About Ulpan Aviv
Gil Pentzak is Ulpan Aviv’s Director
He studied linguistics in the esteemed Linguistic and English Department of Bar Ilan University. Specializing in syntax, and in particular the spheres of ‘language and aging’ and ‘acquisition of a second language’, Gil later studied ‘3 in 1 concepts’. Intending originally to become a therapist, Gil focused on ‘therapy in education based learning difficulties’ and ‘linguistics and therapy’ before moving in to teaching Hebrew to adult students.
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When talking about learning a second language, Gil readily admits that along with the teaching role there is also a bit of therapy involved in enabling people to speak Hebrew. In fact, it is this element of the process that he enjoys almost as much as the teaching itself.
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“When I can encourage people to speak more their self-confidence grows and they feel generally better about every aspect of themselves. In that way I know that they will continue to speak Hebrew and improve all of their skills. The advantage of our one-to-one method is the unique relationship that is forged between the student and the teacher…… where not only teaching skills are honed, but also listening skills.”
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Gil leads, trains, and supervises the group of highly qualified teachers at Ulpan Aviv.
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Our teachers
On arriving at Ulpan Aviv all of our teachers undertake a training program which enables them to give tuition of the highest quality and academic value. In addition, our staff benefits from a continuing education program to ensure that all of our students receive the most up-to-date service.
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Our students
Hebrew is one of the most ancient languages in the world. When we started Ulpan Aviv we thought we were going to have mainly new immigrants coming to learn Hebrew. We were very surprised to discover the huge request which exists for learning this language. The range of our students includes: new immigrants (“olim hadashim”), tourists, diplomats and their families, professionals, students from the academy, people coming for religious reasons (Christians mainly), students who come to study to be reconnected with their roots, and more. This spectrum only expands every day as we receive more and more requests to cover also different subjects (from music to medicine; literature to law; media to business, and more).
It is overwhelming to see the high motivation that all students share in our classes, each from his/her own reasons and to be a witness of the old being renewed.
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Read about our courses and methodology