New Hebrew teaching programme to cover over 4000 students

Jewish leaders and educators have welcomed the launch of a new Ivrit (Hebrew) teaching programme being rolled out across a dozen Jewish secondary schools across the country.

The Yesh Va’Yesh Wohl Hebrew Programme has been developed with Israeli partners and will cover over 4,000 students annually in years 7-9.

“It takes a completely different approach from previous Hebrew curricula,” said Aviva Engle, an Ivrit teacher in Leeds. “It’s a practical approach showing that the language is alive… It’s much more relevant.”

The units cover exciting topics such as holidays in Israel, sports and music.

Kate Goldberg of the Maurice Wohl Charitable Foundation paid tribute to “those who had the vision of what Hebrew language learning in schools could look like.” The dream, she said, was to have “young Jewish adults fluent in Ivrit at the end of school.”

UJIA chairman Michael Weiger said: “Upgrading the level of Hebrew teaching so that people are equipped to deal with the full range of Hebrew culture is of vital importance.”

Sarah Wagman, an Ivrit teacher at JCoSS, said the new resources was “comparable to all other language learning books,” adding that “the topics relate to students and are strongly embedded in Israeli culture.”