As readers of this blog are most likely aware, I am concerned with vocabulary acquisition, especially as it relates to Classical Hebrew. Therefore, I am glad the fine people at Kregel have given me an opportunity to review one of their newest products, iVocab Biblical Hebrew 2.0. This program, with the help of an iPod, will make your standard run of the mill homemade (or store bought) vocabulary cards obsolete.
I have sadly made thousands of standard[1] vocabulary cards keyed to various grammars (Seow, Lambdin, and Pratico &Van Pelt), and have even bought a slick professional set (created by the late Raymond Dillard), but I will never use those clunky awkward index cards again. Traditional vocabulary cards don’t travel well, meaning it is hard to whip out a set of 50 cards on a crowded subway car. Also it is easy to either mess up the order of those cards or simply lose a random word (my dog is notorious for jumping up on my desk and eating my index cards. I keep telling her that “vocabulary acquisition does not work that way”, but that statement does nothing to curb her desire for ingesting my cards). With iVocab 2.0, those issues are a thing of the past, because students will have access to over 1000 Hebrew words on their MP3 player, keyed to the most common modern introductory Hebrew grammars on the market (such as Kittel, Hoffer, & Wright, Seow, Pratico & Van Pelt, Kelly, and more). A student will no longer have to carefully balance a tall stack of cards, but solely hold onto their iPod or cell phone.
This product surpasses traditional vocabulary cards, because it pairs the visual with the auditory. When a student reads a vocabulary word off of their MP3 player, a reader pronounces that word in Hebrew, followed by the display of an English gloss and a reading of that gloss. Such an approach is a proven method that helps students memorize a word more quickly. This is something that a traditional paper based vocabulary card simply can’t do.
Another surprise benefit of this product[2] is the ability to create a series of review lists to help you work through the vocabulary terms more efficiently. This was accomplished with paper flashcards by creating a series of stacks (such as: words you know really well, words you barely know, and words that you don’t know at all), but with this program you can digitally categorize these words with ease without maintaining ever growing piles of index cards.
One of the few negative critiques I have for this product is the pronunciation of Hebrew words. While I personally prefer a Modern Hebrew pronunciation, many of the grammars that are keyed to this product do not advocate such a vocalization. Christian seminaries and Bible colleges tend to use another method to vocalize various Hebrew radicals (for example a ו is pronounced with a “w” sound instead of a “v” sound); such a variation may cause confusion to a beginning student retarding the process of acquisition. It seems to me that this product could reach a larger audience if one had the ability to choose between hearing one of the two different styles of vocalization.
The only other negative critique I have with this product is that it takes a bit too long to install all of the files onto your computer (esp. the individual pre-created vocabulary lists). Copying individual folders into iTunes does get a bit tedious, but the outcome is well worth the inconvenience.
If using “standard” paper vocabulary cards are the way that you personally review your Hebrew, then I think that this product will be an ideal fit for your needs. By allowing students to both see and hear their vocabulary in a convenient format, Kregel has a true winner on their hands.
[1] I am using the word “standard” to mean: Hebrew on one side with English glosses on the other side.
[2] Only when paired with an iPod or viewed through your computer using iTunes.
Thanks for the review, Adam. I’ll definitely make my students aware of this option. If I were a new Hebrew student using one of these grammars, I’d be sold.
Brooke, glad to provide it! There is a possibility that I might be able to do a give-away, but I will post something on that (if it happens) in the future. What grammar are you using with your students?
I have both the Greek and Hebrew versions and I agree, they are very helpful, though it definitely takes too long to install the vocab lists (this may be a problem with iTunes rather than the iVocab). But my main gripe is the fact that they didn’t include master lists tying the card numbers to the terms they contain. Kugel–if you are reading this, please make such a list available online! I’ve also had some intermittent stability issues with the cards crashing my iPod.
All in all, however, it’s far better than paper flash-cards.
Ken,
What do you mean by “master lists”? I haven’t had a problem with my iPod crashing yet, but I will let you know if that happens.
The only problem that I seem to be running into is that sometimes, I am unable to view vocabulary words in the larger (album cover) format. As long as I am viewing words on the track number format, I can see the words fine. None the less, I am still very pleased with this product.
By “master list” I mean a comprehensive list of all the vocabulary terms included in the program, with their file numbers. Since the files are not named, it is virtually impossible to find specific terms to add to a custom vocab list.
That makes sense; however, you could create the list on the fly using Itunes. Just drag the words in each block that you want in a custom list. You should be able to do this with your iPod as well.
That only works if you already know what card number the word is on. Whereas if you want to build a list based on a text you are reading (as opposed to building a list based on cards you have already seen), there is no easy way (that I know of) to find the words you are looking for. The only way I can figure is to manually search through the stack by watching each card until you find the one you want, but that isn’t worth the effort by a long shot. It wouldn’t be so bad if the cards were in alphabetical order, but they are not. In fact, it is not at all clear to me what order they are in.
The alternative would be to go through the whole set once, and manually create a master file listing what term is on each card, which could then be consulted for future searches, but that is a lot of work, and surely Kregel already has such a list. Why not make it available? Why not include it as a PDF with the other documentation that came with the program?
I suppose I should be asking Kregel for this directly…. I’ll send them an email and let you know if/when I hear back.
Ok, turns out I’m just blind!
I emailed Kregel, and they kindly (and quickly!) emailed me full indices for both the Hebrew and Greek, which it turns out are included on the CDs after all. Frankly, I’m not sure how I didn’t see them before, as I looked for them just an hour ago (and not for the first time)!
Maybe I need new glasses….
That is hilarious! I was planning on searching the CD later tonight to see if I could discover a fix for your problem. Well, I am glad that it is fixed. Now the product has more value!
[...] nice and the word lists are keyed to 8 common beginning grammars. Adam Couturier wrote a helpful review of the current version of this program on his blog this past [...]
How much of the vocabulary is really basic level words? If I’ve taken classes in Hebrew before but need a lot of review, should I get this product or wait for the one that comes out at the end of November?
SKlath,
The nice thing about this product is that you can key it to several introductory grammars. I am not sure what grammar you initially learned Hebrew on, but there is a decent chance that this product will support it. So to answer your question, it has 1000 words, so the most basic and the fairly rare words are represented in this product.
Adam
p.s.I haven’t heard anything about a product coming out in November. Do you know anything about it? Do you have a link for that?
I just did a little web-search, and it sounds like the additional product coming out in November will be for intermediate to advanced readers in Hebrew. I suppose it all depends on where you are in your vocab acquisition. If you know most every word in Seow’s, Pratico and Van Pelt’s, or Garrett’s Grammar, then wait for the new product in November. If you need help working through more basic stuff again, than 2.0 should be just fine.
I hope that helps.