Teach Me Greek (Homeschool Review Crew)

"Learning a language that doesn't use the Latin alphabet" has been on my bucket list for years.  When I was in college, I had a friend who spoke fluent Ukranian, and she taught me how to transliterate my name using the Cyrillic alphabet.  However, that's all I ever was able to learn, so "learn a non-Latin language" remained on the list.  Recently, members of the Crew were given the opportunity to try out programs from Greek 'n' Stuff, including a program that taught elementary Greek.  Since my working knowledge of the Greek alphabet comes from letters I've seen in math or science, I requested the Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! - Level 2 set, which included a Worktext, a corresponding Answer Key, and a pronunciation CD.  Forget the kids -- this one was for me!

While this is listed as a "Level 2" set, don't be fooled. The company produces a Level 1 set, but if you wanted to compare the progression to an elementary English learn-to-read program, the Level 1 is akin to a Pre-K/K level, where learning your letters is the goal.  Level 2 is closer to K/1/2 level, beginning with a review of the Greek letters (but still enough for me to learn the letters I didn't already know) and then starting to work on basic Greek words. The first seven lessons (36 pages) are dedicated to the Greek alphabet.  If you had a very young child that wanted to be "just like big brother," then I'd start with Level 1, but for the average new student, I think Level 2 is worth starting at.

I'm going to be honest -- this was hard! I think if I were a child, it probably wouldn't be nearly as difficult.  I think having seventeen billion other things in my head while I was trying to take the time to learn Greek didn't help. That's not to say it's impossible for a more...erm...mature student to learn Greek, just that it takes far more effort than I expected it would. I have a new appreciation for preschoolers learning to form their letters! I eventually decided to work in pencil in my workbook, because while some of the letters came very naturally, others didn't flow so smoothly (I'm looking at you, Gamma!).

Greek and Latin accounts for about 60% of the English language, so once I could sound out words, the program got a little easier for me.  I skimmed ahead in the hopes that something would be less "Greek to me."  Remembering what all the letters were and sounding out the word αδελφός was tough (transliterated: adelphos) but I knew the word meant "brother."  Ok, that one should have been easy...I grew up in Philadelphia, the "City of Brotherly Love."  απόστολος wasn't too hard, either; it's easy to figure out apostolos means "apostle."  However, ανθρωπός sounds out as "anthropos," which doesn't look or sound like the word "man."  Score one for the grown-up -- I knew anthropology is the study of humans, so it made sense to me.  After tripping over my tongue and fingers for three weeks, I felt like I had the potential to actually do something besides haltingly recite the Greek alphabet!

Lesson 8 is where "learning words" begins.  This unit is about six pages long and focuses on the single word - its spelling, its meanings, being able to write it, and to pick it out of a list of words written in Greek.  Don't be tempted to rush through and do more than a few pages at one time - lessons are meant to be paced at approximately one per week.

After that first "word week," lessons begin to lengthen (Lesson 15 is ten pages long) because they include a constant review of previously taught words.  Trying to read in Greek was overwhelming for me at first, but the constant repetition helped me really cement what those words looked like.

By the end of this Level, I should be able to read about eleven words and make four sentences.  That doesn't sound like a lot for 30 lessons, but keeping in mind the general age that this program is geared to, I think it's not too shabby.  It's not a "cram for a vacation" program, but a progressive exposure to Greek for young students. That said, as an adult, I think if I could get the alphabet down fluently, I could probably be able to read enough Greek to navigate street signs and restaurant menus.  Yes, I'd have to consistently translate words back and forth in my head, and probably would get laughed at for speaking "academic ancient" Greek, but we wouldn't starve.

The Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek! program teaches Koiné Greek, the dialect used in the Old Testament.  It has eight levels in all, and because it starts out with the absolute basics, I might consider it for a high school student. While this level was the absolute basics and a few words, Level 3 begins by adding simple grammar, and subsequent levels continue to add more advanced topics; by Level 8 the program has a student working on translations.

The student would need to work at an accelerated pace to cover the entire program in a shortened timeframe, but it's a program that I would consider for an academic-minded student that would benefit from learning a Classical language.

