The Cactus Course Outlines provide a learning framework for the Cactus Foreign Language Evening Courses. They are designed to provide you with a good idea of what you might cover over a 10-week period, and include typical themes, grammar and vocabulary fields. They are flexible rather than prescriptive, in that our teachers may decide to adapt their learning plans to the specific level, aims and interests of their classes. Use the tabs below to view the relevant Hebrew course outline for your level.
Hebrew Beginner 1
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Greetings and introduction
- Forms of address in the feminine and masculine
- Talking about yourself and your family
- Talk about nationalities.
- Question words
- There is, there isn’t.
- Numbers
- Alphabet in Print and cursive.
- Jobs and occupations
- Making requests and expressing gratitude
- Ordering food and drinks
- Jobs and occupations
- Everyday life. Days of the week, months, time.
Grammar:
- Personal pronouns
- Feminine and masculine usage
- Possessive pronouns.
- Present tense of key verbs To Read – לקרוא , To Eat – לאכול, To Go – ללכת, To Write – לכתוב…
- Word order and sentence structure
- Nouns and adjectives singular, plural.
- Question forming.
- Prefixes.
Cultural Content:
- Common idiomatic expressions
- Key religious expressions and their usage in every day speech
- Insight into difference between Modern and biblical Hebrew.
- Insight into cultural differences between the different ethnic groups living in Israel.
Skills Work:
- The Hebrew alphabet, reading and writing, with special emphasis on unfamiliar sounds.
- Pronunciation of Guttural letters.
- Listening comprehension
Hebrew Beginner 2
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Revision of Beginners 1
- Counting and using numbers in Masculine / Feminine form.
- Traveling around sites in Israel.
- Around the house.
- Shopping, getting directions, situations on the bus
Grammar:
- Review of the Alpha-Bet.
- Adjectives in Male / Female, singular / plural.
- Word order and sentence structure
- The root of words.
Cultural Content:
- Common idiomatic expressions
- The use of Hebrew in the Diaspora.
- Everyday life in Israel.
Skills Work:
- Practical tools to master reading and writing.
- Communicative role plays
- Listening comprehension
- Practical assignments and tasks.
- Cursive writing skills.
Hebrew Beginner 3
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Eating out – cafes, restaurants
- At the hotel.
- At the airport.
- Making plans
- Higher level numbers
- Review of the Beginners Level courses
Grammar:
- Review of the Alpha-Bet.
- Prepositions, nouns and adjectives : agreement
- The infinitive
- Verb roots
- The different types of verb forms in groups (פעל) Paal / (קל) Kal
- Adjectives and adverbs (Male / female)
- Causal clauses
Cultural Content:
- More common idiomatic expressions
- The use of Hebrew in the Diaspora.
- Everyday life in Israel and the World.
Skills Work:
- Practical tools to master reading and writing.
- Communicative role plays
- Listening comprehension
- Practical assignments and tasks.
- Cursive writing skills.
Hebrew Elementary 1
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Review of simple sentences and basic conversation.
- Calendar and schedule.
- In the café.
- On the bus.
- Post office.
Grammar:
- Review of verbs in (פעל) Paal / (קל) Kal.
- Intro to verbs in stem of Hefeel – הפעיל
- Intro to verbs in גזרות ל’פ. ל’י
- Verbs in the stem of Hitpaael – התפעל
- Intro to the verb To Be – להיות
- Nominal clause models
- Forming sentences by combining indefinite nouns and indefinite adjectives.
- Construct states.
Cultural Content:
- Classic Israeli films.
- Cultural development in Israel since the 50’s.
- Different social life in Jerusalem.
- Places around the Dead Sea and Judas Desert.
- Friday and Shabbat.
Skills Work:
- Listening comprehension
- Practical assignments and tasks.
- Pronunciation.
- Improve reading and writing skills.
Hebrew Elementary 2
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Review Elementary 1
- Reading the newspaper.
- Ordinal numbers.
- At a party
- In the bookshop.
- Body part and organs.
Grammar:
- Weak verbs (קל – Kal) in past tense.
- Definiteness of the construct state.
- Conjugations of the preposition …ל (To)
- Construct states as the objects of the sentence /the second noun is the proper noun.
- Possessive sentences( ישYesh / אין Eyin le…)
Cultural content:
- Places around the Sea of Galilee.
- The Jews of Ethiopia.
- The Jewish wedding.
Skills Work:
- Writing a short story.
- Dialogue forming.
- Describing – Oral and in writing.
- Role play.
Hebrew Elementary 3
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Colours.
- The diary.
- The family.
- Around the zoo.
- Review of the Elementary Courses
Grammar:
- Basic stem – Paal conjugation, strong verb type, past tense.
- Conjugation of the preposition – Shel של…
- The use of the verb – To need
Cultural Content:
- Agriculture in Israeil
- The Dead Sea Scrolls.
- Different types of Israeli family lives.
Skills Work:
- Writing a short story.
- Dialogue forming.
- Describing – Oral and in writing.
- Role plays.
Hebrew Advanced
Topics & Vocabulary:
- Humans and animals.
- Morals and physiology.
- War and peace.
- Waiting in a queue.
- On the news.
Grammar:
- Strong verbs in Nifal – in נפעל infinitive, past, present and future.
- Conjugation of the preposition El – ,אל
- Noun declension.
- Nouns + possessive suffixes.
- Summary of prepositions conjugation.
- Concessive conjugation and concessive clause.
- Verbs in Piel גזרת י’ל past, present and future.
- The conditional (unreal condition).
- Gerund in construct state and plural.
Cultural Content:
- Masada and the Romans.
- Manners and behaviors in Israeli society.
- Celebrating Hanukah.
- The origins of Hebrew words in the bible.
Skills Work:
- Writing a news piece.
- Writing a film script.
- Greetings and congratulations.
