Advanced I Yiddish (Monday)

Tuition: $480 | YIVO members: $375**
Students: $240 (Must register with valid university email address)

Register

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.

Instructor: Sharon Bar-Kochva

Who should take this course?
This course is appropriate for those who have completed Intermediate IV Yiddish or equivalent coursework.

What topics will this class cover?
This course is intended for students who have a solid command of basic Yiddish grammar and who seek to deepen their linguistic proficiency and cultural understanding. Building on previously acquired knowledge, the class will focus on advancing grammatical accuracy and stylistic nuance. Particular attention will be given to a range of syntactic structures, subtle distinctions in the use of converbs and prefixes, and the correct application of conjunctions and prepositions.

Throughout the semester, we will engage with a variety of texts and recorded materials, both historical and contemporary, including poetry, short stories, press materials, interviews, and songs. Grammar topics will be integrated in relation to the studied material.

Class activities will support comprehensive language development. Students will refine their reading skills through textual analysis, strengthen listening skills using recordings of interviews and songs, and practice speaking through discussions. Writing assignments will help to solidify new syntactic patterns and to expand active vocabulary.

Is knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet required?
Yes, knowledge of the Yiddish alphabet is required.

Course Materials:
The instructor will provide course materials digitally throughout the class on Canvas.

Students should have access to the Comprehensive Yiddish–English Dictionary by Bochner and Beinfeld, either in its digital form (verterbukh.org) or as a printed edition.

Sharon Bar-Kochva works as a Yiddish teacher and a librarian in the Paris Yiddish Center, where she is also head of the pedagogical team. She has been teaching Yiddish at various levels worldwide since 2004, both in academic and non-academic frameworks. She received her PhD from Inalco University in Paris in 2015, centering her dissertation on the pseudonyms of Yiddish and Hebrew writers.

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