"It has been a lovely experience learning a language which does not resemble anything I already know, in a friendly and nurturing environment."

"In the beginning I felt there was a big gap between beginners and not quite beginners (I tried both) but the pace has become faster and it became just right."

"Very very good Ulpan. Challenging but a good starting point."

Not Quite Beginners' level:

"I really enjoyed the Ulpan. It was the perfect timing. 2 weeks is a good span. I would have liked newspaper reading and TV but realize that our level was slightly too low and that two hours in the evening are not sufficient for that. Everyone in my class really enjoyed it. I personally found it frustrating at times when I wanted more but realized it would not be possible to have more. My teacher told me that at times "more is less".

"Pleased with the organization group I am in, teaching methods, the start of a new route for me."

"A good starting place. I enjoyed the interactive elements, would like even more of it."

"Great vibe at the end of the day. I have been inspired to practice all day.

"I would have liked a smaller class."

"Excellent Ulpan as always! Thanks"

"Great Ulpan with great energy! Very well organized, efficient and extremely professional -- a great experience. A fun friendly atmosphere makes you truly love the language. Thank you"

"I have enjoyed the class very much. ... is a fantastic teacher. She has so many teaching skills that she uses which have helped me so much to learn and enjoy the class."

"I really enjoy the classes and would recommend this method as a good starter. I am really loving the entire process."

"I am really happy, I hope it will be very useful for me."

"Apart from the first class which was a bit confusing for me all the classes were extremely well structured with bite size topics and very well explained. Handouts were well prepared and superbly organized and structured. The methods used, aided the memory. There was a good mix of learning methods including songs. The recipe writing was a surprisingly helpful and enjoyable way to pull a lot of knowledge together: verbs, numbers, adjectives and tenses. There was much opportunity to practice our speaking, but this exposed to me my lack of fluency on which I am working now (I need more practice). The amount of homework was just right -- any more would have been unrealistic to expect us to complete with work commitments too. Above all, the atmosphere in the class was really fantastic, this made the lessons even more enjoyable. See you next term."

"The best ever experience to start improving for good. I learnt not to fear and to enjoy my every day Hebrew with rhythm."

"I can't express how I really enjoy the two weeks' sprint that exposes me to a large amount of useful vocabulary and grammar and keeps me moving ahead during the summer recess. Thank you Nitza and Robin for all your hard work and imagination."

"A very beautiful and useful Ulpan, I got a great basis of grammar so I now have the confidence that I speak correctly. I also learnt a lot of new and interesting things about the Hebrew language. Our teacher is very passionate about the language and it shows and makes the lessons very dynamic."

"I think that my teacher is the very best I have ever had. The Ulpan was a very nice experience and now I feel encouraged to get back into Hebrew."

"I attend ...'s class on a regular basis throughout the year and I love every minute of it. But I always have the feeling that one lesson a week is not enough so for the 2nd year running I jumped at the chance to attend the two weeks summer Ulpan to continue and keep up my learning. My teacher at the Ulpan like my teacher during the year has a passion for teaching Ivrit and that passion is contagious. The classes are fun, interesting and conducive to learning."

Beginners' level:

"Great, mastered vocabulary, group atmosphere of the entire Ulpan is superb. A few classes were a bit fast for me. I am a very structured person in my life and studies."

"Most enjoyable, great group, terrific atmosphere."

"Enjoyable experience. Teacher and class dynamics was excellent and greatly added to the experience of coming to contact with Hebrew. Having an intensive two weeks experience was very helpful in remembering vocabulary. Our teacher was lovely very informal and managed to bring the language to life."

"I had such a great experience but I wished we had tests every so often as a motivation."

"I really enjoyed it, found it a great start to learning the language and feel that I now have a solid foundation to build on. I felt at the same time stimulated, inspired and challenged. I loved the communal meeting at the beginning of each evening at the Ulpan and the joint learning of all groups. It created a super spiritual atmosphere -- thank you!"

"I am very sad it is all over, I got used to the intensity and will now miss it"

Intermediate level:

"Great class, good atmosphere, great teacher, fun."

"... is a wonderful teacher, enthusiastic, dynamic and fun. He also conveys the beauty and the special features of the Hebrew language and is very appreciative of it. I have greatly enjoyed and benefitted from my attendance at Spiro Ark's Ulpan"

"This was my first time in an intensive Ulpan setting and I found it very rewarding. To have lessons one day after another, the teaching methods and the singing assembly which through light on Israeli life were just right. Sorry, but the catering was lousy!

"My experience has been very positive in general. I did not, however, appreciate being told that I should make special effort to be on time as it disturbs the teachers and disrupt the rest of the class. I am still looking forward to starting the regular classes during the year.

"Until this Ulpan I had a few lessons elsewhere and I have also studied by myself from a text book. This Ulpan was refreshing. It has complemented this home study nicely and for the next few months I would ideally like to continue this combination. I also very much like the group I am in at the Ulpan, both in terms of people (fellow students and teachers alike) and level. So if it is possible to continue with this enjoyable Spiro Ark courses I would like to do so. In order to maintain the momentum that the Ulpan has provided, I wonder whether rather than waiting another year, it would be possible to run a mini Ulpan for 1 week every 2-3 months. Please Nitza, consider my suggestion seriously.

"Very lively classes and totally enjoyable. I have greatly improved my vocabulary and ability to talk. I have (nearly) understood how to form future tense which is important to me. So I feel I can now converse with my husband and friends in Ivrit. What a great feeling. I love the enthusiasm and the inspiration of my teacher.

"The Ulpan was extremely good. I have managed to pick up what I have not managed to learn in my country. I came for it especially from Italy and I wish I could stay during the year to join Spiro Ark classes.

Lower intermediate level:

"... is a wonderful teacher, concerned, enthusiastic, interesting and humorous. I did not expect to have such a stimulating experience."

"Interesting, informative, educative, affirming. I enjoy the interspersed anecdotes of historical references and points of interest."

"Excellent, inspirational, extremely interesting and useful."

"Brilliant"

"It is better two hours than nothing. However, I would like to find such a full-time course throughout the year. Please let me know if you decide to have such a course."

Advanced:

"With the effort my teacher ... gave to the class, despite the fact it was an evening course, we were exhilarated and felt the lessons were too short."

"The materials were challenging but this is what one needs if one truly wishes to leap forward."

"All the variety of methods used in the class were extremely helpful in making good progress, some serious and some more light hearted, like games, songs and role playing."

"In the grade given to the course it got top marks -- excellent."