Beginner Yiddish Conversation

Have you been wanting to learn Yiddish in an easy, fun and interactive way? Would you like to speak some Mameloshn, but don’t know how to read the alef-beys? Popular teacher Sharon Power uses transliterations, songs, proverbs and themes to help students build beginner-level Yiddish conversation skills. Join us virtually this winter! Nu? What are you waiting for?

Students will build on their basic Yiddish speaking, listening, and comprehension skills through conversation, vocabulary activities, and working with Yiddish songs, proverbs, and other cultural materials. Themes will include the body, hobbies, family, food and cooking. This beginner-level course is suitable for those learning Yiddish for the first time, as a refresher for those with some prior Yiddish, or those who have already taken an introductory Yiddish course. Knowledge of the alef-beys is not required, as all materials will be provided in transliteration.

Click here for more comprehensive Yiddish language programs with UJA’s Committee for Yiddish.
Sharon Power has been teaching Yiddish language and literature since 2011. She received her MA in Women’s Studies from York University in 2010 and has studied Yiddish language and literature in the doctoral program in Yiddish Studies at Columbia University in New York. Her article “Yiddish Actresses and Jewish American Identiy” appeared in the Jewish Studies journal Shofar in 2012, and her English translation of Mendel Osherowitch’s How People Live in Soviet Russia was published in 2020. Sharon’s true passion is sharing her love of Yiddish and being inspired by her wonderful students. In addition to her translation work and teaching Yiddish language classes for the Committee for Yiddish, Sharon also runs a private Leyenkrayz (Yiddish Reading Circle) for beginner and intermediate-level readers, and of course, she teaches Yiddish classes at the Miles Nadal JCC – we are delighted to welcome her back this winter!