Beginner I Yiddish (In-person)

Tuition: $450 | YIVO members: $350**
Students: $225 (Must register with valid university email address)

This class meets weekly in person at the YIVO Institute for Jewish Research in New York City. Enrollment will be capped at about 15 students. All course details (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 class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.

Instructor: Noa Tsaushu

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

What topics will this class cover?
This class will cover the Yiddish alphabet, basic grammar, and vocabulary through reading, listening, writing, and speaking. By the end of the course, students will be able to understand and participate in a conversation on a variety of everyday topics, have a working vocabulary around several themes, speak using basic grammatical forms, read simple texts with ease, and write short compositions on given topics.

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. However, students who have no prior experience with reading and writing 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:
This course will use the textbook In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, Mikhl Yashinsky (Purchase). The instructor will provide any additional course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.

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Noa Tsaushu is a Ph.D. candidate of Yiddish Studies and Comparative Literature and Society at Columbia University. She received her bachelor’s degree in Fine Art from the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design in Jerusalem and spent more than eight years as a practicing artist, working in various media and exhibiting in solo and group shows in Israel. Her interdisciplinary interest in the Yiddish avant-garde led her to the Department of Literatures of the Jewish People at Bar-Ilan University, where she received her master’s in Yiddish Studies. She is currently writing her dissertation on the visual and material interactions between post-Revolutionary Yiddish literature and the plastic arts. In Columbia, Noa serves as a Lead Teaching Fellow and a Yiddish Language Instructor for various levels.

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