[B-Greek] Re: Criteria for evaluating NT Greek Intro Grammars
Carl W. Conrad
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
Fri Feb 20 15:39:07 EST 2004
This is splendid, absolutely splendid! Now, just where did I get that
impression that it was authored by someone who runs an institute for the
teaching of languages im gemuetlichen alten Wien auf der schoenen braunen
Donau?
At 7:24 PM +0100 2/20/04, W. Fulton wrote:
>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
--
Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/
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