Online English lessons for children in Israel: from Hebrew or Arabic to confident English

How do children in Israel learn English at school?

English is taught as a subject in Israeli schools from the primary years, both in Hebrew-speaking and Arabic-speaking schools, and it continues through to the end of high school, where it is one of the Bagrut matriculation subjects. Some schools introduce English earlier, and the amount of English varies between schools and classes.

Many children in Israel hear a lot of English online and on screen, so they often understand more than they can say or read. Your child's school is the best source for what their class covers this year, and their English teacher can tell you which skills to focus on.

What does learning to read English involve for a Hebrew reader?

Hebrew is written from right to left, and young children first learn to read it with vowel marks, the dots and lines known as nikud. Later, those marks disappear and readers fill in the vowels from context. English is written from left to right and always shows its vowels, but spells them in many ways, as in see, sea and me.

So a child may skip vowels when spelling English, mix up b and d for a while, or guess words from their shape. Phonics, which teaches English letter sounds and blending in a clear order, makes reading predictable. See what phonics is and sight words vs phonics.

And for a child who speaks Arabic at home?

Arabic-speaking children face similar steps: Arabic is also written right to left and usually without short vowels. They may also find the English p and v sounds new, as Arabic doesn't have them, so park can sound like bark and van like fan at first. These settle with listening and practice. Many Arabic-speaking children in Israel also learn Hebrew, so English is often their third language, and that experience helps.

Which English sounds take practice for Hebrew speakers?

• English vowels. Hebrew has five vowel sounds; English has many more, so ship and sheep, or cat and cut, can sound alike.
• **The th sounds** in think and this, which may come out as s, t, z or d.
• W and v, as in wet and vet.
• The English r, which is made further forward in the mouth than the Hebrew r.

These are normal and improve with listening and practice. A teacher who models the sound and shows the mouth shape on camera helps more than repeated correction.

When can a child in Israel fit in an online lesson?

The Israeli week starts on Sunday, and for most families the weekend is Friday and Saturday. The simplest option is usually to choose a 25-minute lesson after school, between about 4pm and 8pm from Sunday to Thursday, or a Friday morning. With no journey, a lesson fits between school, after-school activities and dinner.

Israel changes its clocks in spring and autumn, and not always on the same dates as other countries. If your child's teacher is somewhere with different clock-change dates, the lesson time can shift for a week or two. In those weeks, check the time of your next lessons. Our guide to online lessons across time zones explains more.

What can 1-to-1 lessons add to school English?

In a class, each child speaks only a little. In a 1-to-1 lesson your child talks for much of the time, the teacher follows their pace, and gaps get noticed and filled quickly: a sound that's still shaky, a spelling pattern that keeps tripping them up, or the confidence to answer in full sentences. For quieter children, the difference can be striking. See when a child is shy to speak English.

What should I look for in online English lessons?

• A live, real teacher who listens and responds to your child.
• 1-to-1 lessons that follow your child's level.
• Clear phonics for reading and spelling.
• A starting level, feedback after lessons and visible progress.
• Short, lively lessons with games for younger children.
• Clear safety rules: checked teachers, lessons only inside the provider's classroom, and a way to report a concern.

To describe your child's level on an international scale, the CEFR uses “can do” statements. Its early levels for children are Pre-A1, A1 and A2. See CEFR levels for children explained.

How can I support English at home in Israel?

• Read English picture books together, pointing to each word from left to right.
• Play vowel games: ship or sheep? Hat or hut? Take turns being the one who asks.
• Turn English shows into conversation: ask what happened, in English.
• Keep reading in Hebrew or Arabic too. Strong reading in one language helps the other.
• Ask your child to teach you a new English word or phrase after each lesson.

How would CurioKids lessons work for a family in Israel?

CurioKids gives children aged 4–12 live, 1-to-1 online English lessons with a real teacher, 25 minutes each, in the CurioKids classroom: video, an interactive whiteboard, lesson slides and games. Younger children usually start with Phonics Starter; a child who already reads can be placed straight into a CEFR-based level after the free first lesson. Teachers can't teach until our team has confirmed a background check and they have signed our teaching agreement. See our levels and safety pages.

Visit our Israel page to see how lessons work, what your child will learn and how we keep children safe. If lessons for families in Israel haven't opened yet, the page has a waitlist: leave your details and we'll let you know when you can book your child's free first lesson. Plans for families in Israel are priced in Israeli new shekels: see the prices for Israel.