New Greek Teacher
Posted: November 6th, 2019, 5:29 pm
Hello, everyone! My name is Adam and I've just begun teaching a college Greek class. I wanted to share with you what I've learned so far during this Fall semester, and reach out to the body of wisdom present here for pointers
I took three semesters of Greek at the undergraduate level, and have spent the last 5 years self-educating at a mostly intermediate level. I initially learned my teacher's custom curriculum, then via Black's "Learn to Read New Testament Greek," then a hodgepodge of other resources, including Wallace's "Beyond the Basics." After reading much advice on this forum, and looking at a variety of reviews and criticisms, I landed on Mounce's BBG as a curriculum, and I've been working through it ahead of my students to make sure there aren't any relevant holes in my understanding.
Our school is currently seeking accreditation, so I am working towards a MA in Practical Theology, which will be complete beforehand. I believe I may need to supplement with Greek-specific classes, but I'm not sure. Consider that a question raised, if any of you have recommendations about that.
For the BBG, I started out by assigning "discovery" homework, saving class time for "practice" work, but I found that the students weren't discovering enough during the week to practice in-class. So, I reversed the order: discovery in-class, practice homework. I've found that works much better, as the closed-book exam grades have shown. We cover the chapter material using Mounce's slides, using the whiteboard for examples and small amounts of practice. I then assign the chapter reading, workbook exercises, and quiz. The students do and check their own work before handing it in, knowing that if they just cheat with the key, they'll fail the in-class exams. I also strongly encourage them to make flash cards, and use Mounce's online practice materials.
So far, this system has been working. I am curious as to how others teach these materials, or others, and could always do with some criticism or additional advice.
Final tidbit: I absolutely love ἡ κοινή διάλεκτος, and I'd love to keep picking your brains!
I took three semesters of Greek at the undergraduate level, and have spent the last 5 years self-educating at a mostly intermediate level. I initially learned my teacher's custom curriculum, then via Black's "Learn to Read New Testament Greek," then a hodgepodge of other resources, including Wallace's "Beyond the Basics." After reading much advice on this forum, and looking at a variety of reviews and criticisms, I landed on Mounce's BBG as a curriculum, and I've been working through it ahead of my students to make sure there aren't any relevant holes in my understanding.
Our school is currently seeking accreditation, so I am working towards a MA in Practical Theology, which will be complete beforehand. I believe I may need to supplement with Greek-specific classes, but I'm not sure. Consider that a question raised, if any of you have recommendations about that.
For the BBG, I started out by assigning "discovery" homework, saving class time for "practice" work, but I found that the students weren't discovering enough during the week to practice in-class. So, I reversed the order: discovery in-class, practice homework. I've found that works much better, as the closed-book exam grades have shown. We cover the chapter material using Mounce's slides, using the whiteboard for examples and small amounts of practice. I then assign the chapter reading, workbook exercises, and quiz. The students do and check their own work before handing it in, knowing that if they just cheat with the key, they'll fail the in-class exams. I also strongly encourage them to make flash cards, and use Mounce's online practice materials.
So far, this system has been working. I am curious as to how others teach these materials, or others, and could always do with some criticism or additional advice.
Final tidbit: I absolutely love ἡ κοινή διάλεκτος, and I'd love to keep picking your brains!