Beginner I Yiddish (Thursday)

This is a live, online course held weekly on Zoom. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (Zoom link, syllabus, handouts, assignments, etc.) will be posted to Canvas. Students will be granted access to the class on Canvas after registering for the class here on the YIVO website. This immersive class will be conducted in Yiddish; students are welcome to pose questions in English as needed.

Instructor: Reyze Turner

Who should take this course?
This course is for students who are new to the Yiddish language or would like a review.

What topics will this class cover?
This class will cover the alef-beys (the Yiddish alphabet), basic conversational vocabulary, how to conjugate verbs in present, future, and past tenses, and how to decline articles, adjectives, and personal pronouns. Students will learn how to count in Yiddish, use a Yiddish dictionary, and sing several Yiddish songs.

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. However, students who have no prior experience with the Yiddish or Hebrew alphabets are highly encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before class, as the course will move at a fast pace. The tools and videos provided here will be helpful in getting a handle on reading and writing the alef-beys, and are designed for independent use.

Course Materials:
The instructor will provide course materials digitally to students in advance of the class and throughout.

Reyze Turner has been teaching Yiddish at the beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels since 2013, at the Boston Workers Circle, the Paris Yiddish Center, and the Warsaw International Summer Seminar in Yiddish Language and Culture. She holds a master’s degree in Yiddish Studies from the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and she is a graduate of the Paris Yiddish Center’s Teachers’ Training Seminar. She is also a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of History at the University of Wisconsin - Madison, where she researches the American Yiddish press. She is an active writer of Yiddish and translator from Yiddish into English, and her publications can be found in Forverts, Afn Shvel, Pakn Treger, In Geveb, Sprachbund, and several print anthologies..

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