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| Overall rating | 8/10  |
|---|
Full review by
orish
expert review 
on 17th Jun 2004
User Rating : 8
Respect :
+1
Good Points: Quirky, fun and incredibly effective way to learn Hebrew quickly.
Bad Points: Only the first course is available, recommended products not ready yet, some images might be too raunchy for some or not suitable for children.
General comments: learnhebrewonline.com offers a surprisingly easy way to learn a language, using cartoons to create subconscious visual word associations. I found myself laughing out loud at many of the cartoons - and, as promised, these are the words I have never forgotten, even though I was only exposed to it for 20 seconds.
Some of the images are really raunchy (frankly, I liked these best, but some people may be a little offended). For instance, there's a man wiping DUST off a prostitute before A VUCK (which is the Hebrew word for "dust"). Other images are equally bizarre, such as a FORK as a replacement for MA'S LEG, or the CAR with a giant MATCH ON IT.
There is some similarity with Linkword Languages, but they (Linkword) don't use images. You have to imagine a situation. I found this quite difficult to do in practice. Seeing an image (which is itself quite funny) makes the process instantaneous.
There is supposed to be a children's version of the course (with cleaner images), but it's probably not ready yet.
What I found is that I developed an ear for the language really easily. You hear a word spoken, then you hear the word in a sentence. The sentence is unintelligible, but you somehow pick out the word you've just learnt. I find I can listen to Hebrew-language documentaries or movies and recognize nearly all the words I've learnt so far.
My children found the cartoons hilarious as well and although they weren't interested in learning Hebrew, they remember most of the words. I find that quite amazing.
The only criticism I have is that there should be more grammar somehow. They claim that you can learn to speak without knowing any grammar, but I find that I prefer to understand the logic of what I'm doing. I bought the grammar book recommended on the site, and this has made a huge difference.
It's also a little rough and ready, but that may be because I was on their beta program and the courses are still being refined and developed. I'm looking forward to a slicker, more commercial version of their product.
Once these issues have been sorted out, I'd be ready to give 10-star ratings.
What I appreciate most about the course is that the cartoons are worth looking at in their own right. (I would pay just for this, although perhaps not as much.) Even if you had no desire or intention to learn a language, you can't help learning something - without even trying!
I've given a high rating for value for money because, although priced fairly high (in comparison to Eurotalk for instance), it's a lot cheaper than Pimsleur or Linguaphone and much more effective (and downright practical).
orish's review and ratings | 490 words
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