Okay everyone, let’s have a Hebrew Immersion day. That means we’re going to choose a day and close our lesson books, shut down our language learning software, and we are not going to learn עִבְרִית (iv-rit – Hebrew). Studying and going to class is not enough. There are so many ways you can use and integrate Hebrew into your daily life, no matter what your current level is.

What I’m saying is, use the language whenever and wherever you can. You can easily introduce עִבְרִית (iv-rit – Hebrew) into everyday situations. Thinking about it every day will help you learn how to think in your new language, which is a key element towards perfecting your skills.

First you can do this by finding someone who is studying עִבְרִית (iv-rit – Hebrew) with you, then get together and start talking with each other. If you’re a beginner and just started lesson one, don’t worry, I’m sure there’s a few words you’ve already learned that you can somehow put into a conversation. No matter what your level, you can still learn just by speaking and listening. Try it.

Reading In Hebrew

If you want to try your skills at reading עִבְרִית, There are two newspaper websites I like to go to and catch up on current Israeli news. They are:

יְדִיוֹה חֵיפָה (ye-di-o khei-fa) – http://www.yedhaifa.co.il
הַאֶרֶץ (ha-‘arets) – http://www.haaretz.co.il

For beginners there is בְּרֵאשִׁית (be-re-sheet) – http://www.hebrewtoday.com/Learn-Hebrew-with-Bereshit This is a great newspaper for all levels, but especially for beginners. It has easy to read articles using words that are beginner-friendly, including ניקוד (ni-kud – vowel points), and plenty of games and exercises for each article, even audio so you can hear the articles read in עִבְרִית! They have a free sample (scroll to the bottom of the page) so you can see how it works for you.

Other newspapers can be found at: http://www.onlinenewspapers.com/israel.htm.

Listening to The News or Music

If you want to hear עִבְרִית spoken in all its communication glory, here’s a couple of great radio stations to listen to:

Tel-Aviv: http://www.103.fm (click on the microphone to open a popup window to listen)
Jaffa: Galatz (IDF Radio) http://www.glz.co.il
(there are three ways to listen – towards the top left of the page you’ll see three microphone icons. The icon on the left is a webcam into the studio with simultaneous broadcast, the middle icon is talk radio, the icon to the right is music)

You can also look for other Israeli radio stations at: http://www.radio-locator.com

Just a Few More Tips

1. In your home and office – Look around you and see what you can learn: make labels for your furniture, appliances, and walls; buy or create posters; and use a calendar – all in עִבְרִית.

2. Getting Online – Set your internet browser’s home page to point to a Hebrew website. Firefox and Internet Explorer are available in Hebrew that you can download free.

3. Practice! Practice! Practice! – If you know other people who speak עִבְרִית, practice with them whenever you can. For example, you and your language friend can declare Mondays and Fridays “Hebrew day” and try not to communicate in English all day (Speak English to everyone else, though).

4. Make a list – Need to make a list? Do it in עִבְרִית – writing your shopping lists and to-do lists are a big help with practicing your reading and writing skills. Which goes along with the next point.

5. Shopping – When you go shopping, talk with yourself – count out your four apples or six cans of tuna fish, look at prices and say them to yourself. Ask yourself questions like “?כמה זה עולה” (How much is it?) or “?אפשר למדוד” (Can we try it?), etc.

6. Routines are good – Think in your new language while performing routine actions. If you’re thirsty, think or say to yourself “אני צמא” (I’m thirsty) or if you’re hungry, ?”מה לאכול” (What is there to eat?). Consider the conjugations of the verb “צִחְצֵחַ” while brushing your teeth (I brush my teeth). Say the name of each item of clothing as you put it on or take it off.

7. Vocabulary building – Keep a small notebook handy so that you can write down new words and keep track of ones you need to look up. Start writing a journal in עִבְרִית or create a language scrapbook.

You can use software, too

I’ll have to loosen one of the requirements I mentioned above. If you want to use a software product to help with your studies, Transparent Language has some great software to help you learn Hebrew. There is the byki Express (Before You Know It Express) software available for your computer, you can also download it for on the go learning with your iPod, iPhone and Android devices. And their other services can be found here: http://www.transparent.com/learn-hebrew. So why not stop by and try them out?

So, what do you think?

Do you want to try it? Choose a day and use any of the tips and visit the websites above. And do it often to keep your עִבְרִית skills sharp and focused.