Book recommendations for teenaged boys?

[liv]

So my two former bar mitzvah students want to carry on with Hebrew now they've both completed their ceremonies. They've said they'd like to do a bit more conversational modern Hebrew as well as just practising prayerbook reading. Does anyone have any recommendations for textbooks?

The boys are 13 and 15, both reasonably academically able and reasonably committed. They can read fairly fluently, but have very little vocab or grammar at the moment. They're also extremely busy and probably won't have huge amounts of time for practice in between their fortnightly lessons. My options at the moment are:
The textbook recommended by the GCSE exam board. I'd generally like the boys to be thinking about GCSE sort of level, not that they hugely have to pass exams but as a streching, but attainable, target. The problem is that the book looks incredibly dated and dull and I don't feel inspired to teach from it!

Or Routledge Introductory Course in Modern Hebrew. I think this is basically aimed at beginners, but beginners who are university students or otherwise quite advanced in general language skills. It's really quite heavy on grammar, and might be overkill for a couple of years of informal lessons for teenagers.

I can't find anything I like better than these two options. I don't want a course that is primarily audio for self-learning, because I'm going to be there teaching and keeping up reading fluency is a big priority. And I don't want just a vocab list or beginners' dictionary. The younger boy suggested using a tourist phrasebook, which might work but ideally I'd like something more like a textbook and less like lists of phrases to rote learn.

Secondly, I still have not succeeded in giving the younger lad his bar mitzvah present, because everything I could think of is out of print and not for sale for reasonable money. I would like to give him a good work of popular non-fiction, something enjoyable to read but also informative. He's quite interested in politics and world affairs, which is a subject I know little about. And he's pretty bright but not especially precocious, I think he'd get more out of something accessible or even aimed at teenagers, than something hardcore academic.

I'm thinking something about the level of Jared Diamond's Guns, germs and steel, except not that because I'm now aware that Diamond not only plays fast and loose with scholarly accuracy, he conducted some rather unethical ethnographic research and published identifying stories about his subjects without their permission. And I have in mind that there used to be a journalist who did short programmes on Radio 4 about US politics and culture, and that he died a few years ago (?) and that prior to that he had written a book of anecdotes that this young man might enjoy, but that's not enough information to shake his name out of Google, does anyone have any clue whom I'm talking about?

So. Anyone who's taught conversational Hebrew, any recs? And in a less specialist query, what's the most interesting popular non-fiction book you've read lately?

Comments

[alexseanchai]

what's the most interesting popular non-fiction book you've read lately?

I feel like I should be able to answer this with something not in the realm of polytheistic religion (because anything in that realm seems wildly inappropriate here somehow XD ) but I am drawing a total blank.

*ponders bookshelves*

...the ratio of "books I own that I can honestly recommend because I have read them" to "books I would like to recommend but can't because I merely own them" is appallingly low :(

Debt: The First 5000 Years, David Graeber
The Invisible Heart: Economics and Family Values, Nancy Folbre
This Bridge Called My Back 4th ed., ed. Moraga & Anzaldua

APPALLINGLY LOW I TELL YOU though also if we are thinking 'general politics' instead of 'feminist politics' then his interests and mine don't overlap that much to begin with (my most 'world affairs' book is Half the Sky: Turning Oppression Into Opportunity for Women Worldwide, Kristoff and WuDunn, but I am not recommending that to anyone without a reread aimed at noting the trigger warnings), and most of the overlap derives from how much economics drives politics!

Of these three, I think he'll have the best luck with Folbre.

[liv]

Thanks so much for suggesting stuff! Graeber's Debt is one I'd considered, but I think it's possibly a bit dense, it would feel more like work than fun.

I am not against something that would teach my bar mitzvah student about polytheism, but I think I'd want an academic-ish study of history of religions or comparative religion, rather than something actually from a polytheist point of view.

