Survival Tips For Learning Greek
Survival Tips For Learning GreekThere are several things that the student of Greek can do to enhance his/her ability to
learn and retain Greek. Some of these tips are more important for some people than
others because we all have different learning styles. However, most will find all of these
tips generally useful.
#1 Study Greek consistently – do not cram.
Before we take a test, we will often cram as much information as we can in our heads
before we take our tests. The benefit of this study method is that it generally helps our
grades when we take tests. Unfortunately, this is a horrible method for learning Greek
(or any other language). Generally, our minds grasp something much better if we see it
more often for shorter periods of time than only once for an extended period of time. Of
course, we all know this from our previous experience. It is rare for us to remember
material from a cramming session more than a couple of days after.
#2 Review consistently.
Language learning requires cumulative knowledge. You cannot study a couple of
chapters on nouns and then move on to other subjects and expect to remember much
about nouns unless you review. In first year Greek specifically, there are three main
things you must review consistently: noun forms, verb forms, and vocabulary. Though
the homework you do in later chapters will give you some review of the material you
learned before, it will not be enough review to keep the information readily recallable in
your mind. You might want to set aside 15-30 minutes every day just to review earlier
material. This is crucial!
#3 Language Learning Takes Time.
The more time you can spend learning a language the better. And, of course, this only
makes sense. If you spend a total of 7 hours a week, you may do well. However, if you
spend 12 hours a week, you will do better. The more you put into learning Greek, the
more it will benefit you later. I think that there are two main reasons for why you should
do this. First, when you get to the end of the Mounce book and you have only a hazy
knowledge of the material at the beginning, you will have significant problems trying to
cement the previous material in your mind. At that point there is too much material to
learn for you to effectively (in any reasonable amount of time) move on in your studies.
However, if you start reviewing earlier, you will find the past material gets ever
increasingly cemented into your memory, making a great deal of review in the later states
of the game not necessary. Second, the study you do at the beginning has a cumulative
effect on how well you learn the material later. If you do not have chapter 10 learned
well, when you get to chapter 11 (or any subsequent chapter), you are then dealing with
two unknowns – the current chapter that you are working on and the material from the
previous chapters. This makes learning the new material more difficult.
#4 Variety is good.
When learning material, it is often good to learn it in different ways. If you only study a
particular concept in one way, your brain will have difficulty understanding that same
concept if knowledge of it is needed in a different scenario. For example, when learning
vocabulary, I use a vocabulary flash card program on my computer, practice writing the
word on paper, use Vis-Ed flash cards, and do translation that requires knowledge of
those words. By using a varied approach to learning vocabulary, I am better prepared to
recognize a word when I am reading a text that I am not already familiar with. In
general, as many senses you can involve in your learning the better. It is of course
difficult to learn Greek through taste or smell, but we can easily learn Greek through
sight (seeing the material on the page), hearing (either speaking the material out loud or
hearing someone else), and touch (writing out forms and vocabulary).
#5 Do your homework.
The more time you can spends practicing what you've learned, the better. There is
nothing like intense repetition for learning something, and that is what you get from
doing your homework. Certain forms and words will begin to become more natural to
you as you see them over and over again. The same is true for vocabulary. Do all the
assigned homework (and homework that is not assigned if you have time) and you will
do better.
#6 Attend Class :)
Greek is harder to learn alone. Attending class will help you learn the material faster and
better. It is also a good time to ask questions. So, attend class as much as you can. Greek is Greek to me^_^
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