About the Consortium
Izzy Pludwinski's Hebrew Aleph-bet, 2022, "The Beauty of the Hebrew Letter," Brandeis University Press.
Mission
The Consortium for the Teaching of Hebrew Language and Culture will transform Hebrew teaching and learning on a global scale, increasing exponentially the number of Hebrew-proficient individuals. To establish a shared philosophy about Hebrew language acquisition, the Hebrew Consortium will systematize pedagogy and best practices as well as conduct research across sectors. In so doing, the Hebrew Consortium will demonstrate the vitality of Hebrew and its indispensable role in enhancing deep connection among speakers and with Jewish and Israeli culture.
Principles
- Language and ethnicity are intertwined. Language encodes the human experience of history, values, and culture. This expansive conception is based on a deep tradition of social science research into the relationship between language and ethnicity.
- Hebrew provides a window into Israeli and Jewish and life. Hebrew is the key to knowing and to grasping the richness of Jewishness/Judaism and Israel/Israeli culture.
- There is global interest in Hebrew. A vast audience of potential Hebrew speakers in North America and around the world is ready to be inspired to learn the language, and to do so in various settings.
- Many more educators are needed to meet demand. There is a deficit of professional Hebrew educators. An advanced degree is necessary to ensure that educators can synthesize expertise in teaching Hebrew as a second language along with Israel Studies and tap into learners’ emotional and intellectual motivations.
- Hebrew education requires scholar-practitioners with breadth and depth. Hebrew learners’ acquisition depends on quality Hebrew educators whose profile must be shifted from being providers of language learning materials to practitioners with scholarly training in knowledge areas.
- Brandeis possesses the expertise to lead the Consortium. Brandeis has been an intellectual home to Hebrew language learning for decades. The university possesses unique scholarly and research capacities that will contribute to the Hebrew Consortium’s ability to shape the field, credential scholar-practitioners, and promote the language.
- A galvanizing force must lead the Hebrew initiative. Organizations need the support of the Hebrew Consortium’s language acquisition experts in order to develop and strengthen models that increase accessibility to learning Hebrew and Israeli culture at all levels.