Before founding Language Academia, languages were an addictive hobby for me. Once you pass your third language, you want to be able to watch any movie in the world without subtitles. A single good song could convince you to learn a whole new language, just to be able to truly understand it. As I said, addictive.
Such an occasion came in my life when I needed to stay in Israel for some time. Not knowing what else to do with my life, I tutored English, French, and Japanese, as well as math on the side to make some extra money. The number one thing students would ask is, "How fast will I become fluent?" Let me make a note here: those who asked, for the most part, quit very fast and never achieved fluency at all. As for those who didn't ask, well, it varied based on their goals, the time they put into it, their commitment, and their desire to learn.
I found this to be a perfect opportunity to test my own theories and curriculum. How quickly could I truly teach myself Hebrew?
How much I knew when I started?
I started this journey knowing barely how to say, "Hi, my name is Coco." I distinctly recall pondering whether I could even express "I'm 17 years old." It was as basic as it gets. I also aimed to set a specific goal because every time I asked what fluency meant, I got different answers. So, let's find a middle ground: passing a college entry test that included math, English, a Hebrew essay, and an interview entirely in Hebrew. This encompassed both speaking and writing—perfect.
The timeframe I set for myself was 6 months, but I ended up achieving my goal after 10 months.
Group Classes
I started by enrolling in group classes, which began early in the morning around 8 am, running five times a week for four hours straight (with maybe a quick bathroom break). The classes were divided into three levels, each comprising eight groups progressively more advanced than the last. Starting at Level 1, Group 8, I quickly advanced to Group 6 within a week. From there, I continued climbing through the ranks, reaching Group 3 where I faced a significant challenge. Eventually, after three months of persistence, I advanced to Groups 2 and 1 respectively, finally progressing to Level 2. Despite common belief, group language classes aren't ideal for practicing conversational skills. Instead, they provide essential accountability and focus on grammar and test preparation. Each week culminated in a test, evaluating our grasp of numerous words, random phrases, and extensive grammatical structures. Grammar, though crucial, often dominated the curriculum, neglecting the broader skills needed for fluency, a point I was keenly aware of from the outset.
Private Tutor
I persisted with the group classes, despite finding them tedious. Each time I missed a session, I braced myself for the teacher's inevitable inquiry about my absence, which always motivated me to get up early and attend. However, as I suspected from the start, group classes alone wouldn't suffice. I kept advancing, taking tests, and honing my grammar skills, but I knew I needed more. That's when I decided to get a private tutor. Private tutoring proved invaluable for developing conversational skills and provided a personalized form of accountability. Unlike group classes where the curriculum can feel scattered, with my tutor, I had the freedom to focus on specific questions and topics throughout the week. We met two or three times a week for an hour each session, discussing everything from language nuances to practical applications. Towards the end of my language learning journey, these sessions became not just educational but also therapeutic.
I frequently asked my tutor to focus on specific tasks such as analyzing songs, dissecting movies, or revisiting particular topics. Sometimes, I sought help in identifying influential YouTube personalities who spoke Hebrew. These sessions were pivotal in deepening my understanding and practical application of the language. Each interaction was tailored to enhance not just my linguistic abilities but also my cultural immersion and comprehension.
Day to Day Life Changes
The next step I took was both demanding and essential—I completely revamped my daily environment. I spent two full days redecorating my apartment, meticulously labeling every object within sight. Laptop, door, fridge, cocoa powder, cup, chair, lip balm—everything that surrounded me became a vocabulary lesson. I believe that everything you encounter daily is what you know. For instance, if you're a doctor and I suddenly ask you to name car parts in your native language, unless you're a car enthusiast or recently had a car-related incident, you probably wouldn't go beyond basics like car, wheels, or engine. So why expect otherwise in language learning? This is why I prefer targeted learning. For instance, I have a keen interest in skincare. As part of my immersion strategy, I learned the names of every skincare product I owned—sunscreen, cream, eye cream, scrub, exfoliator, microneedling, mist. I started with the things already familiar to me, the items I use daily. Each time I interacted with these items—whether speakers, piano, desktop computer, perfume, or lip balm—I practiced their names in Hebrew.
I also made sure to translate my phone. At the time, transitioning from an HTC or Windows phone to one that supported Hebrew, like an iPhone 14 or 15, represented a significant upgrade. It was a bit challenging initially—I had to reinstall the entire operating system just to enable Hebrew. But the effort paid off. Whenever I navigated through settings, I almost felt overwhelmed by the language barrier, but those initial struggles faded quickly. Learning the essential phrases became second nature, especially when I needed to read them aloud to perform basic tasks.
