Beginner I Conversational Yiddish for Heritage Learners (Morning)

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

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 class will be conducted in Yiddish and English.

Instructor: Lila Thielemans

Who should take this course?
Students will be beginners who have had some exposure to Yiddish in their lives, and maybe know a word or expression or two, but lack the basics of grammar and vocabulary, which will be provided in this course. No knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is required, as all written texts provided will be transliterated into Latin characters (and the focus of the course will be conversation as opposed to reading and writing). Likewise, no proficiency in Yiddish conversation is required.

What topics will this class cover?
In this course, students will shmues (chat) their way through a variety of different conversation and cultural topics, enjoying Yiddish art and (re)discovering the language’s vast legacy along the way.

Students will learn to talk about who they are, what they like to do, their families, art, and socializing. The course will use an array of materials ranging from songs and classical Yiddish films to interviews with Yiddish writers and gorgeously illustrated books. Grammatical topics will be introduced throughout the class and will serve the goal of furthering conversational skills.

All the while, the course’s main goal will be to shepn nakhes fun (take pleasure in) Yiddish and talking with each other as much as possible.

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
No, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is not required. All written texts provided will be transliterated into Latin characters (and the focus of the course will be conversation as opposed to reading and writing).

Course Materials:
The instructor will provide all course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas. Course materials will include thematic vocabulary to support conversation and basic grammar handouts for reference. In addition, the instructor will provide links to supplementary cultural material to ensure no one ever runs out of Yiddish resources to enjoy at home, work, or on-the-go.

Lila Thielemans is a Yiddish teacher, translator and visual artist under the name Meshikhte. Originally from Belgium, she started learning Yiddish at the University of Antwerp when she was thirteen years old. Since then, she's studied Yiddish language and literature at multiple universities and summer programs, taught various Yiddish-language cooking and art workshops, children's programs and short language courses. In 2020, she appeared in Nurith Aviv's acclaimed documentary Yiddish about Yiddish modernism and avant-garde. Her poetry has been published in the Amsterdam-based magazine Grine Medine and read on Shahar Fineberg and Gilles Rozier's podcast Yiddish haynt. In the past, Lila has co-led the kindershul at the Paris Yiddish Center - Medem Library, taught at the YIVO-Bard Summer Program, and presented research on Yiddish children's literature at the University of Warsaw's International Conference for Jewish Studies Researchers.

**Become a member today, starting at $54 for one year, and pay the member price for classes! You’ll save $46 right now, and more on future classes and public programs tickets.