[B-Greek] Re: Criteria for evaluating NT Greek Intro Grammars
W. Fulton
WarrenFulton at telering.at
Fri Feb 20 13:24:48 EST 2004
Dr. Conrad wrote:
> . [. . . ] I think that yesterday's discussion was
> focused most fundamentally upon textbooks for teaching and learning
ancient
> Greek, whether Classical Attic or NT Koine, and NOT upon reference
grammars.
> [. . . ] We were talking about"primers" and
"textbooks,"
>about the books most useful for the first steps in learning ancient Greek.
OK, if this "primer" is the kind of book teachers and students have to
evaluate, they might want to start with this little checklist. It's not
the exhaustive tool, perhaps, that Joseph wanted, but it's a framework to
build on.
1. Statement of goals
- obtainable learning objectives
- promotion of fluency
- target language
- self-checks and feedback
- measured scope
First, you have to evaluate according to the book's own stated purpose. Are
the stated goals realistic? Or is it another one of those "learn-Greek-in-
30-hours" scams? Do the stated goals include the important skill domain of
verbal fluency, or does the course at least aim at promoting a sense of the
patterns and rhythms of speech? Does the author have a clear notion of
what variety of Greek as used in what contexts is targeted? Is there any
way of measuring one's progress toward these goals? Is the scope of the
content delineated (e.g. "covers the basic 600 words") or do you just
"learn Greek"?
2. Utility of tool box
- range of exercises (extra workbook?)
- reading practice (extra reader?)
- listening component (CD?)
- reference section (separate morphological guide?)
- methodological aids
Does the course contain all the features you need? For example, Carl
mentioned the appendices. How easy-to-use and how "durable" is the
reference section? The features should be in line with your goals.
If there is an expressed oral goal, for instance, the course should have
a listening component.
The course should give methodological support to the skills you need to
develop. Maybe memorization hints are important, maybe translation aids.
(e.g. Joseph has mentioned: "Include both G -> E and E -> G practice.")
3. Quality of underlying teaching program
- step-by-step sequencing
- goal-orientation
- concentric programming
- sentence as showcase
- inside view
How many concepts does the course try to teach at one time? (You can only
learn one thing at a time.) Are these concepts set forth in a logical
sequence that builds smoothly from one point to another, without little
surprises popping up everywhere? Do the activities match the stated skill
goals? Is the content divided into huge chunks of grammar (lesson
heading: "NOUNS!") or broken down into manageable steps? Does the author
present new language in real sentences or simply through rules and
paradigms? Are the language patterns contoured by lots of examples? Do
the basic patterns of usage emerge clearly enough for you to see how the
language works from within, or is all you get an external description of
how it works?
4. Selection of content
- based on student needs
- based on linguistic analysis (word counts, grammatical complexity)
- based on functions, not just structures
- based on topics and themes
- based on target language
There is an unfortunate tendency among authors of language "primers," a
remnant probably from their dusty old "grammars," to build the course
around syntactical categories or complex texts. We've done the 1st and
2nd declensions, now for the third. We've done John's prologue, now
let's move onto v. 19. If content is only selected by "what comes next,"
the learner is quickly overwhelmed. More efficient selection criteria
are frequency, simplicity, and usefulness of the target items. One way
you can see if the author is making a real effort to select language
according to student needs is if there are chapter headings like "How
Greeks Expressed Obligation" (functional) or "1st-Century Professions"
(topical).
Another sure sign that there is a learner-friendly plan at work behind
the material is that new language content easily combines with old. In
the beginners' English course I helped design, we had a rule that if a
lexical item was only needed once, it wasn't really needed at all. A
lean and mean lesson plan will have no loose ends. Everything is tied
together and keeps getting recycled.
The last point above refers to staying on target as regards the type of
language presented. If the book targets Biblical Greek, we don't need
artificial sentences about the fountain pen of my aunt. Joseph put it
this way: "All practice sentences and examples are drawn as nearly from
actual texts as possible."
5. Presentation of content
- variety of models
- visual layout
- usage patterns, not just paradigms
- simplified explanations
- summary and review tables
Do the language models include dialogues and mini-texts, questions and
answers, descriptions and narratives? Or just one kind of prose? Is the
page layout attractive to the eye? Does it highlight the key messages?
Is new information presented in a way that the eye can readily see and
the brain grasp? Are there pattern boxes as well as verb charts? Does
the author "keep it simple"? Are there review and summary pages?
6. Process-oriented quality features
- production team
- review process
- editorial guidelines
- piloting and revision
- quality assurance
While these last items are always visible, they're not always apparent
at first glance.
Warren Fulton
Vienna
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