"Monolingualism Can Be Cured"

By Frieda D. Robins
Early Childhood Project Director at the
Melton Research Center for Jewish Education

Doctoral Student at the Davidson School of
Jewish Education at the Jewish Theological Seminary

My linguistics professor told my bilingualism education class the following anecdote: she was jogging in Riverside Park wearing a shirt that said "Monolingualism can be cured". People were staring at the writing, puzzled about what kind of disease monolingualism is. "An American one!..." I blurted out.

The Problem:
American Jews suffer from this very same problem; Jewish children rarely master Hebrew. In many discussions with today’s Jewish educators concerning the state of Hebrew language instruction in America, discontent and frustration repeatedly center around the lack of commitment to Hebrew on the part of both teachers and parents.

What is urgently needed, therefore, is a different way of thinking about the teaching of Hebrew within the context of Jewish education and a new approach to Hebrew language acquisition. One solution to this problem is early childhood Hebrew acquisition in an immersion program. While there are other methods to teach Hebrew, the immersion method may be the method of choice in early childhood. In immersion the usual curricular activities are conducted in a second language. The new language is the medium to convey the content as well as the object of instruction. The teachers must be native or near-native speakers of the target language.

Why Hebrew?
Language, as understood by socio-linguists is not simply a formal tool used to communicate ideas or practices; it represents a particular world view. Knowing the Hebrew language is a concrete sign of identifying with Jewish religious and literary tradition and of recognition the centrality of the Hebrew language in Judaism (Zisenwine 1997).

Language acquisition is directly linked to cultural beliefs and practices. Our understanding of the relationship between language and culture dictates that the study and mastery of the Hebrew language are essential to the transmission of the authentic voice of Jewish tradition to American Jewish children. We all use what Max Kadushin termed "value-concepts," to convey the idea of Rabbinic terms such as Torah, Mitzvah, Tsedakah, Derech Eretz, Kedushah. The value-concepts are imbedded in prayer, ethics and behavior, and thus integrate the individual and the group. They make for the unique, rich, meaningful language of the Jewish people: Hebrew.

The Cure:
Most Jewish educators agree that a child must learn the Hebrew language in order to identify with Judaism fully. Research shows that the 3 to 5 year olds are particularly well suited to learning a foreign language. According to Curtis (1996) the ability to learn a language is so great in young children that they can learn as many spoken languages as one can allow them to hear systematically and regularly at the same time. There does not seem to be any detriment to developing several languages at the same time.

The benefits of being bilingual are numerous. Learning a second language at an early age:

• has a positive effect on intellectual growth;

• enriches and enhances a child’s mental development;

• leaves students with more flexibility in thinking, greater sensitivity to languages and a better ear for listening;

• improves a child’s understanding of his/her native language;

• gives a child the ability to communicate with people he or she would otherwise not have the chance to know;

• opens the door to other cultures and helps a child understand and appreciate people from other countries;

• gives a student a head start in language requirements for college;

• Increases job opportunities in many careers where knowing another language is a real asset.

In addition to the general benefits derived from foreign language learning, one must also emphasize the benefits of learning Hebrew:

• deepen Jewish identity

• create a stronger ties to Israel and its culture

• permit full entree to classical and modern Jewish texts.

The Jewish nursery school is the perfect setting for teaching the Hebrew language as a viable, vivid and communicative tool, giving children a solid oral Hebrew language base and a level of fluency on which to build once they enter day or synagogue school programs. Hopefully, parents who will witness their children’s gains will enroll their children for more hours per week in Jewish schooling beyond the preschool years. Similarly, day schools can build upon these early language acquisitions and move students further in their Hebraic and Judaic achievements and identity.

On the Way to Getting Better
The Jewish Theological Seminary has been in the forefront of progressive Jewish education. Through its William Davidson Graduate School of Education, JTS has embarked on a new initiative of teaching Hebrew in the preschool years. After a review of the literature we implemented a pilot program of immersion in early childhood in Camp Ramah in New England in summer 1998. The summer of 1999 marked the beginning of a two year long Hebrew pilot program of partial, semi, or full immersion models, implemented in a Philadelphia preschool. Initially, a group of Hebrew speaking preschool educators and their directors were trained in the method of second language acquisition by immersion, both in theory and practice. A second Hebrew Immersion Institute took place in May 2000. The existing curricula of these schools will be adapted to Hebrew language instruction and secular studies will be infused with Judaic content. In September 2000 formal instruction will begin and JTS staff will support and advise the trainees throughout the duration of the program. Od lo avdah tikvateinu - our hope is still alive, that the next generation of Jewish children will be bilingual English/Hebrew speakers.