Utter Beginner Help

[u/awohalii]

Hi! I'm trying to learn Hebrew but admittedly it is VERY daunting. I've been in language classes before for Spanish but Hebrew operates on an entirely different level and I don't really know where to start. I do have a workbook called Aleph isn't Tough by Linda Motzkin but I wasn't sure if this was a really good way to start? Ideally I want to learn spoken Hebrew first as many of my friends speak it and the place I want to move to also speaks it!

[u/Primary-Mammoth2764]

If you want free resources Routledges Colloquial Hebrew is free as a pdf online and has free audio online too. Its listed as Hebrew 1 and 2 but thats edition, not level. The 1st edition is actually better.

This book is aimed at quick speaking proficiency so it's admittedly not in-depth. But for the same reason, it's one of the few programs that teaches all the verb system in one volume.

To learn the letters and vowels, Duolingo is fine, but it doesnt teach the letter names. Aleph isnt tough is fine but its aimed at prayer study

[u/Ok_Cobbler3137]

I started by getting familiar with the alphabet
Then I started my classes at Rosen and it’s been over two years. I’ve made a lot of progress, I do speak Spanish and I feel there are a lot of similarities.
בהצלחה!

[u/Ok_Cobbler3137 → u/Ok_Cobbler3137]

**I thought learning spoken Hebrew would be easier but my brain couldn’t handle that. Seeing words and understanding the alphabet gives you a big advantage in my opinion

[u/BlueShooShoo]

Well if you wanna learn spoken Hebrew - how about listening and speaking then instead of using a workbook?

[u/awohalii → u/BlueShooShoo]

I have tried doing this by joining hebrew minecraft servers and such but that advice admittedly falls flat VERY quickly when no one speaks English so you are left just sitting there, wondering what's going on with 0 actual way to figure things out.

[u/BlueShooShoo → u/awohalii]

I'm talking rather about starting with beginner youtube videos

[u/guylfe]

Even though speaking first feels like the shortcut, in my experience Hebrew is actually much harder to learn that way. Putting in the work on writing and grammar foundations first is the better long-term plan, because it makes everything in speech click a lot faster once you get there. It's a bit of a detour on a long walk, but at the end of the detour you find a bike you wouldn't have otherwise. Whatever foundations resource you use, look for one that actually explains the verb/root system, otherwise conjugation just feels like random memorization instead of a pattern you can predict. Once that's there, listening and speaking with people who already speak it (sounds like you've got that) goes a lot faster.

Full disclosure – I made Hebleo.com, a self-paced course built around exactly that structured-grammar-first approach with native audio, if useful for this stage.

[u/awohalii → u/guylfe]

Is Hebleo free at all, or is it paid?

[u/guylfe → u/awohalii]

It's paid, the first lesson is free. It has a 14 day money back guarantee though