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Hebrew courses outline

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. If you want to cover the same course outline in a shorter period of time, we also offer One-Week Online Courses and 5-week Courses.

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

Beginner 2

Topics u0026 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
  • Common idiomatic expressions
  • The use of Hebrew in the Diaspora.
  • Everyday life in Israel.
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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Intermediate 1

Topics & Vocabulary
  • Advertising in Hebrew.
  • Directions around town – Maps and routes.
  • Clothing.
  • Masculine and feminine numbers100 – 1000.
  • At the police station.
  • Can / Can’t.
Grammar
  • The conjugation of the preposition Et – את
  • Object clauses – indirect speech.
  • Can –infinitive verb +יכול
  • Past tense nominal sentences.
  • Consequence sentences.
  • Conjugation of Paal ל’ה– verb type – past tense.
  • Have / had / was / were- היה in the past.
  • Conjugation of פיעל and התפעל strong verb – past tense.
  • Impersonal phrases with infinitive verbs.
  • Conjugation of the preposition With – עם
Cultural Content
  • Nature in Israel and its relation to biblical mentioning.
  • Clothes in Israel of the 20’s and 30’s.
  • The history of the Jewish community in Spain.
  • Celebrating Hanukah.
  • Religion and tradition in Israeli society.
  • The revive of the Hebrew language – Eliyezer Ben Yehuda.
Skills Work
  • Giving and understanding directions.
  • Writing a descriptive letter.
  • Pronunciation practice.
  • Roll play of consequence question / answers
  • Writing riddles.

Intermediate 2

Topics & Vocabulary
  • Revision of Intermediate 1
  • Poets and poetry.
  • Seasons and weather.
  • Nature vs Tourism
Grammar
  • Habitual action הייתי, היינו וכיוב…
  • Impersonal sentences היה/יהיה כדאי
  • Nominal sentences in the future.
Cultural Content
  • The Jewish calendar.
  • Israel and Palestine
  • The Israeli flag.
Skills Work
  • Writing an ad.
  • Roll play – wishes for the future.
  • Writing signs.
  • Using a Hebrew dictionary.

Intermediate 3

Topics & Vocabulary
  • Giving Advice
  • The horoscope.
  • On the phone.
  • Revision of the Intermediate Courses
Grammar
  • Dual form.
  • Possessive (‘have’) sentences – Future.
  • Foreign words in Hebrew.
  • Relative clause
  • Imperative and Negative Imperative
  • Conjugation of the prepositions: because –/בגלל / from –…מן מ…
Cultural Content
  • The kibbutz
  • The Israeli flag.
  • Jewish art in Jerusalem and Tzfat.
  • The after life and messiah concept in Judaism.
Skills Work
  • Writing an ad.
  • Roll play – wishes for the future.
  • Writing signs.
  • Using a Hebrew dictionary.

Upper Intermediate

Topics & Vocabulary
  • University study options.
  • Traveling around the world.
  • The encyclopaedia and similar sources.
  • Culture, believes and values.
  • Feelings and emotions.
  • The family.
  • The Modern Hebrew song.
Grammar
  • Suffixes of a noun in feminine form.
  • Future conjugation of Strong verb – Paal – / יפעול/ Guttural פ’הפ/ פ’הע
  • Conjugation of the preposition ‘For’ – בשביל ‘Like’ – כמו
  • The conditional (Real condition).
  • Temporal time clause.
  • Verbs in Piel פיעל in future form.
  • The verb To Be להיות in future tense.
  • Verbs in Paal, future time גזרת לה’/ ל’י
  • Verbs in the Subjunctive.
  • Final Adverbs and Clauses.
  • Passive Participle.
Cultural Content
  • The history of the Hebrew Alpha – Bet.
  • Yad Vashem – The research and museum for holocaust studies.
  • The life of Janus Korchack.
  • Stories from The book of Genesis.
Skills Work
  • Oral and written landscape description.
  • Writing commercial ads.
  • Expressing feelings.

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.

Understanding Language Levels

If you are taking a language course with Cactus you can find out more about our language levels and how you can track your progress using the ‘can do statements’ below. These statements outline the key things that you should be able to say and understand once you have completed each level. Can do statements are officially recognised as a set of performance-related scales describing what a learner is able to do in a foreign language, in accordance with the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and the CEFR defined levels.

CEFR Levels

If you are taking a language course with Cactus you can find out more about our language levels and how you can track your progress using the ‘can do statements’. These statements outline the key things that you should be able to say and understand once you have completed each level. Can do statements are officially recognised as a set of performance-related scales describing what a learner is able to do in a foreign language, in accordance with the CEFR (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages) and the CEFR defined levels.

Beginner (A1)

  • You can understand and use familiar everyday expressions and basic phrases aimed at the satisfaction of needs of a concrete type
  • You can introduce yourself and others
  • You can ask and answer questions about personal details such as where you live, what you do, people you know and things you have
  • You can ask and give directions
  • You can order food and drink
  • You can make very basic travel and accommodation arrangements
  • You can have a basic conversation, provided the other person talks slowly and clearly and is prepared to help.

Elementary (A2)

  • You can understand sentences and frequently used expressions related to areas including basic personal and family information, shopping, local geography and employment
  • You can communicate in simple and routine tasks, requiring a simple and direct exchange of information on familiar and routine matters
  • You can describe, in simple terms, aspects of your background, immediate environment and matters in areas of immediate need
  • You can comfortably ‘get by’ when visiting the country, albeit with some difficulty.

Intermediate (B1)

  • You can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc.
  • You can deal with most situations likely to arise whilst travelling in an area where the language is spoken
  • You can produce simple connected text on topics which are familiar or of personal interest
  • You can describe experiences and events
  • You can talk about dreams, hopes and ambitions
  • You can briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans
  • You could consider working in the country using the language (e.g. bar/counter work, waiting service in cafes or basic office work).

Upper Intermediate (B2)

  • You can understand the main ideas of complex text on both concrete and abstract topics, including technical discussions in your field of specialisation.
  • You can interact with a degree of fluency and spontaneity that makes regular interaction with native speakers quite possible, without strain for either party.
  • You can produce clear, detailed text on a wide range of subjects and explain a viewpoint on a topical issue, giving the advantages and disadvantages of various options.
  • You can do business with speakers of the language in most run-of-the-mill situations.

Advanced (C1)

  • You can understand a wide range of demanding, longer texts, and recognise implicit meaning
  • You can express yourself fluently and spontaneously without much obvious searching for expressions
  • You can use the language flexibly and effectively for social, academic and professional purposes
  • You can produce clear, well-structured, detailed text on complex subjects, showing controlled use of organisational patterns, logical flow of text, and clear awareness of the audience.

Proficient (C2)

  • You can understand with ease virtually everything heard or read
  • You can summarise information from different spoken and written sources
  • You can reconstruct arguments and accounts in a coherent presentation
  • You can express yourself spontaneously, very fluently and precisely
  • You can differentiate finer shades of meaning, even in the most complex situations.

How to book with Cactus

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