Jul 3, 2014 By: mta
by Gavriel Boniuk ('14)
This past week, the visiting Israeli students from Yeshivat Mekor Chaim came to Morah Haibi's Ulpan classes. The Israelis allowed us to practice our Hebrew with peers whom we could connect with. The conversations were relaxed and the Israelis spoke to us as if we were fluent in Hebrew. The Israelis refused to translate into English and this helped the students practice their Hebrew and work out, in Hebrew, the meaning of words that they didn't understand. The Israelis also refused to translate from English to Hebrew so the students were forced to find new ways to get the message across. They asked us about our hobbies and our plans for the future. We learned new words and phrases in Hebrew that are commonly used in Israel. The Israelis spoke at a speed that they normally would speak in Israel and this helped the students to cope with a speed that they were previously uncomfortable with. The students gained a lot from the experience and had fun in the process.
