RE: Intro Grammars

From: H. Fred Nofer (docnof@juno.com)
Date: Thu Jan 30 1997 - 17:12:37 EST


I would suggest that before you decide on a grammar, time should be taken
to reflect on exactly what you want your students to be able to do when
you finish the course. In fact, what you want them to do when they
finish their Greek studies, for, as we know, where you start has a great
deal to say about where you end up.

Do you want them to be Greek scholars, teachers of Greek, exegetes, or
simply pastors who know their Greek well enough to do a credible job of
exposition?

For instance, if the last group is the group you are working with, is it
essential that they learn all the primary and secondary rules for
accenting? Wouldn't it be enough that they had access to them without
spending time committing them to memory? For this group, it might also
be sufficient that they not learn the verb paradigms but master the
parsing of the verb through a recognition process. On the other hand,
would learning to speak koine Greek be an advantage? Wouldn't that time
spent learning to read and translate properly be of better use? All
these questions and more, it seems to me, should precede the choosing of
an introductory grammar.

Choosing the beginning grammar will not only set the mold for the future,
but it may also decide how many stay with the study all together.

H. Fred Nofer



This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.4 : Sat Apr 20 2002 - 15:38:04 EDT