Every day, I took a brief break to stroll outside and visit a café, where I'd order coffee or maybe breakfast. Studying the menu became a rigorous exercise with my private tutor—questions like these were commonplace. Initially, the staff hesitated to respond in Hebrew, but I persisted, doing my best. When they asked how they could assist with my Israeli accent, I brushed it off and continued speaking Hebrew. Sometimes they'd inquire if I was American, to which I'd reply with a smile and a simple "no." If pressed further about my background, I'd playfully evade the question. My aim was to convince them that Hebrew was my natural language, even though they often remained skeptical—what mattered most was my own belief in it.
Growing up, nightlife played a significant role in my life, even at 17. Getting ready to go out, knowing I couldn't use any language other than Hebrew, was daunting. I surrounded myself with trusted friends who spoke Hebrew and asked them for a list of pick-up lines, hoping it would help me understand when men approached me. Spoiler alert: it didn't. Despite their attempts, I often found myself in embarrassing situations, but I remained committed to pretending I was fluent in Hebrew. Through repeated embarrassments, I eventually noticed that people used the same phrases repeatedly, and I began learning from those interactions.
Other Classes
While navigating through all of these challenges, I continued teaching foreign languages and math. Realizing this part of my life hadn't been fully immersed in Hebrew yet, I took on a local math class for teenagers.
Learning Languages With Music
Music has always been a significant part of my life, especially as a dancer and performer. To immerse myself deeper into Hebrew, I made a drastic change—I stopped listening to any music except what was on my meticulously curated Hebrew playlist. I studied the lyrics diligently, striving to understand their meaning without relying on translations. I frequently discussed them with my tutor, searched online for explanations, watched music videos, and delved into the personal dramas of the artists. Every time I stepped outside, headphones on, I listened to these songs, embedding their words further into my memory.
Learning Languages with Movies
Similar to my approach with music, I immersed myself deeply in Hebrew movies and shows. I meticulously curated a watchlist of local films and series, focusing intensely on reading Hebrew subtitles. Initially, for the first maybe 20 movies, I struggled to understand anything. But gradually, I began to catch on. I started grasping the storyline bit by bit, understanding more with each viewing until one day I realized, hey, I just watched an entire movie without needing to look up a single word. I understood it—I got it. Sure, there were a few words here and there that escaped me, but overall, I comprehended the film.
Learning Languages With Books
I began keeping a diary. Now, I'm not typically one for spiritual practices, and writing a diary wasn't something I'd normally consider worthwhile. Yet, given the circumstances, it somehow made sense. So, I started jotting down whatever came to mind.
When it comes to books, if you go on Reddit and search "how do I learn a language?", everyone will tell you to read books, read books! But here's what I've found, and what I advise to all my students: reading books, apart from learning Hebrew, isn't something I've done much since college. Personally, I don't find it particularly engaging. I prefer watching book recaps or occasionally listening to audiobooks. Sitting down and reading a book feels like a big time commitment when I could absorb the content faster through other means. So, since reading isn't a regular part of my daily life, I didn't force myself to do it in Hebrew either. It would have only made the learning process more difficult than it already was.
Local Tutor
Finally, I found myself another tutor—a local Israeli tutor who typically helps Israeli kids prepare for local SATs. My goal wasn't just to learn Hebrew from her, but to pass a college entry test like any other student needing extra assistance. I secretly hoped she wouldn't realize I wasn't a fluent Hebrew speaker. It only took her about 10 minutes to figure it out, which I took as a compliment in itself. When she did realize, she asked me where I was from. I replied by asking her what she thought. Her response was another compliment; she believed I must have grown up speaking Hebrew at home with my parents, possibly in the States or Canada. This was a significant compliment, suggesting I sounded as if Hebrew was my mother tongue, despite being only 45 months into my journey at that time.
Final Results and Taking the Test
Maintaining all these studies and integrating Hebrew into everyday tasks, like calling the bank and selecting Hebrew by pressing 1, was exceptionally challenging. After six months, I took a practice test and scored 76 out of 100, where 75 was the passing mark. Little did I know, there were only two opportunities per year to take the actual test, so I had to wait another four months. In total, after 10 months of intense study, I finally took the test and scored 89 out of 100, comfortably surpassing the passing score of 75. During the interview, although I think the interviewer sensed I was a foreigner, he didn't ask about my background and treated me like any other candidate.