Good thought about This bridge called my back; if I'm offering something about American modern history / politics it shouldn't only be white history. I don't think this kid identifies particularly as a feminist, but also don't think he'd turn up his nose at something with a feminist stance, he does care about equality in a somewhat vague teenager way. Maybe I should get The invisible heart for myself, in any case :-)

[alexseanchai]

Yeah, good luck finding an academic comparative religions that acknowledges modern polytheism, except for Hinduism and maaaaybe Wicca, EXISTS. And I'd argue that, just as the best books from which to learn about Judaism are written by Jews, the best books from which to learn about modern polytheisms are written by polytheists. Except I'm not sure there ARE any such; the target audience for every polytheist-authored book I can think of offhand is other polytheists!

Which is rather beside the point, anyway. Glad I could help.

[alexseanchai]

Wait, no, A World Full of Gods by Greer means to convert non-polytheists, but I'm not reccing that to anyone I haven't a point to prove to and who hasn't expressed interest in the subject. Your student is in neither category.

[naath]

I loved Debt, just as a book to read.

[rmc28]

I've only read the first chapter, but Hidden Figures by Margot Lee Shetterly is good so far.

I really liked The Undercover Economist by Tim Harford when I read it some years ago. I can't remember any of the details because it was when C was a baby and I was chronically sleep-deprived, but I *think* it was on a level with Guns, Germs & Steel or possibly a bit easier going. What I do remember is it shaking up some of my preconceptions about political positions through making plausible economic arguments, and one of my ongoing ambitions is to find the time to read it again with enough brain to actually engage with the arguments.

Oh! Sustainable Energy: without the hot air by David MacKay is clearly written, and really interesting, and is relevant to politics!

[liv]

Ooh, great ideas, yes! Harford could work really well, he's lively and thinky and kid is definitely drawn towards the economic side of politics. And I've heard really good things about MacKay, too.

[woodpijn.livejournal.com]

Seconded Harford. Also Dan Ariely (interesting insights from behavioural economics and social psychology; very entertainingly written). Predictably Irrational is his first book.

[liv]

Thank you! Ariely sounds just the thing, and I'd not come across that at all.

[ghoti]

We used this book in high school. It might be a little heavy for what they're looking for. Also, I don't know if it's available in the UK.

[liv]

Really helpful, thank you. I think you're right, it's too heavy; I personally love books that go into the details of phonology like that, but I think these young men want something a bit more about how to have basic conversations about common topics, rather than the exact details of where to put the dagesh. (Mind you, took a really intense Hebrew grammar class when I was about their age, and I ended up dreaming about dageshes. Specifically, about adopting a goldfish and naming it dagesh, since it was a fish the colour of fire, a pun much cleverer than my awake brain would have come up with.)

[ghoti]

That is a fantastic pun!

[gool_duck]

Firefish!

[damerell]

I recently read and quite enjoyed Mary Beard's _SPQR_.

[liv]

Ooh, good idea, thank you! That would nicely bridge the gap between school-level stereotypes about the Romans and real historical scholarship, and it ties in to the origins of Europe. Might well go for that.

[jenett]

I was about to come and rec this too (I'm.a chapter in, but heard her speak about it when it first came out.) One of the things she's doing really well is talking about hte proces of history and how we know stuff and what we don't know, and why that is and what it means.

[davidgillon]

And I have in mind that there used to be a journalist who did short programmes on Radio 4 about US politics and culture, and that he died a few years ago (?)

Sounds like Alastair Cooke. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alistair_Cooke I'd hope there's still some of his Letter from America stuff in print.

[liv]

YES! Thank you, you are brilliant. I was really hoping someone would know whom I meant from my vague description, I'm most grateful.

[davidgillon]

I'm surprised no one else beat me to it!

[davidgillon]

WRT the teaching, would a hebrew language newspaper make a useful focus? If you can find one with an online edition, then one you can find in the UK isn't an issue.

[liv]

There is a big problem with Israeli learning resources, which is that in Israel, vowels are considered to be training wheels for really tiny kids first learning to read; anything aimed at an audience over about 6 or 7 years old is written without vowels. I personally find that a really huge obstacle, because my Hebrew is good enough that I can follow even quite a complex text if I can straightforwardly pronounce the words in my head, but I'm not at all fluent enough to be able to mentally insert the vowels if they're not printed. And maybe the boys would not find that as much of a block as I do, but I'm mostly looking for something aimed at English speakers for this reason.

