One of the biggest blockers for students who learn Hebrew is how to advance after they've learned how to read with vowel signs, in this blog post we will try to give you the guidance and tools to break this blocker and move on into being fluent in Hebrew!
First Tip - Build Up Vocabulary
It might sounds like a cliche, but creating yourself a solid basic vocabulary is crucial in order to take the next step in Hebrew, here are a few ways to do it:
Sign up to our Vocabulary Program in Udemy, by completing this program you will get to know more than 1k day to day Hebrew words, its perfect to make yourself a solid base before continue practicing your Hebrew.
Use Doulingo, it's a friendly free app, with 15 minutes a day in the long run your vocabulary will get the boost it needs.
Sign to the various "Hebrew Word Per Day" newsletters / Instagram Pages / Facebook Pages, it's a great way to build vocabulary unknowingly while surfing your social medias.
Second Tip - Read Books
After building a most basic vocabulary, you can start reading books with vowel signs, even 1-2 pages per day is a great practice both for your vocabulary and reading skills.
Be ready to search & translate every new word you stumble upon, Morfix is a great website to translate English to Hebrew, although the website is in Hebrew - just write the Hebrew word at the website's search bar at the top.
Try to avoid Google Translate if you can, the translation can be completely misleading and can actually harm you in the long run.
If you can't type in Hebrew with your computer - learn how to set up a Hebrew Keyboard.
Third Tip - Hebrew Without Vowel Signs
That's the most challenging step, but that's the best time to do it.
After you will comfortable with reading, and you feel like you can read and understand even 5 sentences straight without searching for translations - You are ready!
Here are some great ways to practice Hebrew without vowel signs:
Watch movies with Hebrew subtitles (preferably Hebrew movies / TV shows), the beginning can be frustrating because you will have to stop and read in order to get it done, you have to be patient and understand that in the long run it will have a great impact. Check if Netflix have Hebrew subtitles in your country for Hebrew shows (Like Fauda - פאודה).
Try to read the news in Hebrew or just surf in Hebrew websites, here are some Hebrew news websites: Ynet, Walla, Israel Hayom.
Take the next step and start reading books without vowel signs, preferably books you already read before in your main language.
Sign up to "Read Hebrew Without Vowel Signs" online course
Fourth Tip - Conversational Hebrew
Practicing by talking is the best way to take the leap towards being fluent in Hebrew, but sometimes it's not easy to get started, here are some ways to get it going:
Sign up to "Learn Hebrew Across Israel", this amazing course takes you to a virtual trip in Israel while showing you conversations that are being dissected and explained word by word, there are bunch of extra materials and ways to practice, be sure to check it out.
Join a Facebook Group and try to find a partner to have conversations with, for more ways to find partners check out our blog post "mastering the Hebrew language".
Come to Israel :) there's no better way to practice Conversational Hebrew.
That's all for now, have tips of your own? Be sure to comment them in the comments section below.
Good luck and thank you for learning Hebrew!