About YiddishPOP

YiddishPOP is an interactive program that teaches Yiddish to speakers of other languages. Versatile and easy to use, YiddishPOP assumes no prior knowledge of Yiddish, while systematically expanding the student’s knowledge of grammar and vocabulary, constantly building on previously taught elements.

Each YiddishPOP lesson encompasses three interconnected, animated sections: a short movie features an original story — about a girl named Nomi and her best friend Moby the robot — that incorporates new vocabulary and new grammar; Vokabular introduces the vocabulary of each movie, and Gramatik highlights each movie’s new grammar. Engaging supplementary features are included in each lesson, helping to broaden the student’s appreciation and understanding of Yiddish language and culture.

YiddishPOP is based on BrainPOP ELL (English Language Learner), the work and creation of Dr. Naomi Prawer Kadar, which has earned distinctions and prizes worldwide. Dr. Kadar’s dream was to develop an educational Yiddish program following the same pedagogy she used in BrainPOP ELL. When she did not live to see that vision realized, her family undertook the development of YiddishPOP in her memory and honor. The Kadar family gathered a team of Yiddish scholars and specialists to create a program that makes learning the language accessible and fun for students of all ages.