Help with gemara | Imamother

amother

Babyblue

Wed, Apr 18 2018, 9:39 pm

My 12 year old is struggling GREATLY with learning gemara. He already has private tutors, and has been evaluated for learning issues. My question is: does anyone know of any resources (approaches, computer programs, anything!) that may be helpful?? TIA

amother

cornflower

Wed, Apr 18 2018, 9:54 pm

The Gemara Academy system ( http://www.gemaraacademy.com ) has supposedly done wonders for a lot of kids. It's very systematic.

Other ideas:
- Chitrik Academy videos on YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/user/ChitrikAcademy
- Learn-to-learn Gemara flashcards (words, concepts with examples)
- Use an English Gemara (Artscroll or Koren) if he isn't already - no need to complicate an already difficult subject with a language barrier.
- Levi Shreiber (online tutor) has a method that supposedly is very effective - http://www.shreiberlearning.com

amother

Red

Thu, Apr 19 2018, 9:59 am

I asked my dh. He told me when he was first learning gemara he struggled greatly. He tried to review every night and ended up crying every night in frustration.
Today he is a Lamdan and he is very good in learning gemara. He is probably the one of the best is learning now from all those boys that were in his class in sixth grade.
Daven,Daven,Daven !
Other suggestions he said.
There is a huge difference on the quality of the tutor. See if your son enjoys learning with them. He should at least feel accomplished and feel good when he finished a session even if the process may have been hard. If he walks away more confused or even more frustrated try a different tutor.
What makes gemara hard to new learners is the combination of a totally new language and a more complex fashion of learning that is not as straight forward rather it is more analytical as opposed to chumash or mishnayos.
Which aspect is causing him more struggles or is it both equally?
Sometimes it's better to close the gemara and the tutor can just discuss the content instead. That eliminates the language issue.
If the analytical part is too hard then the concepts need to be broken down into more simple pieces of information. Then each step of analysis should be presented very slowly without too much information at one session.
He should not come away from a session with more information than he can review by himself.