About Bossie Dubowick YiddishSchool

Bossie Dubowick YiddishSchool gives adult learners the opportunity to spend a week at the Yiddish Book Center exploring Yiddish language and culture in a small, student-centered classroom.

Each day begins with nearly three hours of Yiddish language classes, followed by afternoon lectures on Yiddish culture, workshops, sing-alongs, and more. Shared meals and lively conversation enrich the week. You can download a sample schedule for YiddishSchool below.

The week includes:

• More than thirteen hours of Yiddish language classes, offered at two levels
• A tour of the Center’s new permanent exhibition Yiddish: A Global Culture
• A talk with the Center’s chief curator and research bibliographer David Mazower
• Yiddish song and dance, and a special klezmer performance
• A screening of the 1939 Yiddish film Tevye
• Guided activities in Yiddish and homework help
• Five lunches and two dinners provided at the Yiddish Book Center 
• Group rate at the Hotel Northampton (arrive Sunday, depart Friday)

Cost: $875 for Yiddish Book Center members; $950 for nonmembers.

Accommodations: While accommodations aren't included, participants can get a group rate at the Hotel Northampton, a beautiful historic hotel in the center of downtown Northampton. The hotel is within walking distance of Northampton’s renowned local shops, galleries, bookstores, and coffeehouses.  To reserve a room at the discounted rate of $155.99 per night plus tax , call the hotel at 413-584-3100 and ask for the "Yiddish Book Center" group rate.

Transportation: For participants who come without a car, one round-trip shuttle between the Hotel Northampton and the Yiddish Book Center is available each day. The shuttle fee is $100 for the week, and reservations must be made in advance of the program.

Language Classes at Bossie Dubowick YiddishSchool:

Language classes at YiddishSchool use a research-backed method called the communicative approach, centered on the idea that successful language learning should prioritize communicating and interpreting real meaning, similarly to how humans learn their first language. Using real-life situations and authentic materials, students in our courses focus on engaging directly with Yiddish, rather than learning about Yiddish. 

Small, student-centered classes facilitate a uniquely collaborative and dynamic environment. Teachers ensure that students are able to understand the language used in class by using gestures, miming, and visual aids, and that they are compelled to understand by encouraging conversations about topics that are important to each student, thus increasing motivation and lowering any anxiety about language-learning. 

Our beginner courses build on previous knowledge and correspond to units of the Yiddish Book Center’s award-winning, multimedia Yiddish textbook In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, which was authored by Asya Vaisman Schulman and has been adopted by numerous universities and organizations, both in the US and internationally.