In eynem: The New Yiddish Textbook, Vol I & II

by Asya Vaisman Schulman, Jordan Brown, Mikhl Yashinsky

Written by Asya Vaisman Schulman and Jordan Brown with Mikhl Yashinsky, In eynem is the first fully-illustrated, multimedia Yiddish textbook that uses the communicative approach to language learning. With this book, students use language as a practical tool for conversing with their classmates about their daily lives and as a vehicle through which they creatively delve into texts for cultural and artistic insights.

In eynem:

* fully supports different types of learners (visual, auditory, kinesthetic) and multiple learning environments: in-class learning with a teacher, independent learning, online learning, and community group learning
* incorporates a wide variety of multimedia resources (available through the textbook website), primary source historical documents, and literary texts
emphasizes all four areas of language learning: speaking, writing, reading, and listening
* includes a cast of recurring characters that represent all the different types of people who speak and study Yiddish today
* includes a teacher guide that provides detailed lesson plans to optimize the use of the book in a classroom setting, as well as functioning as a teacher training tool both for new teachers and as enrichment for experienced teachers

Here is what Yiddish language instructors are saying about the book:

* In eynem is nothing less than a revolution in Yiddish language pedagogy. Its engaging, interactive approach fosters a community of learning that bridges time as well as space, whether in a university classroom, community setting, or individual study… Beautifully illustrated throughout and complemented by rich online resources, In eynem is a twenty-first-century Yiddishland for teachers and learners alike.—Rebecca Margolis, Monash University

800 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2020

Reviews

[Deborah Drucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a beginning Yiddish student, I do not care for this textbook. It is unnecessarily complicated - in addition to the textbook, there is a downloadable workbook for each chapter, some of which is the same as the textbook, some of which isn't, along with audio files and video files. The exercises use conversations between a couple of dozen characters which are introduced with full biographies early in the text. This just makes the book more confusing. As an example, a question might ask "What is Avram doing?" Well, first I have to remember which character in the drawing is Avram before answering the question. This decreases fluidity in answering the questions.

The order of subject matter also does not make sense to me. Topics like the lives of Yiddish writers are introduced before learning how to ask and answer the question "How are you?"

To me, a beginning text should give the student an early sense of mastery, and I do not believe that this text does that.