TALMA: The Israel Program For Excellence In English

06/10/2026

𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬. 𝐖𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫.

This week we think of everyone who was taken from us on October 7, and of our own TALMA community members among them:

Yanai Heller Hetzroni Z"L, a TALMA student from Kibbutz Be'eri
Noy Aviv Z"L, a Co-Teacher in Eilat and a talented singer
Shlomi Matias Z"L, a Co-Teacher in the Eshkol Region, murdered together with his wife Deborah Z"L while protecting their son

We don't only remember them on this date. At our Summer Fellowship ceremony, three fellows received awards bearing their names:

The Yanai Hezroni Award for Leadership and Impact
The Shlomi Matias Award for Kindness and Service
The Noy Aviv Award for Community and Connection

So that who they were and what they stood for is carried forward to the next generation.

Thank you to Birthright Israel Onward and The Phoenix Financial for standing with us in this.

May their memories be a blessing. 🕯️

24/09/2026

Nice to Fellow you, Emma! 💙

Meet Emma Duncan: a 4th grade general studies teacher at Ann and Nate Levine Academy in Dallas, Texas, who joined TALMA's Summer Fellowship 2026 and came to teach at Ben Shemen Youth Village.

She arrived to teach English. Her students, in return, taught her Hebrew - "some appropriate and some not" and one word she's still using: לזרום, lizrom. To go with the flow.

"My students taught me to be flexible and to 'lizrom'."

Emma told us TALMA made her a better language teacher. She learned how to teach children who don't share her language, but do share the vision of connecting through it. And she's taken something home too - bringing the culture and identity of Israel into her classroom in Dallas. 🌍

Thank you, Emma. 🧡

22/09/2026

Something new is coming to Kiryat Shmona! ✨

TALMA is launching a new preschool and kindergarten English program, bringing experiential English learning to young children through play, creativity, and connection. 🎵🎨

We're looking for an English Lead for Kindergartens who is fluent in English and has experience working with children. You'll work alongside Hebrew-speaking teachers to lead engaging English activities and bring the language to life for young learners.

You bring the English, experience, and connection with children - we provide the training, tools, and ongoing professional support. 🌿

📍 Kiryat Shmona | 60% position | Starting October 2026

More details & apply >> https://monday.talmaisrael.co.il/jobs?job=3227602513

20/09/2026

Us, one minute into the fast. 😅

A quick anecdote before Yom Kippur:

For years, the standard wish was צום קל - tzom kal, "an easy fast." Lately you'll hear צום מועיל - tzom mo'il, "a meaningful fast." The shift is deliberate: the idea is that a fast in Judaism isn't meant to be easy, it's meant to have a spiritual purpose.

Both are warm. Both are correct. Pick whichever you mean. 🤍

08/09/2026

Nice to Fellow you, Karlin! 💙

Meet Karlin Edwards: a 4th–8th grade school counselor in Nashville, Tennessee, who joined TALMA's Summer Fellowship 2026 and came to teach in Kiryat Ata.

She told us TALMA gave her a way to give back to a community she otherwise wouldn't have reached. And the classroom gave something back: "My students taught me patience and to live more in the moment."

Her favorite moment? The final week, when her students took turns standing up and telling her in English how much they enjoyed learning with her and how much they'd miss her. Every sentence they'd been building all summer, used for something that mattered to them. 👏

This is what English for Change looks like.

Thank you, Karlin. 🧡

06/09/2026

מה מביא מורה מדרום-מערב אנגליה ללמד אנגלית בכסייפה?

שון קאלארד Sean Adam גדל במשפחה נוצרית באקסטר, ותמיד הרגיש חיבור לישראל. אחרי 7 באוקטובר הוא החליט שהתגובה שלו תהיה פשוטה: לבוא לכאן וללמד.

בקיץ 2024 הוא הגיע לראשונה במסגרת תוכנית הקיץ של תלמ"א ולימד תלמידי כיתה ה' באשקלון. הקיץ הוא חזר - הפעם לכסייפה.

ומה שהוא מספר על הכיתה הוא בדיוק הלב של מה שאנחנו עושים:
"הם ידעו הרבה יותר אנגלית ממה שחשבתי. הבעיה הייתה הביטחון לדבר."

הוא לא דובר עברית וזה בדיוק מה שעבד. התלמידים נאלצו להשתמש באנגלית: לעבוד יחד כדי להרכיב משפט, להסביר לו מה הם רוצים. "בתוך שלושה שבועות ראינו התקדמות אמיתית."

זה מה שקורה כשאנגלית מפסיקה להיות מקצוע בבית הספר והופכת לשפה מדוברת - היא הופכת ממחסום להזדמנות. ✨

תודה לשון, שבחר לבוא. פעמיים. 🙏
ותודה לוואלה שבע דרום על הכתבה.

הכתבה המלאה כאן 👇

"איבדתי חברים בגלל שתמכתי בישראל": הבריטי הנוצרי שהגיע ללמד ילדים בכסייפה

26/08/2026

A week of training, trips, and new connections - and now the year begins.

40 Teaching Fellows just finished Orientation Week for TALMA’s Annual Program. Half are new. Half are coming back for another year.

They’ll be teaching in Ashkelon, Jerusalem, Ben Shemen, Sderot, Eilat, Kiryat Ata, and for the first time, Nahariya and Kfar Aza. 💙

Teaching, learning, community, connection. More Than a Classroom. ✨

11/08/2026

Ruhama and Kfar Aza have been through a lot and their youngest kids deserve every door we can open for them.

TALMA is looking for an English Lead for Kindergartens -bringing spoken English to little ones through play, movement, creativity, and conversation. Teaching English the way kids naturally pick it up. 💙

📍 Approx. 25 hours/week | Ruhama & Kfar Aza
🚗 Driver’s license & vehicle required

Full details and applications 👇
https://monday.talmaisrael.co.il/jobs?job=3093878624

11/08/2026

Not your average teaching job!

TALMA is looking for an English Debate Program Instructor to teach across three schools in the Merhavim Region - where students argue, persuade, and think on their feet, all in English. It’s interesting, it’s fast, and it builds confidence that lasts well beyond the classroom. 💙

📍 20% position | Tuesdays required | Merhavim Region
🚗 Driver’s license & vehicle required

Full details and applications 👇
https://monday.talmaisrael.co.il/jobs?job=3093820193

04/08/2026

𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲. 𝐀𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭.

Through our continued partnership with Birthright Israel Onward, and with the generous support of The Phoenix Financial, Fellows from around the world joined Israeli educators to create meaningful summer learning experiences for children across Israel.

For the past 12 summers, TALMA has believed that learning doesn’t stop when the school year ends.

At a time when Israeli children need stability, confidence, and meaningful experiences more than ever, summer learning becomes about much more than keeping up with English. It becomes an opportunity to inspire curiosity, strengthen spoken English, build self-confidence, and create connections that continue long after the summer ends.

This summer, fellows and Israeli educators worked together across Jerusalem, Kiryat Ata, Kseifa, and Ben Shemen Youth Village , creating unforgettable learning experiences for thousands of students through spoken English, experiential learning, and cross-cultural connection.

As we conclude our 12th TALMA Summer Program, we are grateful to every fellow, educator, partner, municipality, and team member who helped turn English into something much bigger than a language-an opportunity to connect, grow, and create lasting change.

𝐓𝐞𝐚𝐜𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐡. 𝐂𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞. 💙