We have found that a successful language learner already starts
to think in and to understand a language before literacy. An effective
audio and oral internalization of a language is necessary to enhance
reading comprehension and speed, and to boost long-term retention.
One cannot fluently read the Bible in its original languages, without
those very languages living inside of them.
BLC’s
goal is for students to fluidly read the Bible with a natural
and instant comprehension. Therefore, BLC immersion courses
use living language methods in teaching Biblical Hebrew and Koine
Greek. This means that more than 90% of classroom time
is filled with the spoken biblical language. The result is an internalization
of the languages which speeds the pace of learning and improves
the reading of the biblical text.
Our courses provide for continual usage and varied repetition
of the biblical languages within meaningful and comprehensible
contexts. This means that students will assimilate the languages
with a creative and thorough assortment of interaction. (Within
the professional field of second language acquisition, this kind
of class is called communicative language learning and provides
maximal comprehensible input, techniques that are at the core of
the most successful modern language programs in the world.)
To begin, every
BLC course is led by two instructors. The student benefits in
numerous ways by having dual teachers. First, it allows
the student to hear the language through different voices, giving
a more comprehensive ear to proper enunciation. Second, two teachers
can encourage language repetition as one instructor can often mimic
or respond to the other, whether in word or deed. This in-classroom
interaction between teachers demonstrates language usage for the
students just as communication between two parents would model
language for their children. Third, teachers can also use each
other as pedagogical props when introducing new vocabulary and
grammatical context. Fourth, by having two instructors, both teachers’ efficiency
increases, with a real-time peer review from the other instructor.
While one teacher is leading, the other teacher can be observing
the students interaction (or lack of interaction) and then adapt
the current class curriculum accordingly to better suit students’ needs.
One teaching
technique used in the BLC classroom experience is Total
Physical Response (TPR) where students respond to
commands that require physical movement. (For a review of this
method, see
Stephen Krashen.)This practice is based on the parent-child
model where a language learner hears and imitates the leader
by physically responding
to the language. Just as a child follows a parent’s example
and begins to internalize the language, so does the BLC student.
After an initial week of hearing and absorbing the language in
class, plus acquiring the alphabet through picture association
homework, the student then begins reading and using words and
phrases related to the classroom activities.
TPRS
(Teaching Proficiency through Reading and Storytelling) is another method
used with students as they advance further and interact
with the language. TPRS builds language proficiency in the use
of grammatical structures through reading and telling stories.
BLC teachers guide the class in creating unique stories based on
students’ input. By developing these stories completely within
an immersed language environment, students further their understanding
and thinking within the biblical language. At this point, students
might begin to produce pieces of the language spontaneously.
For homework,
students continue to immerse themselves in the language through
BLC’s audio-lingual materials. These books and related
audio tracks review class work from that day and prepare students
for the coming class. Depending on the specific course, the audio
tracks will correspond either to picture immersion, dialogues for
memory work, texts and narratives for familiarization, and/or drills
to practice in workbooks. The priority homework assignment, though,
is mentioned in the next paragraph.
Maybe most importantly,
relaxation and fun are proven course components that aid language
learning. BLC’s courses are
designed to ease classroom stress and to encourage student morale.
This is generated by activities which focus on the excitement
and creativity of classroom play. One of the best ways to learn
is
when a student forgets they are “in class”, but are
enveloped by the exhilaration of the moment. Our classroom environment
inspires students to play in, use, and ultimately immerse themselves
within the language. Of course, just like someone going to a
summer sports' camp, this fun will be tiring. BLC courses demand
eight
hours of sleep as “homework assignment #1”. If a
conflict ever occurs, eight hours of sleep takes precedence over
other assignments
because it enables a student to absorb more of the language on
the following day.
Occasional class field trips within Israel will also touch on
cultural, geographical and historical information connected to
the biblical text. Here, texts are read in their related settings
while descriptions to the sites are provided in simple forms of
the language.
Students desiring academic credit will write a final exam and
be issued a six-credit certificate for the four-week beginning
immersion courses (90 academic hours, 6 Continuing Education Units)
or a three-credit certificate for the two-week immersion courses
(45 academic hours, 3 Continuing Education Units). Transfer of
credit depends on the student's home institution.
2009 Course Catalog
Immersion Courses
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