[B-Greek] Using Songs in Greek Pedagogy

Louis Sorenson llsorenson at hotmail.com
Wed May 26 11:59:29 EDT 2010


Father Patrick and Dr. Somfsel,

Thanks for your replies. There is a reason I have chosen modern songs
to translate instead of ancient ones. I also focus on reading
and on action based learning. Why? The reason is based on how
a person learns a new language. Stephen Krashen, a modern linguist
who focuses on modern language learning techniques posits that 
foreign language learning happens when (1) input (hearing/reading)
is Comprehensible + 1 (2) the learner is ready and interested. 


1)In other words, the meanings of the sounds
(or written text) a student needs is based on what he/she knows 
plus just a little of  outside of the reach of the learner. 
Given adequate input, such as a picture, an action, a context
(i.e. a song), meaning will come out of the combination of the
listener's (reader's)understanding level and the comprehensible input.
This happens because the language learning facility of any person
cannot be stopped - it tries to make sense using all the
input available. There are just some things you cannot stop
yourself from understanding, given the appropriate context and information.

2) Well known songs are ingrained in peoples minds. That is why
the first thing I have a student do is to listen to the English 
of a song. Often, this is a song that they "groove."  This is another
of Krashen's axioms. The learner must have a vested interest in the
content of the language being taught. Often this song is ingrained
in their mind. The tune itself is associated with a meaning. This
is not true of liturgical Greek music. There simply is no context
or hook for the listener as there is with modern songs. When 
they hear the Greek words of modern song tunes, they already
kind of know the meaning - they just don't know the exact semantic
content of each word or structure. 

3) I don't give a hoot about whether someone can speak or hear 
ancient Greek. All of us wish we can read ancient Greek without
any delay in understanding or moments of intelligibility where 
we read a whole sentence and cannot understand a thing being said
(I'm talking about reading the NT in Greek).  The point is that
using the language in either composition or aurally sears the mind
with the patterns so that one does not have to stop, reach into 
the "grammar lookup" part of their brain, find the form, connect
it to a vocabulary word, put it in context, and then comprehend 
the meaning. 

4) How may times have you listened to your favorite song?  Blaine Ray
adds "Students must receive sufficient aural comprehensible input
of basic structure and vocabulary to be able to truly acquire them."
Songs fill this need. Listening to a song repeatedly is 10 times more
valuable than going over sentences in Machen, Croy etc, repeatedly.
One of the elements of songs is pattern and chorus. Patterns of parallel
phrases, often meaning the same thing (like Hebrew Poetry) recur
over and over again. The chorus is often repeated three to five times. 
The SongFourFolds focus on phrases found throughout scripture which
occur both in the song, and in the OT and NT and extra-biblical
Greek (when needed).   



5) Modern songs are about all kinds of situations and contexts. 
Every phrase of the New Testament can be found in a song somewhere.
Am I looking for a way to teach the words "You are vain!",
there is a song for that. "He loves you", there is a song for that.
 "My God is so Great", "She loves me", "This is
the air I breathe", "I have a Father, He knows my name", 
"He holds the whole world in his hands" (I use words from
that song all the time in teaching), "There were ten in a bed
and the little one said 'Roll Over'", ktl- a song for that.
Students who are not first language speakers of Greek 
need all the help they can get. Modern song-tunes have latent
meaning.   

6) Songs are embedded in the brain differently than something
that is read. It is beyond being something that is heard ---
the tune takes a person to the next phrase...."You're so vain, 
You probably.....", "Blessed  be the name of .....",  
"Amazing Grace how sweet the .....", "Lean on me, when you're..."
"Only a boy named David, Only a little.....".  I get my songs
and phrases mixed up. I often flip words and flip words in
well-known axioms. When I start composing a song, I often 
find that what I thought was the wording is nothing similar
to the actual wording. But the pattern is there. The sound
drives me to another phrase. My mind fills in the blank.
This is just like writing a poem yourself. The same thing is 
happening. The mind is putting the language together. This is
what needs to happen to a foreign language learner. This is a
great place for the student to use vocabulary substitution.

7) As much as I hate Rap (it's not music). Rappy songs are a
a lot of fun if the Rap is what you groove. (Try listening
to Dr. Evil's "You Complete me, Mini-me").  I hate the music
my kids listen to (I'm 52). But I understand the draw. I want
NT students to want to be drawn to the Greek NT. Modern songs
draw the young crowd. How do we get the teens and young adults
to have fun with Greek? Bring it to their world. Open the door. 
They want to come to the Greek NT - Bring the Greek NT to them, 
they may not even know they are learning all the words in a 
passage in the Greek NT when they learn a song. And then when
they read the passage -- "What was so hard about that passage?,"
they say. This happened several weeks ago in my class when
we were doing "Worthy is the Lamb" and "The Revelation Song"
while reading some of the Book of Revelation. 

But what gives me more encouragement than anything else is
when I have some young adults (17, 19) and they cannot wait 
to come back to a class next year. This would not have happened
if I had used liturgical Greek music. If I have not turned them
off from learning Greek, I must have done something right. 

