Unit 1 with Adrien Smith
Registration for Adrien's class is currently full. Please reach out to Margaret at mfrothingham@yiddishbookcenter.org to be put on the waiting list.
Unit 1: Sholem-aleykhem! with Adrien Smith
Lomir zikh lernen in eynem—let’s learn together!
Learn Yiddish in a new intensive, online Yiddish-language class for beginners, using the Yiddish Book Center’s award-winning new Yiddish textbook, In eynem. Held twice a week over Zoom, these classes offer an in-depth introduction to Yiddish language, covering all aspects of learning, including oral and written communication, grammar, vocabulary, pronunciation, and culture.
Topics covered:
- Vocabulary: Greetings, introductions, geography, basic verbs, numbers, days of the week
- Grammar: Present tense verb conjugations, pronouns, word order
- Culture: Folksongs, brief history of Yiddish
Course expectations:
- This course is designed for students with no prior Yiddish language experience.
- Students are expected to actively participate in all twelve class sessions and complete the assigned homework.
- Students are expected to familiarize themselves with the Yiddish alphabet before the program begins.
- Students must have a computer with a webcam and microphone, Internet access, and some proficiency with Zoom.
- Students must have a copy of In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook.
Class dates:
Classes are held Mondays and Wednesdays. Class is from 10–11:30am Eastern Time, with a short break in the middle.
Nov. 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, 29
Dec. 1, 6, 8, 13, 15
Cost: $300 for members, $350 for nonmembers. The required textbook is sold separately at $100 in our online store.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations by October 25 will be refunded, minus a $30 administration fee. Unfortunately, we are unable to provide refunds for cancellations after October 25.
About the Instructor:
Adrien Smith holds a PhD in Slavic languages and literatures from Stanford University. Her research looks at Yiddish speech style in Russian literature and performance in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as at Soviet science fiction. She has taught Russian and Yiddish languages and literatures at Stanford, where she also leads the Yiddish reading group. She earned her BA from Wellesley College and MPhil from Cambridge University. In 2021, she taught one section of Beginning Yiddish at the Yiddish Book Center’s Steiner Summer Yiddish Program. As a 2021-2022 Translation Fellow at the Yiddish Book Center, Adrien is translating a selection of short works of fiction by emerging Yiddish writers, including Aleksandra Polyan, Etl Niborski, Shiri Shapira, Raphael Halff, and Emil Kalin.
Questions? Please contact Margaret Frothingham, education program assistant, at mfrothingham@yiddishbookcenter.org.