At UTime College we are often asked the same question: what is the difference between Ulpan Bet and Ulpan Aleph? And why are many new immigrants willing to wait for months for the chance to enroll in Ulpan Bet?
Let's start from the end. Firstly, you can enroll in our advanced ulpan (Bet and Gimel levels) right now: in July and August, new groups open in almost all departments of our college.
But how does ulpan Bet differ from Aleph? Does it make sense?
Instead of an answer, there is a curious incident.
Gennady (36) immigrated to Israel a year and a half ago from Moscow. A graduate of the State University of Management, he was a successful entrepreneur in his homeland and intended to open his own business in Israel, but…
Hebrew! Wherever you go, you will certainly run into an authority or state structure in which no one speaks Russian.
Gennady had to retrain. Temporarily! He bought a motorcycle and was hired as a courier for the Wolt company. Then he began delivering orders to customers.
At the same time, he studied Hebrew in the Bat Yam branch of our ulpan Alef.
Approximately in the middle of the course, when Gennady could already read and write in Hebrew, during one of the classes he asked the teacher:
“Why do most of my clients think that I am a grandfather? Do I look that bad?”
“What exactly they tell you?” asked the teacher.
“Something like “saba, zirut.” Well, we already know the word “saba” - “grandfather”. But what is “zirut”?
The teacher burst out laughing.
“Gennady, in fact, your clients wish you a safe trip: “Sa be-zehirut!” - “Drive carefully”.
Almost all of us have experienced this: after finishing Ulpan Aleph, it seemed to us that if we know as many as 22 Hebrew letters and can conjugate a dozen of verbs, then we already speak Hebrew. But as soon as we found ourselves in a Hebrew-speaking environment (and no one can avoid this in Israel), problems immediately arose. It seems that you already speak fluent Hebrew, but... you understand little! Or you think that you understand, but you do not.
Hebrew, like English, French, Chinese and the language of the Mayan tribe, cannot be learned in an ulpan at the Aleph level. Although... We had some unique cases. Single. Out of the ordinary.
In May 2024, our graduate Valentina Zyablitseva, as part of the program for sabras and old-timers, successfully passed an interview in Hebrew, and then passed the English language exam with 97 points. By that time she was already working in an Israeli school. After Ulpan Aleph!
One more example. Last year, 25-year-old new immigrant Dmitry Shakhnazarov, a student at the Bat Yam branch of Ulpan Aleph, passed in Hebrew the state exam and confirmed his diploma as a dentist. Now he works in his specialty.
But such cases, unfortunately, are rare. Studying Hebrew in an ulpan at the Bet/Gimel level is a completely different matter. At this stage, you have already managed to adapt to Israel and know exactly why you need to communicate fluently in Hebrew: the next step is to open your own business. Or to pass dozens of interviews with potential employers. And even if in a high-tech company where you work, all business correspondence and negotiations are conducted in English, during your lunch break you will still have to speak with colleagues in Hebrew. And at meetings as well. And at picnics (such collective outings into nature are called “yamei gibush”).
Recently, the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration introduced a new procedure for issuing vouchers. It allows new immigrants (up to 10 years in Israel) who graduated from the state ulpan Aleph, to improve their knowledge of Hebrew for free, by voucher, in small (8-12 persons!) groups in private ulpans, which, like our UTime college, are officially recognized by the state and are included in list presented on the website of the Ministry.
In other words, the state almost completely (with the exception of extraordinary cases) took over the teaching of Hebrew at the initial, starting stage - in the Aleph ulpans. And the deepening of already acquired knowledge (ulpan Bet/Gimel) was transferred to private ulpans. Because only private educational institutions are “tailored” to accomplish this task: our groups are on average three to four times smaller than in the state ulpan. This allows teachers to work with each student individually during each lesson.
If you have already completed your studies in a state ulpan, but feel that you still do not have enough knowledge of Hebrew, sign up for ulpan Bet or Gimel!
The course of training is intensive. You can combine study with work - some groups study in the mornings, others in the evenings. Classes twice a week allow working students (especially those with growing children) to have at least a little rest. Our teachers conduct classes using original author's methods. Learning Hebrew in UTime ulpan is fun (read our college blog posts!).
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