Hebrew now online at OSU

By JEWISH REVIEW

article created on: 2011-06-01T00:00:00

Oregon State University’s Extended Campus now offers modern Hebrew as an interactive and highly personal online course.

OSU, which ranks in the top 25 colleges that administer online degrees according to thebestcolleges.org, offers three first-year Hebrew courses from instructor Yael Beged-Dov as a gateway into a language that is among the oldest in the world.

The courses are designed for newcomers to Hebrew with an interest in attaining foreign language credits, learning more about Israeli culture or more efficiently communicating with family members.

“The flexibility of the online format is the biggest benefit to students, and because it’s a distance-learning course, it’s very convenient for many of the students to not have to leave home in order to learn,” said Beged-Dov, who learned Hebrew as a child after her family immigrated to Israel from Morocco when she was 10.

All course material is delivered through multimedia instruction, coupled with realistic learning objectives. Students interact with classmates through online discussion boards and use a soundboard to learn how to pronounce letters and words.

Debunking the myth that online courses are impersonal, the Hebrew courses from OSU Ecampus allow students to hone their skills with one-on-one Skype sessions with the instructor for two hours each week.

“Having that person there who can speak the language makes it feel as though you are with someone from another country,” Beged-Dov said. “When the students hear me speak for the first time, I think it gives the course more credibility because they are learning from someone who knows the language, lived in Israel, still goes there and speaks the language at home.”

OSU Ecampus’s four-week summer session of Hebrew 111 begins June 20. In the fall, Hebrew 111 and Hebrew 112 will be available, and the university will unveil Hebrew 113 for more advanced speakers. Register online at ecampus.oregonstate.edu.