Stav Gare

Enc1102
9/9/15
11:30-12:20
Becoming Literate in the Military
Interviewer: Good morning Stav, thank you for meeting with me today to
discuss your overall military service and how it has affected your literacy
abilities. First I would like to know some background information about you
and why you decided to move half way across the world to join the Israel
defense forces.
Stav: Good morning to you as well. I know moving to the middle east is not
the average move for an eighteen year old girl, but it was most definitely the
smartest decision Ive made to date. When I moved to America when I was
three years old, my parents always made it their prime goal to instill a love
for my Jewish homeland, Israel. Being raised as a Zionist and attending
Jewish private schools my whole life led to my decision of moving and
drafting into the Israeli military. I believe that as a Jew, it is my inherent duty
to give back to my country, and the best way of doing that is by protecting
and defending the land. In the Middle East it is necessary for there to be an
army because without one, Israel would not exist. Although I didnt know
much of the Hebrew language when I was eighteen, I decided that joining the

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was the most important step to take. So as soon
as I graduated high school, I squeezed everything I could into three suitcases
and boarded a fourteen hour flight to Israel.
Interviewer: Thats a very interesting and bold move for such a young
person. As you stated, you didnt know much of the Hebrew language before
moving to Israel, can you explain what Hebrew you did know?
Stav: As I mentioned I was sent to private Jewish schools my whole life and
Hebrew was a required language. From pre-k through high school we learned
the basics of the Hebrew language, including the alphabet and how to form
simple everyday sentences with correct grammar. Although we had Hebrew
classes in high school, our teachers mainly focused on teaching us biblical
Hebrew. Although Modern Hebrew and biblical Hebrew have the same roots,
the meanings and pronunciation of the words differ greatly. My literacy in
biblical Hebrew exceeded my knowledge of reading and writing Modern
Hebrew because my schools focus was on biblical terms and
understandings.
Interviewer: So you only knew the basics of Modern Hebrew and moved to a
country that only uses that form of communicating and writing. Wow. Werent
you nervous? Did you know what level of literacy proficiency was needed for
the military?
Stav: Honestly, when I moved to Israel I decided that everything would
eventually fall into place as long as I stayed motivated and focused.

However, when I got to Israel I was utterly shocked. First off, realizing how
strong my American accent was, I refused to speak the basic Hebrew I knew
for the first six months in Israel. I was embarrassed and was misunderstood
plenty of times so it really aggravated me. Being thrown into a country by
choice and not understanding the language was definitely my most
challenging part of moving, but it was also my motivation to learn the
language. Not only did I need to learn Hebrew to be able to communicate
better with the people around me, I also needed it to better understand
Israels culture if I wanted to adjust to my new living circumstances. The
importance of knowing the Hebrew language became clear during my first
draft in the military. After I was interviewed, I received a list of jobs that I
could acquire with my low level of proficiency in reading and writing. This list
on a piece of paper would determine my next two years in my military
service, and by no means was I pleased with my limited options. Thankfully, I
received an option of joining a military Hebrew course to improve my literacy
skills. Once I would finish the course, depending on how well I would retest, I
would receive a new list of jobs. So I took option B and was determined to try
my absolute best in the military Hebrew course.
Interviewer: Was the Hebrew military course successful in improving your
Hebrew literacy skills?
Stav: 100%. It definitely improved my Hebrew, but because most people in
the military Hebrew course were American, after class we would just speak in

English. The course definitely taught me how to read and write more
professionally, but I was still missing conversational Hebrew skills.
Interviewer: Well do all positions in the military require a high level of
literacy? Did yours?
Stav: Not all positions in the military require it, but mine definitely did. Even
before I drafted, my dream job was always to become a physical training
instructor. Being able to explain thoroughly and communicate to your
soldiers is a priority in becoming any type of instructor. Although my
conversing skills werent up to par with the average instructor, when I
retested for positions I received acceptance into the physical training
instructors course. Although I learned a lot over those four months in the
military Hebrew course and was accepted into my dream course, this was
only a third of my long journey.
Interviewer: What specific literacy skills do physical training instructors
need? What are the other two-thirds of your journey?
Stav: Well like any physical training instructor, you need to be able to explain
what, how, and whys of bodily functions. After my military Hebrew course, I
had a month before the physical training instructors course began. During
this time I worked as a secretary and on my free time I would read an
anatomy book I recently purchased. I would read it in Hebrew and
transliterate it into English until I became familiar with the basic terms. When
I started the course I needed to learn and understand Anatomy, Physiology,

