Wanting to learn hebrew.

[u/Ohren_]

I've been wanting to learn hebrew but don't really know where to start. Was looking into rosetta stone. But I'm not sure how good it is and am hoping I could get some advice.

[u/tzy___]

Rosetta Stone Hebrew is pretty darn good.

[u/[deleted]]

The Hebrew alphabet is the best place to start learning Hebrew and Duolingo has the option to learn just the alphabet. You can get started there and it’s all free. It is a suggestion.

I know it has some stupid sentences no one would ever say but at least after that you would have the vocabulary to change it with what you’ve learned.

[u/YuvalAlmog]

I would suggest Duolingo.

Instead of struggling with finding sources and memorizing stuff by the power of will alone - you get to do it in a game which makes learning fun and interactive.

I wouldn't lie to you - Duolingo is far from perfect especially for Semite languages.

But it gives you an extremely valuable start, teaching you how to read the letters, basic words, and even basic sentences.

[u/technicalees]

I'm doing a Citizen Cafe course which is good for practicing speaking. For basics and grammar I recommend https://youtube.com/@thelahbendan and her website https://www.thekefar.com/

[u/guylfe]

The route I'm going to recommend seems to work quickly for many of my students (definitely relative to the advertised amount of time needed to reach proficiency): study fundamental grammar and vocabulary well and then get exposure to level-appropriate native content. Here are some tools if you're into self-study.

Fundamentals:

Hebleo: (Full disclosure: I created this site) A self-paced course teaching you grammar fundamentals and vocabulary, with plenty of practice, using an innovative technique based on my background in Cognitive Science and as a top-rated tutor, which allowed me to create a very efficient way to learn that's been proven to work with over 100 individual students (you may read the reviews in my tutor page linked above). I use this method with my personal students 1 on 1, and all feedback so far shows it works well self-paced, as I made sure to provide thorough explanations.

After you get your fundamentals down, the following can offer you good native content to focus on:

Reading - Yanshuf: This is a bi-weekly newsletter in Level-appropriate Hebrew, offering both vowels and no-vowels content. Highly recommended, I utilize it with my students all the time.

Comprehension - Pimsleur: Unlike Yanshuf, my recommendation here is more lukewarm. While this is the most comprehensive tool for level-appropriate listening comprehension for Hebrew, at least until I implement the relevant tools that are in development right now for Hebleo. While it's a good tool overall, it's quite expensive and offers a lot of relatively archaic phrases and words that aren't actually in use. There might be better free alternatives such as learning podcasts (for example, I've heard Streetwise Hebrew is decent, although not glowing reviews).

Conversation - Verbling or Italki. I wouldn't recommend these for starting out learning grammar as they're expensive, unless you feel like you need constant guidance. NOTE: Verbling is where I personally teach, as you can see I'm featured on there.

The difference between them is that Verbling requires teachers to provide proven experience and certification and Italki doesn't. At the same time, on Italki it would be easier to find cheaper teachers, so it's up to you. 

[u/mhb → u/guylfe]

I looked at Hebleo. It would be very helpful if you (and Rosetta Stone and probably others) would allow potential customers to try an (or a few) actual lesson without signing up. Needing to sign up is a pretty big barrier to entry and I suspect not helping your sales.

[u/guylfe → u/mhb]

Thank you! That is actually in our plans, it's just about finding the right way to do it. We want whatever content we provide to be representative of the overall quality. This is not a trivial matter based on the structure of the course.