Point of View

The 4th grade did a Language Arts lesson recently on point-of-view. They were grouped with partners and asked to put on different glasses representing different characters of varying ages and interests. The goal was to view the world through someone else's eyes.Through this activity, students became more aware and respectful of the opinions and feelings of others. 

A Russian Language Education

Two of our teachers with Head of School Moshe Vaknin and some of our students.

At HAMC, we've launched a pilot program for first-generation Russian-American children who have a basic understanding of the Russian language. Classes are being taught by a native speaker, and the students will learn through songs, poems, storytelling, and arts and crafts. 

Our school sees the value in multilingualism, as Head of School Moshe Vaknin wrote in Bekesher and on the blog earlier this month, "multilingual people maintain longer cognitive life than monolinguals." He also cited Ellen Bialystok of York University in Toronto, Ontario, who said, "As the human body begins its natural decline in old age, bilinguals seem to maintain better cognitive function." 

But don't take our word for it, hear what some of our parents and grandparents have to say about our After-School Russian Language Immersion Program!

My daughter Marcia attends the Russian class at HAMC and greatly enjoys it. Even though Russian is spoken in our house (my parents and I emigrated from the former Soviet Union in 1992), Marcia's native language is English, the same as her daddy's who is an American (but whose grandparents came here from Eastern Europe over 100 years ago). 

Since starting her Russian class, Marcia has made great strides and is talking in phrases now, telling us about the kids in her class. The language is taught informally, through games and live interaction, with no pressure or grades. I am very happy that Marcia's world is now enriched through her access to yet another culture. We are grateful to her teachers, especially Julia Benz who volunteered to create this program from scratch, and to the HAMC management who helped turn her - and our- dream into reality.

Helen Grau, whose daughter attends the program

The Russian Emersion Class in Hebrew Academy is a wonderful program for the young children who were born in this country, but have Russian speaking parents and grandparents. After only one semester, I see a noticeable difference in my son’s ability and willingness to speak Russian at home, and also to his grandmother, who he calls daily on the phone. 

Exposing and teaching young children to speak Russian, their native language, helps to bridge generational gap, and keep the cultural heritage alive.  

Yana Faynstein, whose son is in the program

(Translated from Russian) I am just delighted that HAMC offered this program. It is excellent and helped my grandson not only to continue mastering Russian, but also find new friends and learn in the nurturing, warm and caring environment. It helped bridge the language barrier and now we can communicate much better. Big kudos to the school for pioneering the Russian programs! I highly recommend it. Being fluent in different languages will help children tremendously in the future. 

Valentina Alekseevna, whose grandchild attends the program 

Students wrote a note on International Women's Day, March 8, for their moms.
It reads, "Mommy I love you," in Russian

My four year old daughter goes to the Russian enrichment class at Hebrew Academy (HAMC). She enjoys it very much. When I used to speak to her in Russian, she would answer me in English. Since she started attending the class though, her Russian vocabulary expanded and she is trying to insert some Russian words and even phrases in to her speech. It is obvious that she feels more comfortable, knowing that there are other children that speak Russian. Children in the group have fun learning language that most of their parents speak, as well as create a bond with each other.  

Cantor Inna Serebro-Litvak, Temple Beth Am of Parsippany, NJ

HAMC and the Bilingual Benefit

This is a piece called "It's All About the Lingo" by Head of School Moshe Vaknin from our most recent "Bekesher." You can view the entire "Bekesher" online. 

I grew up in Tzfat, Israel, in a neighborhood full of immigrants, where speaking at least two languages was natural for everybody. In my building alone, there were families from at least eight different countries: Spain, Romania, South America, and more. There were also families from different Arab countries, each speaking a different dialect. On the streets, however, we all spoke Hebrew. But, as children we learned a variety of different words and phrases from our friends and their families in their native tongues. These words were made very real to us, as they often dealt with the family’s home country’s food, music, and more. We learned to respect and enjoy different cultures and traditions; it was a truly a melting pot of Jews from all over the world. It was a great experience growing up in a multi-lingual and multi-cultural environment.

Again and again, research shows that being exposed to and learning more than one language tremendously benefits the development of a child’s brain-age. In their annual meeting in Washington, D.C., the American Association for the Advancement of Science presented research supporting this notion. Judith Kroll, a researcher at Pennsylvania State University, stated, “Bilinguals are also better than monolinguals at multitasking. Juggling their languages helps bilinguals ignore irrelevant information and prioritize tasks better than those who only can only speak one tongue.”

As children grow older, the number and complexity of tasks they are asked to perform increase, and the time to perform them decreases. Knowing at least two different languages will help them cope with and thrive in this environment. I can tell you that this is true among the many bilinguals I know. Many HAMC graduates tell me that they had an easier time learning Spanish or French in high school and college because they learned Hebrew for so many years before. Personally, as a speaker of three languages, my mind translates all the time. Even dreams come to me in different languages. I believe that this constant activity has helped me focus better when I need to juggle many diverse tasks at one time.

Historically, Jews were always bilingual, and, as a result, our rate of literacy was always high.
Therefore, I believe that teaching a second language as early as preschool should become part of the curriculum all across the country. It is important to start as soon as possible, since research shows that the older you start, the harder it becomes to learn.

The reason has nothing to do with the brain but rather with the environment and the social and educational circumstances. Ellen Bialystok of York University in Toronto, Ontario, said “As the human body begins its natural decline in old age, bilinguals seem to maintain better cognitive function.” Multilingual people maintain longer cognitive life than monolinguals.

We start teaching Hebrew as soon as a child enters the Hebrew Academy, even as young as two-years- old. Nothing is more promising than seeing our youngsters talk and sing in Hebrew in their ECC classes.

I must confess that I used to be embarrassed when my parents spoke to me in Arabic in front of my friends. Now I thank them every day for giving me the gift of being a multilingual. I hope that you will continue to give your children this everlasting present. It’s good for them, good for the country and good for the Jews.