Languages - Torah Accreditation Liaison

Organization

Torah Accreditation Liaison (TAL)

Credit Course Categories:

Descriptions and credit recommendations for all evaluated learning experiences

Advanced Modern Hebrew I (Hebrew 301)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

December 2004 - Present

Objectives:

To prepare for the examination, candidates must be able to: understand main ideas and most details of discourse on a variety of topics; grasp most of the finer points of texts containing a wide variety of grammatical structures; master subordinate clauses at all levels of complexity; complete more complex writing tasks, requiring them to express emotions, opinions and abstract ideas, hypothesize, support arguments, and write summaries, displaying organizational ability and a vocabulary sufficient for adequate self-expression. Candidates must demonstrate good control of verb morphology in all tenses for common verbs and correct use of the infinitive form and some ability to use the future tense and a strong ability to narrate personal experiences.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency examination process is intended to measure a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. The three Modern Hebrew exams focus on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand modern Hebrew (as opposed to the Biblical Hebrew exams, which focus on grammar and Biblical text). Content covered includes a range of grammatical structures and a fairly wide general vocabulary and is selected to test for an ability to express ideas through multi-paragraph texts on a wide range of topics.NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Advanced Modern Hebrew exam upon passing the Intermediate Modern Hebrew exam or after successful completion of an intermediate level course in Modern Hebrew.

Credit recommendation:

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Hebrew (5/05) (3/12 revalidation) (3/17 revalidation) (3/22 revalidation). NOTE: A discrete credit recommendation has been established for each language proficiency examination. Some academic institutions may limit the amount of credit that students may earn in this subject area due to certain degree requirements.

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Advanced Modern Hebrew II (Hebrew 302)

Length:

Varies: offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

August 2006 - Present

Objectives:

To prepare for the examination, in addition to the intermediate modern Hebrew objectives, candidates must be able to understand a variety of ideas and all details of discourse on a variety of topics; grasp the finer points of texts containing a wide variety of grammatical structures; Speaking and Listening - To be prepared for the examination, candidates must be able to understand complete spoken sentences in a wide variety of contexts; work out the meaning of longer utterances which demand accurate understanding of stories, news articles, etc.; answer aural questions in Hebrew after listening to an advanced level recording. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to consistently translate texts on advanced subjects; work out the meaning of longer passages using textual cues; identify all past, present, and future tense forms of frequent verbs in all Hebrew verb patterns, thereby grasping the chronological sequence of events; meet practical and social writing needs on a variety of topics; translate a an advanced level Hebrew text into English, translate an advanced level English text into Hebrew.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency exam process is intended to measure a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. The Modern Hebrew exams focuses on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand modern Hebrew (as opposed to the Biblical Hebrew exams which focus on grammar and Biblical text). Course content includes a range of grammatical structures and a fairly wide general vocabulary and is selected to test for an ability to express ideas through multi-paragraph texts on a wide range of topics. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Advanced Modern Hebrew exam upon passing the intermediate exam or after successful completion of an intermediate level course in Modern Hebrew.

Credit recommendation:

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Advanced Yiddish I (Yiddish 301)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination program administered through the Torah Accreditation Liaison.

Dates:

August 2005 - Present.

Objectives:

To prepare for the examination, candidates must be able to understand main ideas and most details of discourse on a variety of topics; grasp most of the finer points of texts containing a wide variety of grammatical structures; master subordinate clauses at all levels of complexity; complete more complex writing tasks, requiring them to express emotions, opinions and abstract ideas, hypothesize, support arguments, and write summaries displaying organizational ability and a vocabulary sufficient for adequate self-expression. Candidates must demonstrate good control of verb morphology in all tenses for common verbs and correct use of the infinitive form; some ability to use the future tense and a strong ability to narrate personal experiences.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency exam process is intended to measure a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. The Yiddish course focuses on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand modern Yiddish. Major content areas include: a range of grammatical structures and a fairly wide general vocabulary and is selected to test for an ability to express ideas through multi-paragraph texts on a wide range of topics. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Advanced Yiddish exam upon passing the intermediate exam or after successful completion of an intermediate level course in Yiddish.

Credit recommendation:

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Yiddish (12/05) (3/12 revalidation) (3/17 revalidation) (3/22 revalidation). NOTE: A discrete credit recommendation has been established for each language proficiency examination. Some academic institutions may limit the amount of credit that students may earn in this subject area due to certain degree requirements.

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Advanced Yiddish II (Yiddish 302)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

August 2006 - Present.