[davidgillon]

Oh, that's a good, and interesting, point!

And it does explain what this was talking about when I googled 'Hebrew newspaper for beginners' - "Sha´ar La´Matchil is the only weekly newspaper offering news and current events in easy Hebrew with nikud – vowel marks." http://shaaronline.co.il/Eng/index.asp

The downside being "Sha´ar La´Matchil is written by the finest teachers and journalists, under the supervision of the Ministry of Education." Which could mean "Government propaganda rag" as easily as "BBC Foreign Service".

[dafna]

Sha'ar was pretty useful (and more BBC than propaganda) in its day, but it stopped publishing several years ago alas.

[davidgillon]

*Headdesk* Website's still there, promising a free two week trial.

[ewx]

I enjoyed Debt too.
God’s Crucible (David Levering Lewis) covers Islamic Spain. Some words here, also mentions A History Of Christianity (Diarmid MacCulloch) which is excellent but if Debt might be too dense than that certainly is.

[liv]

Thank you, these are good recs, and I might well like God's crucible for myself.

[siderea]

You have a book in Britain that's the equivalent of Lies My Teacher Told Me by Loewen? I'm not sure how it would strike a non-American, being concerned with how American history is taught in American schools – and how American political wars for the hearts and minds of the electorate are fought through text books. But it was mindblowing and radicalizing 20 years ago; it made me a much more critical reader of things offered as "history" as well as telling me a bunch of fascinating US history I hadn't known.

[liv]

I think the UK equivalent is 1066 and all that, but it's, shall we say dated (published in 1930). Also all it does is send up how bad school history teaching is, it doesn't really correct the myths with more scholarly history, it just makes it really obvious that what you learn in school is ludicrous.

[alatefeline]

Various books by Charles Mann reminds me of Guns, Germs, and Steel, but are better researched and better written.

[liv]

Ooh, thank you! That's exactly the kind of recommendation I was looking for, I shall check him out.

[rysmiel]

I was going to put in a mention for Mann, particularly 1491, which is a very interesting survey of new and newish but not yet widely disseminated information about the people and history of the Americas before Columbus. 1493, which is more about global trade patterns, is also good but much more of that information struck me as already floating around in other forms.

[dafna]

Have you looked at the "Hebrew from Scratch" series? It's mostly in Hebrew, but with vocab in English and definitely designed to used in class: https://www.amazon.com/Hebrew-Scratch-English-Shlomit-Kobliner/dp/B00BUFLY1

Also, not a textbook, but listening to and translating modern Israeli pop songs was something I enjoyed a lot in Hebrew class back in the day. And these days you can probably just print lyrics off various online sites.

[liv]

Thank you so much! That's just the kind of thing I was looking for, I think I'll go with that.

There are lots of ways to practise language skills, especially with the internet, but I think I need to do a bit more direct work with the boys to get them to the point where they have enough language to be able to practise. Pop songs is a good idea, they are interesting but still much shorter than most texts.

[hatam_soferet]

Also walla.co.il once you get on enough to manage without vowels.

[gool_duck]

There used to be books for older children and teen-agers with vowel-marks -
So, I mean, not just for tiny children -

And you can still find some, I mean I found a translation of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde , here

or there are newer books for children that have vowels.

[gool_duck]

https://www.steimatzky.co.il/%D7%A1%D7%A4%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%9D/%D7%99%D7%9C%D7%93%D7%99%D7%9D-%D7%95%D7%A0%D7%95%D7%A2%D7%A8/%D7%A8%D7%90%D7%A9%D7%99%D7%AA-%D7%A7%D7%A8%D7%99%D7%90%D7%94/%D7%A8%D7%97%D7%95%D7%91-%D7%91%D7%99%D7%A8%D7%95%D7%A9%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%9D.html

a book about jerusalem (with vowels)