The ultimate goal
The Hebrew language is a necessary tool for functioning in the academic and occupational forums. Mastery of the Hebrew language, discourse and communication skills, self-confidence, vocabulary and familiarity with discourse structures, constitute a significant barrier for Arab-Bedouin youth in the Negev.
The program was established to allow Tamar Center programs participants a customized framework for learning Hebrew as a second language.
Objective
- Cultivation of students’ self-efficacy regarding their Hebrew language abilities – namely, fluent and properly structured speech, reading, writing, and comprehension
- Improving conversational skills.
- Improvement of writing skills
- Improving reading skills.
- Enrichment in a varied array of fields and subjects with focus on expanding vocabulary.
Goal
- Well-established and strong perception of the students’ language abilities.
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Ability to procure spontaneous conversation in group discussions or with “speaking partners”. Having the ability to give a presentation in Hebrew before the class, or a group of people. Finally, students prepare video clips featuring discussions in Hebrew.
- Students ability to write a short essay
- Students are exposed to a wide variety of different texts and build a strong basis for their reading abilities.
- Familiarity with different and varied areas of knowledge, exposing students to new words and new fields.
Methods
“The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” -Plato.
The program is based on the Joy of Learning theory and using experiential teaching and play as optimal motives for student development and promotion of spontaneous learning.
Students simply enjoy themselves, and have fun together while playing games and participating in activities that will encourage natural discourse and language use.
The sessions are organized so that all students are exposed to activities, songs, short texts and educational tasks that stimulate the natural desire to learn and discover. The aim is to provide students with the motivation to continue learning independently, in their own free time; to create the positive impact that will influence them to continue reading, listening to music, playing with friends and even creating videos in Hebrew. This all reverts back to one of the basic principles of the joy of learning: when students take pleasure in education, it is a natural motivator for independent learning and the awakening of the basic instinct of curiosity.
Students’ Testimonials
Ella Asa , Student
“When I started Tamar Center’s Talk It Out project, I was looking forward to the beginning of the school year to meet the students. Still, it meant meeting 13 new people, trying to get to”
“When I started Tamar Center’s Talk It Out project, I was looking forward to the beginning of the school year to meet the students. Still, it meant meeting 13 new people, trying to get to know them as much as possible, and also knowing that we will be going through the coming year together week after week, and that I’d be trying to be as good as possible [at teaching] for them. I soon remembered how much fun it is to be in touch with a bunch of smart and sweet individuals who just want to learn. [I realized that] I can talk to them about everything and challenge them. I look forward to our weekly conversations, to hearing about what happened to them over the past week and to learning something new together in an exciting engaging way. These conversations are very fun for me too, just as the students try to learn Hebrew, I also try to learn from them and improve my Arabic vocabulary with one or two new words. The zoom conversations always make me want to have many more conversations [with the students] in Hebrew,and I hope that I can meet everyone face to face already.”
Marim Alnsasra , Kuseife
“I’m participating in the Talk it Out program with a university student named Ella. In the first meeting of the program, I [surprisingly] felt very comfortable, even though I did not expect to feel so . ”
“I’m participating in the Talk it Out program with a university student named Ella. In the first meeting of the program, I [surprisingly] felt very comfortable, even though I did not expect to feel so carefree studying with a group of new students that I did not know and not knowing the instructor. Ella asked me if I would open the camera [in the zoom meeting] and I opened the camera without feeling self-conscious. She also asked me to talk about myself and my family, I openly explained about myself and had no problem sharing with everyone. Studying in this program is very relaxed and comfortable, the girls and I talked freely without feeling shy and we really got to know each other. “