Self learning motivation for Greek

[Dimitri]

For those individuals learning Greek on their own as a self-study program, what study techniques keep you motivated to study?

thanks,
Dimitri

[jk0592]

I started about one and a half years ago. I am struggling now with volume 2 of Athenaze.

When I get tired of studying grammar, verbs and vocabulary, I keep my motivation by reading Herodotus, and trying to gauge my progress.

[vir litterarum]

I would recommend a learning program that uses selections from ancient texts. As long as u are constantly referring to ancient authors as you teach yourself the language, you shouldn't become bored.

[Amadeus]

I don't have any techniques for keeping myself motivated. What motivates me just happens... I can be struggling for days with one passage from Rouse's book and be ready to quit, but then one word finally makes sense and everything else becomes clearer. Ahhh, what a good feeling that is! Or else, I can finish a terribly difficult chapter without any good sensation, but then the next one proves to be a piece of cake. Ahhh, that's like paradise! Anywho, why don't you grab yourself an easy Greek reader and go over it once you finish a lesson you thought was particulary difficult: it will probably make your studies less boring.

Keep going!

[Bert]

I started about one and a half years ago. I am struggling now with volume 2 of Athenaze.

When I get tired of studying grammar, verbs and vocabulary, I keep my motivation by reading Herodotus, and trying to gauge my progress.

My experience is similar. When I get tired of memory work etc, I just read for a while. You still learn Greek, (better perhaps) but in a more enjoyable way.

[Dimitri]

Thank you for all of your wonderful responses!

Dimitri

[Apollimagine]

ΧαίÏ￾ε, ὦ ϕίλε!

My study material was the German Gottwein course that includes translation exercises from German into Ancient Greek. These exercises contributed a lot to my motivation because I wanted to be able to produce Greek texts, and the exercises helped me keep an eye on my progress of being able to write Greek. I believe that if I had used common German study material like Kantharos (a book used at German schools), I would never have got that far.
From time to time, naturally, I too was confronted with sentences that I did not understand at all. Whenever I was just too frustrated to go on, I spent some time reading Aesopian fables (my favourites ) without worrying too much about details until I felt better and felt I could go on.