How to Speak Fluent Hebrew with 69 USD a year

Recently people cannot help but staring at my phone: “wait, what language is that?”

“Hebrew.”

“Wow! How did you learn it without living in Israel?”

The fact that I have seen so many people spending thousands of dollars on taking courses from universities, but ended up barely speaking the language they intended to learn.

I’d like to share how I learnt Hebrew with only 69 USD a year, without ever taking a formal course, and spend only around 30 minutes per day.

Here come two difficulties. First of all, Hebrew courses are rare to find in most Australian universities. For example, ANU offers a wide range of foreign languages including ancient Greek and Sanskrit, but no Hebrew. Apparently, Australians assume that Israelis are all smart enough to learn how to speak Aussie. Right, mate?

Besides, the pronunciation in Hebrew contains sounds that don’t exist in English, such as ר (resh) and ח (chet), the only way to master the pronunciation is through listening to how native pronounce. Pimsleur Hebrew provides an entryway. I was lucky to get their course for free, and I like the way that they used repetition to teach the basic pronunciation. I imagine that’s how babies learn their mother tongue.

However, Pimsleur comes with two significant limitations. First of all, their expression is out of date. “In five minutes” is בעוד חמשה רגעים, even though the common way is בעוד חמש דקות. Also, even their “level 3 lessons” are too basic to carry on an interesting conversation.

Despite the limitations, I was able to pronounce most Hebrew like a native, or at least that’s the flattering comments I got from Israelis. (Of course, if they look past my limited vocabularies and long pauses between sentences.)

One challenge in learning a foreign language for most English speakers is learning the slangs, and Streetwise Hebrew podcast provides exactly that. Humorous but instructional, I subscribe to their podcasts on my phone and appreciate Guy Sharett’s cheesy Hebrew pop songs. It seems that Israel is full of melodramatic songs about breaking up?!

However, those two programs alone are not enough to take you to the deep end of learning Hebrew. I found this gem by accident. That’s the only part I paid. (In the end, paying less is part of the Israeli culture.) Hebrew Podcasts, a home-spun program made by an expat couple in California, provides advanced Hebrew lessons.

Last but not least, the only way to master a language is to use it, and it is time for you to make some Israeli friends. If you live in Sydney or New York, there is already a big expat population. On the other hand, there are some platforms that helps if you live in the backwater like me:

1. Couchsurfing: https://www.couchsurfing.com

2. HIT International: http://hitinternational.net

Warning! Learning modern Hebrew has a clear side effect: My friends pointed out that some of my English writing seems awkward, such as “Canberra she a beautiful place”. “I am seeing you in the Monday.” Yes, they are correct grammar in Hebrew. You have been warned.

Note: The post is about modern Hebrew. If you are looking for tips for learning biblical Hebrew, this post does not apply.