Objectives:

To prepare for the examination, in addition to the intermediate Yiddish objectives, candidates must be able to understand a variety of ideas and all details of discourse on a variety of topics; grasp the finer points of texts containing a wide variety of grammatical structures; Speaking and Listening - candidates must be able to understand complete spoken sentences in a wide variety of contexts; work out the meaning of longer utterances which demand accurate understanding of stories, news articles, etc.; answer aural questions in Yiddish after listening to an advanced level recording. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to consistently translate texts on advanced subjects; work out the meaning of longer passages using textual cues; identify all past, present, and future tense forms of frequent verbs in all Yiddish verb patterns, thereby grasping the chronological sequence of events; meet practical and social writing needs on a variety of topics;and translate an advanced level Yiddish text into English, translate an advanced level English text into Yiddish.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency exam process is intended to measure a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: The Yiddish course focuses on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand modern Yiddish. Content covered includes a range of grammatical structures and a fairly wide general vocabulary and is selected to test for an ability to express ideas through multi-paragraph texts on a wide range of topics. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Advanced Yiddish exam upon passing the intermediate exam or after successful completion of an intermediate level course in Yiddish.

Credit recommendation:

In the upper division baccalaureate degree category, 4 semester hours in Yiddish (12/06) (3/12 revalidation) (3/17 revalidation) (3/22 revalidation). NOTE: A discrete credit recommendation has been established for each language proficiency examination. Some academic institutions may limit the amount of credit that students may earn in this subject area due to certain degree requirements.

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Elementary Biblical Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew 101)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

December 2004 - Present

Objectives:

Reading and Writing - To prepare for the examination, candidates must be: familiar with the Hebrew alphabet; recognize and employ basic grammatical features of Biblical Hebrew including infinitives, abbreviating prefixes, regular and irregular possessives, prepositions and possessive prepositions, weak letter verbs, regular and irregular construct forms, imperatives, plural and gender indicators, uses of the word "es", the prepositional "heh", the occupational "heh", the vav hahipuch, verb conjugation, adjectives, definite articles, interrogative verb forms, and personal pronouns; correctly translate selected biblical text; and analyze a verb for its root.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency exam process measures a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. Major content areas include: a range of grammatical structures; a general vocabulary sufficient to understand biblical (prose) passages; verbal morphology: root versus pattern (binyan) plus the seven binyanim; completing verb charts for basic verbs into the three tenses for both genders and all persons - singular and plural; constructing state, pronouns, infinitives, possession; and translation of biblical passages taken from the Book of Genesis.

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 8 semester hours in Hebrew (5/05) (3/12 revalidation) (3/17 revalidation) (3/22 revalidation). NOTE: A discrete credit recommendation has been established for each language proficiency examination. Some academic institutions may limit the amount of credit that students may earn in this subject area due to certain degree requirements.

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Elementary Modern Hebrew (Hebrew 101)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

December 2004 - Present.

Objectives:

Speaking and Listening - To be prepared for the examination, candidates must possess basic conversational skills, displaying comprehension of high-frequency commands, courtesy formulae and simple statements and questions, demonstrating an ability to formulate basic responses to them, in addition to answering questions in Hebrew based on elementary-level listening comprehension passages. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to: comprehend simple reading passages, extracting meaning from a string of connected sentences when context or background knowledge are supportive; read vocalized and unvocalized texts; understand the Hebrew consonant and vowel systems; analyze Hebrew words as to their roots, prefixes and suffixes; identify parts of speech; demonstrate knowledge of the basic rules of Hebrew pronunciation; recognize basic grammatical structures when vocabulary is known or supplied and identify basic words for foods, articles and places. Candidates must be able to: write all of the Hebrew letters; supply in writing a few phrases, fixed expressions, names, numbers, dates, own nationality and other simple autobiographical information and translate English sentences into Hebrew; translate a 100-word elementary level Hebrew text into English; translate an elementary level English text into Hebrew; and answer short questions in Hebrew with appropriate Hebrew responses.

Instruction:

Credit recommendation:

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Elementary Yiddish (Yiddish 101)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

August 2005 - Present.

Objectives:

Speaking and Listening - To be prepared for the examination, candidates must possess basic conversational skills, displaying comprehension of high-frequency commands, courtesy formulae and simple statements and questions, demonstrating an ability to formulate basic responses to them, in addition to answering questions in Yiddish based on elementary-level listening comprehension passages. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to comprehend simple reading passages, extracting meaning from a string of connected sentences when context or background knowledge are supportive; read vocalized and unvocalized texts; understand the Yiddish consonant and vowel systems; analyze Yiddish words as to their roots, prefixes and suffixes; identify parts of speech; demonstrate knowledge of the basic rules of Yiddish pronunciation; recognize basic grammatical structures when vocabulary is known or supplied and identify basic words for foods, articles and places. Candidates must be able to write all of the Yiddish (Hebrew) letters; supply in writing a few phrases, fixed expressions, names, numbers, dates, own nationality and other simple autobiographical information and translate English sentences into Yiddish, translate an elementary level Yiddish text into English, translate an elementary level English text into Yiddish, answer short questions in Yiddish with appropriate Yiddish responses.

