Special Interview Learning Hebrew from Afar

The Hebrew Language Division of the World Zionist Organization conducts correspondence courses with thousands of persons all over the world who are interested in learning Hebrew at the conversational level or to gain admission to institutions of higher learning in Israel. According to Ben-Zion Fischler, director of the division, a large number of correspondents are non-Jews.

Fischler told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he recently received a letter from Marco Esquivel Dias, a high school student in La Laguna, Canary Islands, who wanted to study Hebrew. “I don’t have money but I offer you my friendship,” the youngster wrote. Fischler replied immediately and directed him to appropriate books for beginners. He said he has received similar letters recently from an Eskimo teacher, a Navy chaplain in Hong Kong and an inmate in a U.S. prison.

Fischler said that religious interests often motivate non-Jews to learn Hebrew. In some cases the student is interested in Semitic languages or in the Middle East generally. But most often, the reason given is admiration for Israel. Fischler said.

For those who can afford the moderate cost, the WZO offers the Ktav-Kol system of written lessons and tape cassettes prepared by the Hebrew Language Division. They are available at $65 and should be sent for in care of POB 92, Jerusalem. According to Fischler, a student who spends a few hours a week on the lessons can achieve a conversational level in Hebrew within five months.

PREPARING FOR ‘JERUSALEM EXAMINATION’

There is a more elaborate and somewhat more expensive text-and-cassette system called the “floating cassette.” Fischler explained that this enables the student to communicate with his tutor in Jerusalem to ask questions and receive answers. The cassettes are exchanged through the mails. The course consists of 20 recorded hours featuring as many as 1000 words, conversations, grammar and literary texts.

On the highest level, the Hebrew Language Division offers a correspondence course aimed at preparing the student for the “Jerusalem Examination.” Those who pass the examination are eligible for admission to any of Israel’s universities without taking a Hebrew entrance examination, provided that their other qualifications meet university standards.

The course was developed in conjunction with the Hebrew University’s Center for Jewish Education in Diaspora and consists of written texts only. It covers the Hebrew language, Israeli culture and Judaism and the student may choose between secular and religious-oriented courses.

Fischler said it required about two years for a diligent student to achieve the proficiency needed to pass the Jerusalem Examination. He noted that this examination is becoming the recognized certificate of mastery of the Hebrew language and as a consequence, the WZO’s Hebrew Language Division is becoming the world-wide center for Hebrew studies abroad. Every application arriving in Israel for Hebrew study material is referred to the division, he said.

Fischler recently completed a booklet listing about 500 universities all over the world that have Hebrew language departments. They are located in, among other places, Warsaw, Hungary, East Berlin, Niger, South Korea, Hong Kong, Zaire and Sierra Leone. Fischler said that to date no Hebrew courses are known to be given at any Soviet university, or, at least no Soviet university has had any contact with the Hebrew Language Division in Jerusalem.

Apart from offering correspondence courses and advice, the division is helpful in sending Hebrew teachers abroad. The division also arranges special courses in Israel for foreign teachers of Hebrew who want to improve their methods of instruction or their knowledge of the language. Often Hebrew teachers abroad can speak Biblical Hebrew but know nothing of modern Hebrew, Fischler said. He recalled that on a visit to South Africa, a Hebrew teacher greeted him with the words. “Yom Tov Mar Fischler” (Good Day, Mr. Fischler), apparently unaware that the common greeting in Israel is “Shalom.”