fall 2026 Yiddish Classes
Chicago YIVO Society is pleased to offer a variety of Yiddish classes this fall. New students are welcome to join any class that is an appropriate level for them. Please see details below, ask questions to info@chicagoyivo.org, and register today.
learn the letters
Wednesdays
6:30pm - 8:00pm
In Person in Rogers Park
6932 N. Glenwood ave.
September, 16, 23, 30
October 7
Learn the Yiddish letters and how to read and write. This will be a fun and friendly group experience to get you ready for our Beginner Yiddish class, and to open up worlds of Jewish literature and communication. Please note: Yiddish uses the same letters as Hebrew, so if you know those, you have a good start, but this class will help you learn how the letters work in Yiddish - its different!
Avi Fried has been teaching Yiddish since 2019. He particularly enjoys welcoming newcomers and beginners to the language. He has a BA in Yiddish Language from Lund University, Sweden - and is a long time member of The Workers Circle and YIVO. He lives in Chicago, where he drinks coffee and enjoys various noodle soups.
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Beginner
Wednesdays
6:30pm - 8:00pm
In Person in Rogers Park
6932 N. Glenwood ave.
October 14, 21, 28
November 4, 11, 18, 25
December 2, 9, 16
A foundational Yiddish class, diving into the joys of grammar, vocabulary, reading, writing, and lots of talking and singing. We'll work from the beloved textbook Yiddish: An Introduction to the Language, Literature, and Culture. If you don't know the Yiddish letters yet, both print and handwriting, please also sign up for the letters class listed above.
Benna grew up speaking Yiddish at home with her mother. She has studied Yiddish at the YIVO Intensive Yiddish Summer Program and, most recently, at the Maison de la Culture Yiddish in Paris. She has attended the annual Yugntruf Yidish Vokh every year since she was two, and has been teaching for YIVO Chicago for 7 years.
second year
Tuesdays
6:30pm - 8:00pm CST
In Person at the Harold Washington Central Library, 400 S. State st.
October 6, 13, 20, 27
November 3, 10, 17, 24
December 1, 8, 15, 22
This is a fun, serious, and dynamic group course using the newly published In Eynem textbook, which encourages conversation, self-expression, and contemporary usage. We will pick up in chapter 10 (volume 1), with an expectation that students have developing sophistication in reading, writing, present tense verb/converb conjugations, word order, and negation
Chana Toth-Sewell is a PhD student in Slavic Languages and Literatures. She has taught Yiddish at the University of Chicago and participated in the Yiddish Book Center's Pedagogy Fellowship and the Yiddish in Berlin Lerer Seminar. She has also studied Yiddish at the Yiddish Book Center's Steiner Summer Yiddish Program and the YIVO Intensive Summer Program.
Intermediate
Thursdays
6:30pm - 8:00pm CST
Virtual on Zoom
October 8, 15, 22, 29
November 5, 12, 19
December 3, 10, 17
This is a continuation of the previous term of Intermediate Yiddish, but will warmly welcome new students. We will continue building our grammar skills at chapter 18 of the In Eynem textbook (vol. 2). The class is all in Yiddish so students should have capacity to understand, speak, and read, but we will build up writing skills and sophistication of tenses, cases, and word order.
Anye Koyfmentsh has been learning Yiddish for 25 years, and teaching for 10. She trained as a Yiddish teacher through the Yiddish Book Center, and as a Talmud teacher through Svara. As an enthusiastic member of a vibrant Yiddish speaking community, she is eager to include more people so they can make their own friendships, art, and relationships with Yiddish. She translated the Yiddish novel Your Comrade, Avreml Broide, which was released in November, 2024.
advanced
Wednesdays
6:30pm - 8:00pm CST
Virtual on Zoom
October 7, 14, 21, 28
November 4, 11, 18, 25
December 2, 9, 16, 23
This is a continuation of the previous term, but will warmly welcome new students. We will focus some attention on practicing and improving conversation skills, review Volume 2 of Yiddish: An Introduction to the Language, Literature, and Culture, and read some serious literature (which might be funny.) This class is held entirely in Yiddish.
Anye Koyfmentsh has been learning Yiddish for 25 years, and teaching for 10. She trained as a Yiddish teacher through the Yiddish Book Center, and as a Talmud teacher through Svara. As an enthusiastic member of a vibrant Yiddish speaking community, she is eager to include more people so they can make their own friendships, art, and relationships with Yiddish. She translated the Yiddish novel Your Comrade, Avreml Broide, which was released in November, 2024.
Tuition
Tuition rates for all courses are below. You will receive a link to make a payment at the time you complete registration, or you can pay here.
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4 week term (Learn the Letters)
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$80 full tuition
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$54 reduced tuition
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10 week term (Beginner or Intermediate)
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$200 full tuition
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$135 reduced tuition
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12 week term (Second Year or Advanced)
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$240 full tuition
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$162 reduced tuition
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We also offer the Khane-Faygl Turtletaub Memorial Scholarship to cover full tuition for one student in need every semester. To apply for the scholarship, please email yiddishchicago@gmail.com
No student is turned away for inability to pay, to arrange an alternative payment plan please write to us at yiddishchicago@gmail.com.
Course Materials
Course materials are referenced in class descriptions. An English-Yiddish/Yiddish-English dictionary is always strongly recommended, but not required. A great option is the Comprehensive English-Yiddish Dictionary edited by Gitl Schaechter-Vishwanath and Paul Glaser
together with the Comprehensive Yiddish-English Dictionary edited by Solon Beinfeld and Harry Bochner.
Please be in touch with the instructors for guidance about prerequisites and how to prepare to join a class.