My SongFolds are meant to be used as as supplemental material 
alongside a standard approach, or as a complement to an aural
living-language based pedagogy. James Asher (the father of TPR)
and many others say that any audio/aural TPR methods added to the 
standard methodologies is a far better than using none at all.
(Surely this applies to Ancient Greek as well).  One of the projects
 on my list is to collate various beginning grammars 
to find when certain constructions are taught, so that 
teachers have a choice of an appropriate song for their progress
of study. But ultimately, it would be cool to make a more comprehensive
approach. But I'm happy with adding a little of living language
methods to the NT world.

Another partial SongFourFold for the song Agnus Dei (Worthy is
the Lamb) can be found at http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/agnusdei/agnusdei_songfourfold.pdf.
(Only the music part is unfinished).


ARA ASATE MOI!
Louis Sorenson

---------------------
In reply to the emails.....
---------------

If you are learning biblical Greek, and like songs (certainly a very
sound paedagogical method), why not sing actual biblical and new
testament songs which are well established in usage and are excellent
Greek:
*the psalms, esp. the praises (148-150)
*the ancient ευχαριστια (euxaristia) hymn sung at sunset
(Basil the Great called it *ancient* in his day)
and so on...

-----------------
IN REPLY TO  

Hello all,

This year I have been trying to integrate songs and 
use songs as a way of teaching Greek to a new class. Pulling in on 
storytelling, Randall Buth's methodolgy and Christophe Rico's book, I 
have tried most of their methodology.  I also have been reading Blaine 
Ray's book on TPRS (Teaching Proficiency through Reading and  
Storytelling).

It all started with a couple songs about a year 
ago and then getting some positive feedback from a few I decided to use 
it in my classes.  I think the active learning method scared off some of
 the older adults - the high school guys really love learning from an 
activity-based methodology (including the UNO - ENA card game).   We 
have used about 0%-100% of various classes using songs, on average about
 25%. I play the guitar a little, read music, play the piano (no piano 
in the room) and can hold a tune, but that is about all. So our music 
teaching was pretty Spartan -- but it works.

The last few weeks I
 have tried to formalize a song or two and make a 
curriculum for the song, along with vocabulary, audio drills, vocal 
recordings, and more.  The result is a sheet of paper (legal-size) 
printed on both sides which you carry around with you, fold and put in 
your pocket, etc.  I use this method all the time as I have a job that 
takes me to over 100 places a day. 

Different songs work 
differently. Some have great settings (like The Revelation Song); Others
 are more praise-action based, like the latest one I have used "You Are 
Worthy of My Praise" by David Ruis.  Nevertheless, they still lend 
themselves to an audio-based methodology. You are Worthy of my Praise
 is a responsive song, which works well for teaching. I may video record
 one of my classes and post my thoughts and ideas, but for now to keep 
this short, I just wanted to share my first official lesson (draft). 

The
 lesson is an intermediate lesson - just touching on participles, one or
 two subjunctives, lots of futures and datives. There is an 
instructional section at the end that tells how to use it and links to 
various sections in Smyth's grammar. I would also like to give 
references to Mounce, but he is not as well organized as Smyth. (I love 
FOSFOROS' post - buy Smyth and write KOINE on the front cover). 

The
 Songfold lesson has four parts: Song, Scripture References, Story, 
Class Dialogue.  Learning the song is based on learning phrases. I have 
developed a parallel story to reinforce the phrases. I have yet to put 
up my class dialogue for the song. A grammar section is included.  The 
goal of this methodology is to learn to read, but to internalize the 
forms by using them aurally.  Give it a try and let me in on what you 
think.  I'm still not happy with the audio (a quick recording), and line
 12/34, but there's always room for improvement.

Links:

The
 song:  You Are Worthy of My Praise" by David Ruis  
Online Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LEFN3lqTD7k&feature=related
Vineyard
 Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hEcWkt7rxrg (more 
familiar to most)
Jeremy Camp: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJsN358apt8&feature=related
 (rocky)
Songfold: http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_fourfold.pdf
Greek-English
 askesis: http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_Greek-English-Askhsis.mp3
Greek
 askesis: http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_greekaskesis.mp3
Greek
 vocal of song:   
http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_vocal.mp3



(UPDATED POST)
I've created some updated Audio Askeseis for verse 1, 2 and the 
chorus respectively.

Verse 1 http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_verse1_askhsis.mp3
Verse
 2 http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_verse2_askhsis.mp3
Chorus:
 http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise_chorus_askhsis.mp3

The
 song page will be found later this week at
http://www.letsreadgreek.com/songs/youareworthyofmypraise/youareworthyofmypraise.htm
Many
 other songs can be found there also in the main songs folder. 

For
 a little more fun, try translating Garth and Wayne's "We're Not Worthy"
 into Greek.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-FucbvoFFy0

ASATE
 MOI   ἄσατε μοι!
Louis Sorenson 		 	   		  
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