Instruction:

Credit recommendation:

In the lower division baccalaureate/associate degree category, 8 semester hours in Yiddish (12/05) (3/12 revalidation) (3/17 revalidation) (3/22 revalidation). NOTE: A discrete credit recommendation has been established for each language proficiency examination. Some academic institutions may limit the amount of credit that students may earn in this subject area due to certain degree requirements.

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Intermediate Biblical Hebrew (Biblical Hebrew 201)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

December 2004 - Present

Objectives:

Reading and Writing - To prepare for the examination, candidates must be able to recognize and employ more sophisticated features of Biblical Hebrew including grammatical effects of the weak letters heh and alef, the pausal form, repetition and emphasis, the implied "to be," irregular verb conjugation, irregular infinitives, amalgamation, the poetic heh, the mapik heh, regular and irregular passive participles, the infinitive construct, infinitives with noun endings, the infinitive absolute in imperatives and continuous actions, and noun formation from verbs.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency examination process measures a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through other learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. Major content areas include: a wide range of grammatical structures; an intermediate level vocabulary sufficient to understand biblical (prose and poetic) passages; recognition of the shoresh: verbal morphology (reversal): paradigms of the binyanim, completing verb charts for irregular verbs into the three tenses for both genders and all persons - singular and plural. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Intermediate Biblical Hebrew exam upon passing the Elementary Biblical Hebrew exam or after successful completion of an elementary course in Biblical Hebrew.

Credit recommendation:

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Intermediate Modern Hebrew (Hebrew 201)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

December 2004 - Present

Objectives:

Speaking and Listening - To be prepared for the examination, candidates must be able to: understand complete spoken sentences including compound sentences in familiar contexts and longer stretches of discourse pertaining to various topics and situations; work out the meaning of longer utterances; and answer aural questions in Hebrew after listening to an intermediate level Hebrew story. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to consistently identify the who, what, when and where in short connected texts on basic subjects; work out the meaning of longer passages using textual cues; identify most past, present, and future tense forms of frequent verbs in all Hebrew verb patterns, thereby grasping the chronological sequence of events; meet practical and social writing needs on topics related to the writer's immediate environment, such as biographical details, school and work; take brief notes on familiar topics and respond in writing to personal questions; write in somewhat descriptive paragraphs, demonstrating full control of simple sentences and use of more complex sentences linked by conjunctions; translate an intermediate level Hebrew text into English; translate an intermediate level English text into Hebrew; and compose two short paragraphs on chosen topics.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency examination process measures a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. The three Modern Hebrew exams focus on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand Modern Hebrew (as opposed to the Biblical Hebrew exams, which focus on grammar and Biblical text). Major content areas include: vocabulary sufficient for basic comprehension of simple informative texts such as non-technical advertisements, personal notes and messages and is designed to test for an emerging, although not totally consistent ability to understand advanced level texts featuring description and narration. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the Intermediate Biblical Hebrew exam upon passing the Elementary Biblical Hebrew exam or after successful completion of an elementary course in Biblical Hebrew.

Credit recommendation:

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Intermediate Yiddish (Yiddish 201)

Length:

Varies; offered as a proficiency examination or self-study format.

Dates:

August 2005 - Present

Objectives:

Speaking and Listening - To be prepared for the examination, candidates must be able to understand complete spoken sentences including compound sentences in familiar contexts and longer stretches of discourse pertaining to various topics and situations; work out the meaning of longer utterances which allow for a high probability of correct guessing; answer aural questions in Yiddish after listening to an intermediate level Yiddish story. Reading and Writing - candidates must be able to consistently identify the who, what, when and where in short connected texts on basic subjects; work out the meaning of longer passages using textual cues; identify most past, present, and future tense forms of frequent verbs in all Yiddish verb patterns, thereby grasping the chronological sequence of events; meet practical and social writing needs on topics related to the writer's immediate environment, such as biographical details, school and work; take brief notes on familiar topics and respond in writing to personal questions; candidates must be able to write in somewhat descriptive paragraphs, demonstrating full control of simple sentences and use of more complex sentences linked by conjunctions; translate an intermediate level Yiddish text into English, translate an intermediate level English text into Yiddish, compose two short paragraphs on chosen topics.

Instruction:

Proficiency exam: The proficiency examination process is intended to measure a body of knowledge that candidates have acquired through prior learning experiences. Self-Study Format: Students are expected to master recommended readings and study guide materials. The Yiddish course focuses on practical skills and the ability to communicate and understand Yiddish. Major topics include: vocabulary sufficient for basic comprehension of simple informative texts such as non-technical advertisements, personal notes and messages and is designed to test for an emerging but inconsistent ability to understand advanced- level texts featuring description and narration. NOTE: Candidates are only eligible to take the intermediate Modern Yiddish exam upon passing the elementary exam or after successful completion of an elementary course in Modern Yiddish.

Credit recommendation:

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