My Midterm Greek Exam

Posted on October 8, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

Too Much Testing Makes Αλέξανδρος a Dull Boy
Some of you may be curious to see how testing would work in a communicative classroom. On the one hand, I abhor testing and grades, and think that neither one of them belongs in a language class. If a class is taught communicatively, every class session is a test of sorts. Can the student understand what is being said to her? Can she respond appropriately?  Continue reading →

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First 1000 Words: Picture Book for Koine Greek Vocabulary (Needed Resources)

Posted on October 6, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

About the Series
This is part of an ongoing series where I discuss resources that should be developed to aid teachers and students in acquiring Koine Greek communicatively.

Introduction
Have you seen this series of books by Usborne? They are picture books, aimed at language learners, that contain 1000 everyday words in full-color illustrations. They have them for languages from Arabic to Spanish. You can usually find a used copy at a low price on Amazon. They even have one for that “dead language,” Latin!

Here’s how they work: Continue reading →

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Koine Greek Rosetta Stone (Needed Resources)

Posted on October 4, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

Rosetta Stone. Everyone knows about this software, thanks to the company’s very effective ad campaign. If you’ve been living under a rock, check out their website and try out their free online demo that will introduce you to their basic learning model.

The Basic Approach
In short, Rosetta Stone uses a direct or natural method, which bypasses the learner’s first language (L1) and tries to connect the goal language (L2) directly to reality by using pictures. They call it “dynamic immersion.” Continue reading →

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The Old Testament Church (LXX Texts of Note 4)

Posted on October 3, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

This post is the fourth in a series where I note Septuagintal passages of interest to students of Christian origins; e.g. texts where the New Testament quotes an LXX reading significantly different from the Masoretic reading, or texts where the LXX reading is needed to make sense of a NT text.

In this post, I want to explore the way the LXX uses the term ἐκκλησία and related words (e,g, ἐκκλησιάζω). Continue reading →

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ποῦπος (Greek Word of the Week)

Posted on September 30, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

You have to say this word out loud. And no, it’s not a synonym for σκύβαλον, that favorite of every puerile budding Hellenist. Get your mind out of the ἀφεδρών! In fact, it’s a bird, technically, a hoopoe, Latin name Upupa epops. And, no, I didn’t just make that up. Here’s a pic: Continue reading →

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Immersion Greek: Developing the Necessary Support Structure (Basics of Greek Pedagogy, pt. 9)

Posted on September 29, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

About the Series
In the last post, I discussed some ways seminaries and colleges could accommodate an immersive approach to Greek pedagogy in their curricula and begin to approach the amount of training students receive in modern language programs, or ideally, the amount of class-time we know to be necessary in order to develop real fluency in a language. In this post, I want to discuss what kind of support structure an immersive approach to Greek would require.

Introduction
In my post on modern language programs, I pointed out that, in addition to an extensive curriculum, such programs enjoy an extensive support structure. I want to look at five ways a seminary or college could develop something similar for a Koine Greek program. Continue reading →

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David Flusser and Spoken Koine Greek

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

Anyone who shares my interests in Qumran, early Judaism, and the New Testament should make sure to pick up Géza Vermès’ autobiography, Providential Accidents. Not only is it just a great human story about faith, scholarship, and the twists and turns of life, but it is also gives an insider’s perspective on the field of Biblical Studies and the sometimes weird and wonderful personalities that have graced that area of study.

Living Latin
I want to mention two things that stood out to me as being of interest to teachers of “dead” languages. Continue reading →

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Thegri the Angelic Beastmaster–A Mystery in the Shepherd of Hermas

Posted on September 27, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

Reading the Shepherd the other day (actually listening to my sweet wife read it to me as we were driving to church), I encountered the following tale in Hermas’ fourth vision. Hermas sees a huge 100-foot long beast, which he compares to a whale (ὡσεὶ κῆτος, 4.1.6) and which spews fiery locusts from its mouth (echoes of Joel 2; Amos 7; Rev 9). Hermas waxes brave and confronts the beast, which lays down passively for him. After Hermas passes the beast, he meets the church in the form of a young girl. She, in the role of angelus interpres, explains that Hermas escaped the beast (a type of the great oppression to come) because: Continue reading →

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Making the Perfect the Enemy of the Good

Posted on September 26, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

Introduction
Suzanne McCarthy of the Bible, Literature and Translation blog has written a lengthy response to my ongoing series on Greek pedagogy. She argues that I am chasing a pipe dream and registers several objections to my proposals thus far. I think these are worth responding to briefly, just to head off some misunderstandings, as well as to address some common arguments against applying communicative methods to ancient languages.

I encourage you to read her post before you read my responses below, as I’ll only be briefly summarizing a few of the points she made. Please also read the responses to her posts, especially those by Stephen Hill (here, here, and here), who has experienced communicative language Greek learning environments and is currently doing graduate work in ESL/EFL. After reading his responses, I almost feel there is no need to write this post, since he made almost all the points I had planned to make! Continue reading →

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Greek Immersion in the Seminary Curriculum—Practical Suggestions (Basics of Greek Pedagogy, pt. 8)

Posted on September 24, 2011 by Daniel R. Streett

About the Series
In the last post, I discussed two typical modern language programs and their requirements. The point was to show how typical seminary requirements for Greek/Hebrew pale in comparison, as modern language programs a) require 50 credits worth of immersive classes, b) enjoy a support structure that includes student clubs and language labs, and c) often include a year spent abroad in a country where the target language is spoken. This more than meets the 1100 hours the FSI thinks necessary to achieve level 3 fluency in a language.

Curriculum Changes
In this post, I want to talk about some practical steps that seminaries and Bible colleges might take to incorporate immersive approaches into their curricula and move toward the level of rigor with which modern language departments approach their own fields of study.

Continue reading →

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