Matt Neilsen's Hebrew Log

[cjareck]

Thanks for the suggestion! I did some poking around and it looks like there are two shows: Shalom Sesame and Rechov Sumsum. Both seem to have a lot of content on YouTube. Definitely not the most exciting of shows, but it's probably exactly the level of dialogue that I need Thanks again!

Thanks! I watched Shalom Sesame which I found here just a few minutes ago and it was mostly in English with a few Hebrew phrases. The second one seems to be entirely Hebrew.

[MattNeilsen]

Yesterday's activity:

Pimsleur (Level 1, Lesson 19) - 30 minutes
Clozemaster - 45 minutes
Duolingo - 10 minutes
Anki - 45 minutes

Total study to date: ~84.5 hours

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Thanks! I watched Shalom Sesame which I found here just a few minutes ago and it was mostly in English with a few Hebrew phrases. The second one seems to be entirely Hebrew.

I realized the same thing after watching part of a Shalom Sesame episode. However, I ended up watching two episodes of Rechov SumSum yesterday and it was quite fun. It's a little humbling watching a show designed for ~ 5-year-olds, but then again, learning a language is a humbling process. I'm sure I'll be giving those 5-year-olds a run for their money in no time

[MattNeilsen]

I'm totally enjoying Rechov SumSum! My comprehension is maybe 10-15%, but I'm surprised how many words from Anki I'm picking up. It's definitely helped me realize that I need to step up my vocab game in a big way. If I were consistently getting 15-20 new words a day (between Anki, Clozemaster, and Duolingo), then I bet I could get my comprehension up to 50%+ within ~2 months (at least for beginner shows like this).

This was exactly the motivation I needed at this stage. Here's an example of a video I watched today during lunch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iUMpOpi865E. There was even a fun section (I think around the 7:30 mark) that showed how the letter "dalet" (ד) is used in three words related to fishing: fish (דג), fisherman (דייג), and bucket (דלי). It was corny, but I won't be forgetting it any time soon.

[cjareck]

If you look for normal content, I would like to recommend you following
כאן גרים בכיף
- excellent comedy series about a family with three boys

היהודים באים
- these are gags from Jewish history
Both are with subtitles.

[MattNeilsen]

If you look for normal content, I would like to recommend you following:

Thanks! Definitely above my current ability, but that probably means I should start watching them soon I'll add them to the YouTube resources list.

[cjareck]

Thanks! Definitely above my current ability, but that probably means I should start watching them soon

Not only above yours - but mine also. But I watched them both a year ago, and I could understand - mostly from the scenes not from Hebrew what was going on - enough to enjoy watching.

There is an outstanding movie:
צבצה יונתן

About hostages-rescue in Entebbe. I watched it about five times and every time I can understand more. Especially since I read about it before and already more or less knew what had happened.

[MattNeilsen]

Yesterday's activity:

Pimsleur (Level 1, Lesson 20) - 30 minutes
Clozemaster - 75 minutes
Duolingo - 10 minutes
Anki - 45 minutes
YouTube (Rechov SumSum) - 30 minutes

Total study to date: ~87.5 hours

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Good study day yesterday. The inclusion of non-course audio/videos is a welcome addition, and truthfully, probably should have been included even earlier. I have been particularly influenced by @zenmonkey's and leosmith's writings on the importance of early listening. I have created time in my daily routine for dedicated listening, so we'll see how it goes.

[MattNeilsen]

Thanks! Definitely above my current ability, but that probably means I should start watching them soon

Not only above yours - but mine also. But I watched them both a year ago, and I could understand - mostly from the scenes not from Hebrew what was going on - enough to enjoy watching.

There is an outstanding movie:
צבצה יונתן

About hostages-rescue in Entebbe. I watched it about five times and every time I can understand more. Especially since I read about it before and already more or less knew what had happened.

I'm certainly no military buff like you, but I really enjoy military history. You and I are going to get along just fine

[Deinonysus]

Shalom Resame and Rechov Sumsum are awesome! I watched that growing up. Shalom Sesame is a mix of cultural and language notes in English, and clips from Rechov Sumsum in Hebrew.

That giant hedgehog is terrifying though.

[MattNeilsen]

Yesterday's activity:

Pimsleur (Level 1, Lesson 21) - 30 minutes
Clozemaster - 90 minutes
Duolingo - 10 minutes
Anki - 10 minutes
YouTube (Rechov SumSum) - 15 minutes

Total study to date: ~90 hours

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Not much to report here, other than to say that I'm enjoying Rechov SumSum a lot and I'm glad I've started including real, native audio into my routine. This is my first time learning a language on my own from scratch, and while I think I've learned a lot from researching HTLAL, LLORG, other logs, etc., I'm certainly still stumbling around a bit while discovering what works best.

Interestingly, I've found that this process has had carryover to both my career (corporate sales) and to my martial arts training. The concept of meta-learning (learning how to learn) is fascinating to me, and I've been pleasantly surprised how much I've benefited from this discipline in just ~2 short months. The increased self-awareness alone has made this endeavor worth it, apart from the value that I get in learning a new language.

Anyway, enough philosophical ramblings...back to studying!