JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

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.
Post Reply
Prolixus Valens
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:43 pm

JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by Prolixus Valens »

I was just wondering how fast one should go through the books? I plan to take a year, but that might be too slow. Also, how many days should I dedicate to each section before moving on? Perhaps someone could give me a schedule? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

mwh
Textkit Zealot
Posts: 4777
Joined: Fri Oct 18, 2013 2:34 am

Re: JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by mwh »

I think that so long as you keep up a regular schedule, you’d do best to find a pace that works for you. Not too fast, or you won’t remember what you’ve learnt. And not too slow, ditto. A year sounds reasonable. The important thing is to dedicate a slice of time to it every single day, if at all possible. And always review what you’ve done.

The JACT book I like a lot, but it’s not really designed for independent learning. It works best with a teacher who knows Greek really well. There is however a Study Guide for independent learners. I haven’t seen it but it could be useful to you. There are (or used to be) also little packets of supplementary materials and charts, including paradigms. It can be helpful over time to see the grammar more systematically set out than it is in the main book, however well phased in it is there.

User avatar
bedwere
Global Moderator
Posts: 5098
Joined: Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:23 pm
Location: Didacopoli in California
Contact:

Re: JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by bedwere »

I started learning Greek on my own from scratch using the 1st edition. Do buy the independent study guide as I did and enjoy!

Prolixus Valens
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 22
Joined: Fri Nov 01, 2013 7:43 pm

Re: JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by Prolixus Valens »

mwh wrote:I think that so long as you keep up a regular schedule, you’d do best to find a pace that works for you. Not too fast, or you won’t remember what you’ve learnt. And not too slow, ditto. A year sounds reasonable. The important thing is to dedicate a slice of time to it every single day, if at all possible. And always review what you’ve done.
Yeah, that's what I used to do. However, I have found that doing one chapter per week in Lingua Latina, for Latin, works amazingly well. I would like to do JACT Reading Greek the same way, but the books have a weird organization. Each chapter, as I call it, has anywhere between 3–10 sections. I just can't figure out a good method of dividing it up so that I get to cover each section repeatedly while doing roughly the same amount of work each week.
The JACT book I like a lot, but it’s not really designed for independent learning. It works best with a teacher who knows Greek really well. There is however a Study Guide for independent learners. I haven’t seen it but it could be useful to you. There are (or used to be) also little packets of supplementary materials and charts, including paradigms. It can be helpful over time to see the grammar more systematically set out than it is in the main book, however well phased in it is there.
I do have the study guide as well.
bedwere wrote:I started learning Greek on my own from scratch using the 1st edition. Do buy the independent study guide as I did and enjoy!
I'm sure that I'm going to enjoy it. I'm a little worried about pronunciation, but I'm not goint to sweat it. I just want a reading knowledge for philosophy and theology study.

Any tips for a one year schedule? I'll probably do 6–7 days per week.

yeshua8866
Textkit Neophyte
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Jan 21, 2019 1:26 am

Re: JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by yeshua8866 »

Hello
I found that 'more haste less speed' is the rule with JACT (and learning greek in general). I did the activities in each chapter twice and my own verb and noun drills each day to review what I learned (eg. Verb case and tense drill, 3rd decl noun drill)and rereading chapters and memorising vocab. Dont rush it.
One year is a very good, but intense schedule. it takes an hour per day, 6 days a week. But perhaps I am a slow learner...
Good luck!

RandyGibbons
Textkit Enthusiast
Posts: 465
Joined: Sat Mar 30, 2013 9:10 pm

Re: JACT Reading Greek 2nd Ed. Schedule

Post by RandyGibbons »

Ditto all the above. I used the 2nd ed., and I'd say about a year is a reasonable expectation. To state the obvious: Don't advance from one section to the next (the organization of the course does take a bit of getting used to) until you've reviewed the current section and you are confident you've mastered it enough to move on. As mwh says, and as you must know from your previous experience, a consistent and preferably daily schedule is more important than pace per se.

mwh says JACT is not really designed for independent learning, but actually, as the authors state in their 2nd ed. preface, the Study Guide is intended precisely for independent learners (unlike Athenaze, which is inimical to independent study). You say you have the Study Guide, and you'll want to use it.

Especially to help you with the pronunciation, I also recommend the accompanying 2-cd set. It's excellently produced. One decision you'll have to make with respect to pronunciation is whether you want to try to master pitch accent or not, and the cd's will also help with that (if memory serves). Given your stated interests, I'm guessing you won't, and I think even most people who initially wanted to master pitch accent, including myself, gave up on it after a while.

Depending on your interests, you might also want to buy their The World of Athens: An Introduction to Classical Athenian Culture. It's also quality. It's strictly optional though and is not part of the language learning curriculum.

Enjoy!

Randy Gibbons

Post Reply