by Barry Hofstetter » August 18th, 2011, 7:54 am
I agree that two verses a day and parsing everything in sight is an excellent start. Randall has given good advice – you don't want to stay there, but to wean yourself from parsing and and increase your reading as much as possible. Parsing is always a means to the end, and it's like the alphabet – we don't expect a 5th grader to recite the alphabet everyday, we expect her to use it in reading without a second thought about it. That's how automatic your parsing should come – see the word, know the word. This just takes lots of reading and practice. The secret formula for success in learning Greek or any ancient language: perseverance and diligence!
I have been reading through the GNT a chapter+ a day since 1979. It has helped. A lot.
Let me also chorus reading as much extra-biblical Greek as your schedule allows. Seeing old friends (vocabulary) in new and exciting contexts, more practice with your grammar and syntax (tools that should also become automatic over time) greatly enhances your ability with GNT. Stephen mentioned LXX, AF, and Josephus. I would Epictetus, and for fun factors Lucian's True Histories and Aesop's Fabulae. That's just to start – ancient Greek from any period will help.
N.E. Barry Hofstetter
Instructor of Classics
The American Academy