and Nutrition in Hebrew. You could imagine how tough these topics are in
your native tongue, but to learn it in a foreign language is pretty difficult.
Thankfully, I knew basic anatomy words in Hebrew that Israelis learned in
high-school so I understood parts of the lectures. Besides the knowledge and
understanding of what and how our body works, I needed to know how to
explain why. I needed to be able to verbalize to my future soldiers the
physiology of our bodies. Beyond knowing and explaining a humans
anatomy and physiology, I needed to be able to instruct workouts. This was
the most difficult yet most obvious part of being a physical training
INSTRUCTOR. I had to know how to yell commands, explain and show
workout positions, and invent/intertwine innovative exercises. This course
was another one-third of my journey.
Interviewer: Well my obvious next question is what is the last third?!
Stav: Well once I finished those four months in the physical training
instructors course, we each received interviews with different branches in
the military and each of those branches have different standards. Most girls
wanted to be placed in the air force not only because of the decent living
conditions, but also because of the soldiers we trained and workouts we
instructed. Thankfully, I was accepted into Israels Air Force. However, on my
base I was one of the only Americans out of a thousand people. Although it
was difficult to speak Hebrew even on my down time, it helped me practice. I
also had fun teaching Israelis some English phrases because their accents in

English sounded worse than my American accent in Hebrew. Slowly I decided

to embrace my American side and I would even throw in some English words
in my workout classes. For some reasons Israelis got a kick out of it so I used
it to my advantage. My favorite workout lessons were definitely instructing
spinning classes and Zumba classes, but those lessons werent taught in my
course. I had to then study these new techniques not just by text, but by
practice. Learning the Hebrew in spinning and zumba classes by being active
helped me understand specific terms more easily. After a month of giving
workouts I was assigned to teach officers in training. These groups were
generally around twenty male soldiers and one or two female soldiers. I
would have these courses for six months at a time and have intense
workouts with them three times a week. Our workouts focused on different
types of running methods to prepare them for their final physical
examination at the end of these six months so they could officially become
officers. Besides for spinning and Zumba classes having their own
vocabulary, so did running. Thankfully my soldiers were amazing and
sometimes when I would get confused with words they would help and
correct me.
Interviewer: Overall were people supportive of you moving to Israel and
learning their language?
Stav: Yes and no. When I first joined the IDF, when soldiers heard I voluntarily
moved to Israel to join the army they would call me crazy and stupid. They

didnt understand why I would ever leave America and my family to join a
military with such little benefits. I would then explain to them that I did not
draft for benefits, but to give back to my country that protects my family and
friends. When others would hear this they then admired my motivation and
supported me in any way they could.
Interviewer: Do you see any differences by being brought up in America and
then being emerged into Israels society? Any literacy differences?
Stav: There are plenty of differences between being brought up in America
and in Israel. Besides from the vast cultural differences, the vocabulary there
is different. In America where there is no mandatory draft families dont tend
to use military phrases, but in Israel the teaching of military literacy skills is
very common. Nevertheless, language, like in any country, is taught
primarily the same way, which is through books and other concrete methods.
On the other hand, I learned the Hebrew language through the combination
of lectures, repetition of writing, and communication. Everyone has their
own way of learning and mine was through the combination of auto, visual,
and kinesthetic learning. Moreover, I learned Hebrew literacy through
experience. My experience of moving to Israel, joining the military, and being
surrounded by the foreign culture and environment influenced and forced
me to learn this difficult, yet beautiful language of Hebrew.

Claim: Language as experience

When I first moved to Israel in 2012, I only knew the basics of Hebrew. The
first six months in Israel I refused to speak Hebrew because I was
embarrassed of how little I knew and my very heavy American accent.
However, when I went to my first draft interview for the Israel Defense Forces
I received a list of jobs that I could acquire with my low level of proficiency in
reading and writing. This list on a piece of paper, which would determine my
next two years in my military service, motivated me to learn and improve my
literacy in the Hebrew language. I then joined a military Hebrew course
where I would strenuously study the language. I slowly began to comprehend
words better and I could start speaking clear sentences without stuttering.
All this hard work in the military Hebrew course paid off when I gratefully
accepted my dream position as a physical instructor in the Air force. The
military became my institutional sponsor by giving me the motivation and
tools I needed in order to become literate in Hebrew and to be successful in
my position the Israel Defense forces.
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Something I learned from literacy acquisition is that emerging into

something will eventually force you to learn it. I was forced to learn
Hebrew because I lived surrounded by Israel culture nor did I really

have a choice if I wanted to adjust to my new living circumstances.

Reading and writing goes hand in hand. People who read books are
generally good writers because literacy is both reading and writing.

Nevertheless, people learn in different ways;visual learning, auto

learning, or both. I started with visual learning by reading picture books
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in Hebrew that a typical first grader would read.

So what? Its interesting to note that different countries have
mandatory military service so when they grow up their parents teach
them about the military and the different lango that they should expect
in the military. However, being brought up in America where there is no
mandatory draft people are brought up with military literacy skills
because it isnt deemed to be needed.