ADVANCED JUDEO-SPANISH (ADVANCED LADINO)
This course is intended for students with prior exposure to Ladino who wish to strengthen their reading, speaking, and grammatical awareness. The course methodology is based on three main components: learning and reinforcing the official Latin-script orthography of Judeo-Spanish, reading a wide range of texts from different genres, and developing guided class discussions in Ladino based on the readings.
Students will work with materials from both the Sephardi literary tradition and contemporary Ladino sources, including humorous narratives, fables, historical and cultural texts, folklore, poetry, and traditional songs. Grammar instruction will emerge directly from the texts and will address key topics such as pronoun systems, verb tenses and moods, and especially contrasts such as perfect vs. imperfect and indicative vs. subjunctive.
Through gradual practice, students will enrich their vocabulary, improve lexical access in spontaneous speech, and transform their intuitive knowledge of Ladino into a more conscious and accurate command of the language, resulting in greater fluency and confidence in communication.
When: Tuesday, April 28, 2026, 11:00 am PST, 1:00 CST, 2:00 pm EST
Where: on Zoom
Cost:
Early bird: 5 classes for $270
Regular admission: 5 classes for $300
Performer:
Esther Rute holds a BA in Semitic Philology (Complutense U.) and two MA in Jewish History and Spanish Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJI). She is a certified language teacher (HUJI) and Ladino instructor at the Sephardi Community Council of Jerusalem and the Instituto Cervantes in Tel Aviv. She is also the External Advisor to the National Authority for Ladino (ANL) and Deputy Editor of Aki Yerushalayim. Her main position is Head of the International & Israeli Section at the Guiding Department of Yad Vashem, Jerusalem.