Hebrew speaking… and compare it with a native speaker… you will INSTANTLY hear the difference. The result? You adjust yourself and you speak better Hebrew.

If you do this… this strategy that will make you sound BETTER than any self-learner. How would you know how bad you sound… if you’ve never heard and compared yourself, huh?

Great for perfecting your Hebrew pronunciation.

3. Download dialog tracks and listen to the Hebrew conversations.

• הורידו קטעי דיאלוג והקשיבו לשיחות בעברית.
• horidoo kit’ei dialog vehakshivoo lasikhot be’ivrit.

Imagine cycling through flashcards. You learn words or phrases.

That’s nice…. but empty. Words are just words.

Now Imagine having a playlist of Hebrew conversations & lessons on your iPhone. Just Hebrew. No English. You can listen and re-listen and listen until real Hebrew conversations are stuck in your head.

The magic here to is to re-listen many times over. I always add new lessons to my iPhone music playlist. Then, I’ll re-listen (and try to repeat) several times a day. Sometimes I pay attention and check every word, other times, I just listen to refresh myself.

4. Repeat the phrases that you hear out loud again and again.

• חזרו על הביטויים שאתם שומעים שוב ושוב בקול רם.
• khazor al habituyim she’ata shome’a shuv vashuv bekol ram.

Why repeat? Well, in order to speak Hebrew…. you must open your mouth, push some air out of your throat, emit sounds and… SPEAK Hebrew.

Repetition is the mother of all learning for a reason. It’s how brainwashing is done. It’s how marketing works on you. And it’s how people master a language. If you repeat a phrase once, or twice, you’re kidding yourself.

5. Review old lessons to master them completely.

• עברו שוב על שיעורים קודמים כדי לשלוט בהם לחלוטין.
• ivroo shuv al shi’urim kodmim kedei lishlot ba’hem lakhaluteen.

As soon as people are done with something… they move on. Finished an App? Move on. Finished a video lesson or work book? Move on.

The magic to fluency is in reviewing (again, repetition). Noone remembers things on their first try. Or second. But with enough reviews – you’ll be mastering Hebrew.

6. Stay motivated by tracking your learning progress with the Dashboard.

• דרבנו את עצמכם באמצעות מעקב אחר התקדמות הלמידה שלכם בלוח המחוונים.
• darbenoo et atzmekhem be’emtza’ut ma’akav akhar hitkadmut halemida shelakhem belu’akh hamakhavanim.

How many Hebrew words do you know? How long can you speak Hebrew for… – 5 minutes, 10 minutes? You should know the answers to these questions.

By tracking your progress and knowing how much you know… you become invested in the language. Imagine, what if you knew 500 Hebrew words and phrases. That’s a lot. That tells you that you can get to 520, 550, 600. And soon enough, 800. It goes on.

This is great for motivation.

If you sign up at HebrewPod101, you can track your progress (lessons, hours, flashcards, % of series completed) with the Dashboard as shown above.

7. Read lines slowly at first. Then re-read and increase your speed.

• קראו את השורות לאט בפעם הראשונה. לאחר מכן קראו שוב, והפעם הגבירו את המהירות.
• kir’oo et hashurot le’at bapa’am harishona. le’akhar miken kir’oo shuv, ve’hapa’am hagbiru et hame’hirut.

This is reviewing as well. However, THIS is what helped me read FAST and speak FAST. Any new sentence I started – I started reading slow. Then, I’d read it a little faster.

Then a little faster.

Then, I could read it with a single glance. At the same time, you familiarize yourself with more words and phrases. This makes future reading easier.

This is great with any reading material you choose. Textbooks. Audiobooks. Audio Lessons with scripts.

8. Set small and measurable learning goals with a deadline.

• הגדירו מטרות למידה קטנות וניתנות למדידה, עם תאריך יעד.
• hagdiroo matrot lemida ktanot venitanot limdida,im ta’arikh ya’ad.

Why?

• Small: It’s realistic enough to do it. Most people fail at Hebrew because they SET hard, vague goals. Easy goals are easy (duh), very reachable and give you confidence to keep going when you reach one. Here are some examples:
  • learn 100 words in 1 week
  • learn the Hebrew alphabet this week
  • finish 1 chapter of your textbook this week
• Measurable: So you know if you reached it our not. If your goal is to learn 100 words – either you know 100 words or not. Either you finished 1 chapter this week or not. Done. No arguments.
• Deadline: Believe me – nothing in school or in the working world gets done WITHOUT a deadline. If there was no deadline, nobody would do anything. Set your deadlines – by when do you plan to accomplish your small goal?

When will you learn Hebrew? Set a deadline!

9. Try harder lessons to challenge yourself and improve faster.

• נסו שיעורים קשים יותר כדי לאתגר את עצמכם ולהשתפר מהר יותר.
• nasu shi’urim kashim yoter kedei le’atger et atzmekhem ulehishtaper ma’her yoter.

Do you know what people do at the gym to get stronger?

They lift heavier weights.

Know how you can improve your Hebrew? Try lessons that are too hard for you. Yes, you will struggle. You will feel discomfort.

However, struggling is a sign that you’re improving. See, most people don’t get this because its uncomfortable. It feels bad. But if you can understand that – when it “feels bad,” that’s when you’re learning – you’ll be much more open to struggle.

• Click here to check out Audio & Video lessons from Beginner to Advanced at HebrewPod101

10. Improve your listening skills by reviewing each line of the conversation with the Line-by-Line Audio tool.

• שפרו את מיומנויות ההקשבה שלכם על ידי בדיקת כל משפט בשיחה בכלי האודיו שמציג את השיחה שורה אחרי שורה.
• shaproo et meyumanuyot hahakshava shelakhem al yedei bdikat kol mishpat basikha bekli ha’odio shematzig et hasikha shoora akharei shoora.

What’s the line by line?

It’s an interesting tool (that really should be it’s own app & learning method) over at HebrewPod101.com. Basically, it breaks down the entire Hebrew conversation … line by line.. so you can read each line – in Hebrew or with English translations. And you can listen to each line, again and again as you read.

Very effective for understanding a Hebrew conversation 100%.

So, what are your thoughts?

What are your favorite Hebrew learning strategies? Let’s make a HUGE master list of strategies for new learners.

Add yours in the comments and I will add it to this list.

– The Main Junkie

P.S. I highly recommend this for Hebrew learners. If you REALLY want to learn to Hebrew with effective lessons by real teachers – Sign up for free at HebrewPod101 (click here) and start learning!