Ulpanet – Full Review

Ulpanet has been providing online Hebrew courses since 2002. They have created programs for individual learning of Hebrew language in an interactive environment. Native Hebrew teachers are the ones who have created the content for Ulpanet courses. The course materials are available online 24/7 and students can learn at their own pace from their home. The courses are suitable for individuals as well as educational institutions and communities of language learners.

Ulpanet courses are based on the fact that learning is much easier when it is an interesting process and when it is conducted properly. This approach is the only guarantee of effective studying. Therefore, Ulpanet courses are focused on implementing these principles into a program for independent learning. Ulpanet’s innovative method combines the interactive environment, engaging assignments and challenges which all involve the students in order to create the setting for acquisition of Hebrew language.

Ulpanet courses are activated through the language learning system, a management program that has been developed for this purpose. The students are assessed continuously along the course through custom tasks and study topic. Data about individual progress and personal statistics enable teachers to monitor each student and provide help via personalized feedback and assistance with certain topics.

The courses are completely flexible as students can access them at any moment and study at their own pace. Virtual teachers are available any time students access the language program, in order to monitor the students and provide assistance. No additional books or resources are needed for attending this course. You also do not need to have a Hebrew keyboard support on your computer, as you can use the virtual one. Everything you need is provided within the course.

Assignments in these courses are versatile and interactive. While some assignments are there to reinforce pronunciation and speaking, other assignments challenge you with puzzles and quizzes to apply grammar rules and vocabulary. It is possible to practice reading and writing as well.

How it works

Ulpanet offers two types of courses. One course enables you to learn Modern Hebrew, while the other course is about Biblical Hebrew. Both courses are completely flexible and they include access to a unique learning management system, as well as the help from virtual teacher and the usage of virtual Hebrew keyboard. Translation and pronunciation are available for every word via language learning interface.

Modern Hebrew (Click to Enter)

Beginner course – The beginner course syllabus includes 261 lessons for studying alphabet, writing, practicing singular and plural forms, verb to be, tenses, questions, numbers. You will also be able to practice speaking via interactive dialogs. The topics covered during this course are shopping, traveling, meetings, etc. Once you complete this course, it is expected that you will acquire around 2000 Hebrew words. You will be able to read, write and speak accurately.

Intermediate course – This course includes 314 lessons that are focused on nouns, adjectives, tenses, conjugation, suffixes, etc. The intermediate course is designed for students who already have some basic knowledge about Hebrew language. The goal of the course is to develop understanding of the Hebrew grammar and to improve reading, writing and conversation. Through interactive exercises and dialogs, students will also enrich vocabulary and become more independent and confident while speaking Hebrew.

Advanced course – If you already speak Hebrew, but you wish to master this language completely, the advanced course is a perfect choice. This course syllabus includes 295 lessons, which cover advanced verbs and tenses, questions and answers, morphemes, time expressions, giving instructions, etc. The focus of this course is pronunciation and at the end of the course students will be able to express themselves fluently in Hebrew.

Biblical Hebrew (Click to Enter)

The focus of this course is to learn how to read and understand biblical Hebrew. This will enable students to independently read and interpret the Bible. The course consists of stories and exercises that enable you to listen and repeat the words. Additional exercises include games, puzzles, writing tasks, filling in the blanks, etc. You can get the translation of every word by clicking on the word in question using the right mouse button. In the same manner, you can hear the pronunciation by clicking on the word using the left mouse button.

Genesis Stories I – The beginning of this course is focused on teaching the Hebrew alphabet which is the basis for learning the 11 biblical stories which follow. You will be interpreting stories such as “The Creation”, “Adam and Eve’s creation”, etc.

Genesis Stories II – The second part of the course introduces a new set of 17 biblical stories.

Genesis Stories III – The final part contains 22 biblical stories.

Additional courses

Read and listen – Psalm
This course covers all 150 chapters of the Book of Psalm.

Dictation
You can use this course in order to improve Hebrew writing skill.

Private Tutor
Private sessions with the Hebrew teachers are available via Skype. This package includes 8 hours of 1 on 1 private sessions. This course is exclusively offered to the students who have already purchased one of the interactive courses.

Free course (Click To Enter)

In order to learn about the courses’ structure and the interactive learning system, you can try out a free course. This free course is available at Ulpanet website. In order to access the free course, you need to navigate to the “Free Course” menu and fill in the required data. As a final step, click on the button “Continue” and you will be taken to the “Free Course” demo page.

Please note that “Free Course” demo will be accessible for only one day. Having this in mind, you should sign up for it only when you know you will have enough time to check it out right away. The course features two parts – Alphabet and Vocalization. Each of these parts contains 10 lessons.

How do I know if this service can be helpful for me? How to choose the right plan/level?

Ulpanet courses include extensive amount of learning materials, which are suitable for students of different levels.

You need to make a decision on your own regarding the level of the course you wish to sign up for, as there are no tests available on the site which you can take and get the level suggestion based on your score. Ulpanet advises you to purchase the Beginner course first to see if it is suitable for you. If you determine that what you actually need is the Intermediate course, you have 14 days to switch between courses without additional charge. There is also a 21-days money back guarantee in case you do not find the courses challenging or interesting enough.

The price of each course is $199. There are two special offers:

Comprehensive Genesis which includes all three parts of the Biblical Hebrew.
Comprehensive Modern package which includes all three levels of courses within the Modern Hebrew course.

These two special offers enable you to purchase the full courses at a discounted price of $398.

The “Read and Listen – Psalm” and “Dictation” courses cost $159, while the price for private sessions with the teacher is $199 for 8 hours.

Pros

The courses are especially suitable for English, French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish speakers, as these languages are incorporated into the learning interface.
The students have the possibility of switching between courses within the first 14 days, without additional charge.
21-day money back guarantee.
The courses are interactive and engaging.
The possibility to learn both modern and biblical Hebrew.

Cons

Lesson samples are not available online.
There is no test for evaluation.
There is no software that integrates speech recognition technology.
There are no exercises specially designed for children.
Private sessions are available only to the students who have already purchased one of the courses.

FAQs

• Is the website accessible via mobile devices?

The website is accessible via mobile devices, but the language interface is not. In order to use the course you have to use your computer.

• Is there a way to contact Ulpanet regarding the courses they offer?

You can contact Ulpanet using the “Contact us” form which can be found on the front page of the website. The phone number and the email address are also available.

Final Say

Ulpanet offers interactive courses for individual learning. Whether you are interested in learning modern or biblical Hebrew, you can find the course for you. Several levels of Hebrew with hundreds of lessons provide a challenging environment for all learners. Even if your native language is not English, Ulpanet is a very useful program as it offers support for French, German, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish speakers as well. The interface is designed in an old-fashioned way, but it is still functional and practical. The syllabus of each course is available on the website.

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