Internalizing Attic Greek

Here you can discuss all things Ancient Greek. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Greek, and more.
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Eyeshield
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Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:20 pm

Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Eyeshield »

Hi, i am just starting out with Attic Greek and was wondering if anyone had some advice on learning to "internalize" the language from the beginning. Thanks.

Markos
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Re: Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Markos »

Yes, I do. Start using Ancient Greek right from the beginning. Speak it, write it (not comp excercises but write e-mails to real people.) Listen to it. Write to us on the Agora here at Textkit. Join us on Schole

http://schole.ning.com/profiles/blogs/h ... ost-out-of

Make a video where you introduce yourself in Ancient Greek and show us the books you are using. τουτο το βιβλιον μου εστιν.

Most of us who use Greek first learned how to read it pretty well, so it is easier for us. On the other hand, if you start using it right from the beginning it may be easier for you to learn to read it. We need people like you to test our theory as to how well Living Language Methods work for beginners.
οὐ μανθάνω γράφειν, ἀλλὰ γράφω τοῦ μαθεῖν.

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Quin Firefrorefiddle
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Re: Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Quin Firefrorefiddle »

Hi Eyeshield- my Greek is sadly lacking at the moment, but I did have fairly decent Koine a couple years ago, and I'm happy to tell you what worked for me.

The classes I was taking were focused on translating, but the professor insisted that we read aloud sentences at a time- simple ones, ones we could puzzle out- before translating them. At first I thought he was full of it, but eventually I realized that I would already know what the sense of the sentences were before we started translating them. It was unconscious internalization!

So I suggest reading passages aloud to yourself- ones that are at or a little below your difficulty level- without consciously trying to translate them, and I think you'll start to notice this happening. Also, sometimes when you translate- once you've reached a certain basic comfort level with whatever level of the language you're at- when you sit down to translate a passage, don't go through and do all the parsing and such right away. Instead, read the passage aloud to yourself, and then try to translate the passage off the cuff, in a gestalt. As time goes on you'll notice yourself getting better and better at it. And it will keep your brain from treating the language like a really tricky math problem. (You know- suffix plus accent mark equals pluperfect, or whatever.) That math problem approach has always been the kiss of death for my language learning attempts.

This will also eventually lead you to be able to *think* in Greek, and that, to mix cultural mythologies a bit, is the Holy Grail. Several years ago when I was desperately trying to pass my French classes (huzzah for the pity D) I found that I had to stop myself from using French prepositions in daily conversation. This was the first sign of internalization- but since I suppressed it so hard, it never came to anything.

The previous poster was also correct that the more often you use the language- not just study it, but use it- the easier it will become. Good luck!
Pax vobiscum!

Eyeshield
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Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:20 pm

Re: Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Eyeshield »

Sorry for the delay.

Markos and Firefrorefiddle, thank you both for your very detailed posts. I found them both very helpfull, as well as the link leading to the post on schole.

Since my first post, I have enrolled in the Athenaze course offered at biblicalgreek.org, because it emphasizes internalizing the language as the main goal of the course.

As for posting videos and conversing in Greek, I would love to give that a shot in the future, but at the moment I want devote all of my time to the course to which I have just enrolled. However, I plan on incorporating much of the advice that I have recieved from the both of you into my studies.

Thank you again.

Markos
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Re: Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Markos »

Let us know how that course goes. I have seen the free preview and am curious about it. How much does it really use audio and active use learning?
οὐ μανθάνω γράφειν, ἀλλὰ γράφω τοῦ μαθεῖν.

Eyeshield
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Posts: 5
Joined: Sat Jun 12, 2010 11:20 pm

Re: Internalizing Attic Greek

Post by Eyeshield »

Well, I can't say all that much yet, since I am still working through the first section of the course; however, there seems to be plenty of videos and audio. The course follows the structure of the book very closely. So far I have only purchased the first of 9 units; however, from what I have seen, there are four videos per chapter of the book (two for each section). The first video for each section deals with vocabulary, and the second deals with grammar and discusses the section reading. In between each video, one is to translate the section reading and to then listen to the recording of the reading over and over again until one is able to understand the Greek at the speed of the recording, without relying on English. (I am working through this part as we speak.)

Through the videos, he uses Greek while he teaches, so that the student can make an effort to "think" in Greek outside of the readings. God willing, I will report back after I finish the first unit and am better able to comment on the quality and content of the course, but from what I have seen so far, it seems to be pretty impressive.

Thanks for your interest.

Eyeshield

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