Greek 'n' Stuff has several curriculum offerings.  Hey, Andrew! Teach Me Some Greek is the "Greek" part of the company, but the "'n' Stuff" side has several programs.  Among them are their "I Can Study ... Alone" Bible studies.  Click the banner below to find out about all of the Greek 'n' Stuff programs the Crew has been working with.

©2012- 2017 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com

Middlebury Interactive Languages (A Homeschool Crew Review)

From when he was in early elementary school until this year, Matthew has studied Spanish.  After struggling through Spanish II and a semester of Spanish III, he decided to take a break from it and study Latin.  However, in today's economy, the ability to speak Spanish is a very marketable skill, so when we had the chance to review Middlebury Interactive Languages' High School Spanish I Fluency, I thought this would be an excellent opportunity for him to keep practicing his skills.  (This is a two-semester course; we received access to the first semester for the review.)

Middlebury Languages offers programs for elementary, middle school, and high school students in Spanish, French, Chinese and German.  There are two styles of courses: immersion and explicit instruction.  The fluency courses are based on an immersive methodology.  Imagine disembarking from a plane and being thrust into a foreign city and needing to navigate around.  That is very similar to how the Fluency course works. The program uses activities and videos where a student is asked to observe keywords, inflection, tone, and body language, the same as you would in person.

In working with Matthew, I began to realize a good deal of his struggle with Spanish last year was in speaking and being able to understand what others were saying. At first, he panicked because the videos feature native speakers who sometimes spoke very rapidly.  He had difficulty understanding the words, just by sound.  In this exercise, however, he did quite well because he could read as he listened.

On one hand, if he was dropped off in the middle of Madrid or Mexico City, he would be forced to listen, formulate the language in his head, and speak. That's a tall order.  At the same time, I've been to Italy but do not speak the language (Spanish, Catholic Church Latin, and Italian restaurant menus are as close as I get), and while a conversation with a native was difficult, there were plenty of opportunities to attempt to "read and speak" or read along with something like a menu. Gestures and facial expressions also were employed to convey points.  I think that while Matthew's other program focused on conversational Spanish that was more "pick a topic, and we'll talk back and forth" combined with a more traditional grammatical approach, this multi-sensory approach may be better for him.  Being able to hear and see the words he is learning, and in context, will help him gain confidence.  I think also being able to see gestures and movement help, as opposed to a face-to-face but behind desks conversation.

When you're looking at fluency in a language, learning cultural norms are crucial as well.  One of the areas where this program is better than most others I've seen is that it features examples of how Hispanic idioms are a bit different from English.

I can say that despite six years of Spanish study of my own, I never knew this.  I would never consider gordito to be a compliment, but it is. Without knowing the culture, it would be easy to find myself offended rather than flattered someone was calling me a pet name.  I think learning the culture of the people you are speaking with is just as important as the words they say.

Matthew had a relatively easy time of this. I think because he did have a history with the language, it made it easier for him to work on using Spanish rather than learning Spanish . It moves at a very rapid pace, as opposed to a more traditional course that gives you many opportunities to learn a particular set of vocabulary words or grammar concept. Unit 1 focused on greetings, culminating in the ability to introduce yourself.  

There was only a minimum of formal vocabulary and grammar included at the beginning, and Matthew felt that if he hadn't already known "Soy de Nueva Jersey y tengo quince años..." from prior instruction, he would have been totally lost in the "learn where you're from, how old you are, and write an email/record a voicemail with this" sections.  I think the program is more appropriate for students who have studied with a more traditional program and are now looking to work on putting the "book knowledge" to the test in a situation that more resembles a real-world experience.  He was able to complete several activities in a single day -- he spent about 45 minutes each day and was able to finish about a third of a unit each time.

Overall, I liked this program for him. I think we are going to continue with the course to help with his fluency skills. I am looking at it to be a "bridge" for him for this year.  He's not quite ready for Spanish III because his foundation is shaky, but this is certainly strenuous enough to count as a third language credit.  Importantly, it is helping to build his skills and confidence that he really has learned more than he realized, and giving him the chance to build upon the skills he has, rather than letting them stagnate or wither.

To read about the other Middlebury Interactive Languages programs the Crew has been working on, click the banner below.








©2012- 2016 Adventures with Jude. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. http://adventureswithjude.com