Polis Institute

History

The Institute was registered in 2011 (cfr. Non Profit Registry (in Hebrew)) and opened Modern Hebrew and Arabic courses along with Ancient Greek throughout the year. The main idea was to teach ancient languages as living ones, and to put together teachers of different languages in order to share techniques between them. They soon realized the importance of full immersion during the lessons in the language taught, with both modern and ancient languages. They counted especially on the methods for teaching Modern Hebrew in Israel and on the experience of Prof. Christophe Rico teaching Ancient Greek.

The main reason for running this activity as a non-profit organization was to foster the culture of dialogue through languages to as many people as possible. It soon became a contribution to better understanding of the different ethnic and religious groups present in Jerusalem.

In 2013, the Institute opened a Master's program in ancient Philology, which brought together several students and scholars from the US and Europe.

In the same years, Polis has organized intensive courses in other countries, such as Italy, Peru, US, Spain, Morocco and the Philippines.

The principles

The Polis method encompasses a variety of approaches and techniques unified under two major tenets:

a) Language learning must take place in a full immersive environment, where only the target language is spoken;

b) Grammatical structures must be learned according to their natural order of acquisition.

Taking these principles into account, Polis sets together and adapts a wide range of approaches and teaching techniques that have been developed since the 70’s in the States and Canada.

Total Physical Response

Total Physical Response (TPR) is a language teaching technique that was first developed by the psychologist James Asher (San José State University) based on his observations of language acquisition in young children. Although the theory behind TPR and the term itself have reached the general public only in the late 70’s, when professor Asher published a book entitled Learning Another Language through Actions, many of Asher’s ideas have a lot in common with those advocated in the late 19th and early 20th century by W. H. D. Rouse, known for his Natural or Direct Method.

Within the Polis Method, TPR appears by the very first class and it is present in every step of the learning process. In the first session the student is only required to react physically to a series of commands given by the instructor, and no verbal interaction is expected to take place. More advanced students, however, are asked to describe their actions as they are performed, to verbally anticipate actions or to describe what they have just seen. Though TPR activities tend to decrease as the course progresses, it has been proved quite fruitful even in the most advanced stages, when students face some particularly complex structures, such as the genitive absolute in Greek or the accusativus cum infinitivo.

Storytelling

Storytelling is a technique created in the 90’s by Spanish teacher Blaine Ray, inspired by Steven Krashen’s theory on foreign language acquisition and its emphasis on the role of "comprehensible input" in a student’s mastering of elocution (output). According to Krashen, it is essential that students are exposed to sentences whose meaning they can fully grasp, a feature that requires a strict control of how and when new words and structures are presented, in order to limit new words to a small percentage of the whole message.

In order to provide students with a teaching environment where "comprehensible input" could take place, Blaine Ray developed a series of stories or narrations in which students can be actively engaged. Throughout the narration, the students are presented with messages that correspond to their linguistic level, allowing the introduction of new vocabulary.

Adapting the practice of storytelling, the Polis Method completely excludes translations and explanations in any language other than the one being taught. Another development of the Polis Method consists of often asking students to respond in a complete sentence rather than only by single words, encouraging them to internalize speaking skills.

Story building

The Story Building technique was first developed by Greg Thomson (University of Alberta) in 2007 within the Growing Participator Approach (GPA) method. His theory rests on the presentation of images in vignettes which, with each successive image, form a consistent story. Students are then invited to describe the images presented by employing the vocabulary they know. This exercise reinforces retention and permits the insertion of new grammatical structures tied to the images and vocabulary.

Within the Polis method, the Story building technique is often used to practice the switch from present to past tense.

Images and props

Since human memory is largely dependent on sensorial experience, the use of images and props is a very effective tool to present new vocabulary, enabling students to directly associate a new word with a sensorial experience.

Conversation in pairs or small groups

Conversations between students in class is a common feature in modern language teaching, applied, through the Polis method, to the teaching of ancient languages. This interaction is a very effective tool, in more advanced classes, for as the student practices producing speech he or she progresses in language acquisition. Guided conversations may engage from two to five students at a time and are carefully designed to maximize each student’s speaking time and minimize error.

Other activities and techniques

Since activities requiring the language as its sole vehicle can help a great deal in creating a more natural immersive experience, students are encouraged to attend extra-class activities such as the full immersion lunches, where students and teachers dine together while speaking exclusively in the target language.

Songs are also another feature that helps Polis students retain vocabulary and grammar. During the first year of ancient Greek course, for example, some ten songs are taught.

M.A in Ancient Philology

The M.A in Ancient Philology is a two-year program dedicated to Ancient Greek and Biblical Hebrew, with an optional track, Emphasis in Teaching Ancient Languages, focused on the particularities of teaching ancient languages in an immersive setting.

M.A. in Near Eastern Languages

This program encompasses courses in Modern Hebrew and Arabic, with Biblical Hebrew, Aramaic, and Syriac as electives. 

One-year Programs

Each MA program has a corresponding abridged version called the One Year Program (OYP). 

Greek Fluency Program

This is a two-year academic program focused solely on ancient Greek.

Summer programs

During summer, Polis offers many intensive language courses, both in Jerusalem and abroad.

Language Courses

It holds regular language courses in Koine Greek, Biblical Hebrew, Modern Hebrew (Ulpan), Latin, Modern Standard Arabic, Spoken Arabic (Palestinian dialect), Classical Syriac and Sumerian.

Conferences

The Institute hosts international conferences on various topics in the field of Humanities.

Three annual conferences have been held so far:

2016 – The Cours de Linguistique Générale revisited: 1916-2016

2015 – The Library of Alexandria

2013 – The Origins of the Alphabet

Urban Context

The Musrara neighbourhood, formerly a place of social and ethnic conflicts, is experiencing today a remarkable renewal: artists, intellectuals, international volunteers and workers are moving to the neighbourhood, which is becoming peaceful and multicultural. Together with other cultural institutions, such as the Art school Musrara, the School for Arabic music and the "On the Seam" Museum, Polis contributes to the rebuilding of the neighbourhood's image. The central location of the quarter, at the crossroad of several different cultures, as well as its history and its picturesqueness, make it one of the most popular for Tourism . The Institute is located near several important research centers in Humanities, such as the EBAF, the Swedish Theological Institute and the Mount Scopus campus of the Hebrew University, as well as to important monuments of Jerusalem: the Dome of the Rock, the City Hall and the Holy Sepulchre.