You know the Hebrew words. Now try making a sentence.

Finding someone to practise a language with can be surprisingly difficult when you are a beginner. Even in Tel Aviv, a conversation may switch to English before you have managed much Hebrew.

When we were learning Russian, we had a similar problem. We were studying vocabulary, but we needed a way to use it between lessons without depending on a Russian-speaking stranger being available and patient.

What we came up with involved a board and a few people willing to give each other slightly absurd translation challenges.

Put the words where everyone can see them

We divided a board into sections. One held the new words we wanted to practise. Others held the smaller words that let you actually connect an idea: and, or, but, because.

We added words for time and frequency, such as now, yesterday, always and never, along with some adjectives.

You can do this with a whiteboard, a big sheet of paper or a shared screen. Use vocabulary and sentence structures you have already worked on in class. If you have only learned the present tense, stay with the present tense for now.

For a small Hebrew board, you might include:

• Places and things: home, the beach, coffee, water.
• Verbs: want, go, buy, drink, in the forms you are practising.
• Connectors: אבל — aval — but, כי — ki — because.
• Time words: today, now, every day.

Keep it small enough that you can find a word without searching an entire wall.

Give your partner a sentence to build

One of our challenges was the sort of sentence you are unlikely to find in a textbook: “I never go to the beach, but when I go, I buy a popsicle.”

The other person had to say it using the language we were learning. The vocabulary was visible, so the work was putting it together.

Start much more simply if you need to. “I want coffee” is a perfectly good first round:

אני רוצה קפה.

Ani rotze kafe in the masculine form, or ani rotza kafe in the feminine form. The unpointed Hebrew spelling is the same here, but the pronunciation of רוצה changes.

Your partner can then change coffee to water. Once that is comfortable, make the next sentence a little longer using something you already know how to say.

Change one thing and pass it back

After someone gives an answer, the next person repeats the sentence with one change. The beach becomes the theatre. Buying becomes selling. The popsicle becomes water.

Some combinations will be strange. That is part of the fun. But changing a word can also mean changing something else in the sentence, such as the verb form or an adjective. Pay attention to that rather than treating Hebrew as a row of interchangeable English words.

If you get stuck, keep the sentence and ask your teacher about it. When everyone playing is a learner, you will sometimes need help checking an answer.

Then swap roles. The person who was answering gets to invent the next challenge.

Make another round harder

Once the group is comfortable, remove a few words that have already been used. You have to work with what remains.

Another version from our old practice ideas uses homemade cardboard dice: one for verbs, one for nouns, another for time expressions. Roll them and try to make a sentence with the result. You can use slips of paper in separate bowls if making dice sounds like a whole second hobby.

For the first attempt, the board is enough. Pick a classmate, choose a handful of words from your last lesson, and take turns making five sentences each.