Shmues Online: Conversational Yiddish

Program Description

Come join us for three weeks on zoom to practice your shmues (conversation) skills in relation to a variety of texts and media. This online, three session mini-course is designed for intermediate Yiddish language learners. We will look at video clips, audiobooks, and written texts and discuss how the rich availability of such materials can facilitate a self-study of Yiddish or discovery of the many gems that exist on the internet when one knows where to look. A focus in this class will be on continuing a conversational approach where we speak in Yiddish throughout, to the best of our ability, and with much communal care and support. Another focus will be on enjoying the language and having fun! ***Registration Deadline*** Friday, May 16th ***Schedule & Fees*** This course includes three 90-minute online classes on Sundays (2-3:30pm PST) from May 18th to June 1st. The standard fee is $54 ($18 per class), with payment plans available to address financial access barriers. To set up a payment plan, select the “payment plan deposit” ($18) option during registration and Peretz staff will reach out to finalize the details. ***Instructor Bio*** Emily Glass (she/her) grew up in North Vancouver hearing no Yiddish at all. Like many people interested in the language, she has a “discovery” story. Hers involved spontaneously signing up for a beginner Yiddish class with Rebecca Margolis during her undergrad at the University of Ottawa in 2015 and then falling in love with the culture at the Steiner Summer Program at the Yiddish Book Center in 2016. Since then, she has studied Yiddish and its vibrant culture at KlezKanada, Yiddish Summer Paris, and Yiddish New York. Professionally, Emily has worked for over three years as a high school French teacher. This past year, she took a break from high school teaching to do a masters in Yiddish Studies at the University of Toronto, where she did language seminars and researched the ways that Ashkenazi ways of being have been expressed in dance cultures. Throughout her masters, she was additionally mentored by Avia Moore of KlezKanada in her Yiddish dance research. Image: Postcard by Przedruk wabronieny (Stanisławów, 1905)