Ready for Christmas – in Greek

If you are thinking of reading St Luke's account of the birth of Christ with your Greek class at the end of the Christmas term, this vocabulary list will come in handy.

Hungry Frog vocab game

I've just been playing Hungry Frog Latin Vocabulary game and find it fun. You need to visit 'hungry frog options' and choose Latin, or you will find yourself being tested on Spanish. The free on-line version of the game uses a very limited vocabulary. If you thought it would be really helpful to students in learning vocab, it would be worth finding out if the full, paid-for version can be programmed with your own words.

Why in heaven's name are you majoring in Greek?

A lecture by Lynn Sherr given in April 2003 in New Hampshire
contains some good ammo for promoting the study of the Classics, and particularly the Greeks and their language.

Lynn is a TV personality in the USA, not known in the UK I think, so it will be a question of using what she said rather
than saying: 'Look who studied Classics and where it got her.'

What are we doing to promote Latin?

“Currently the A.R.L.T. is gearing up to provide teachers, parents and children with materials that will convince them of the value, the benefits and the pleasure of studying Latin”.

I read this in an article by Joan Bakewell in 'The Guardian' G2 p.7, 22/10/04

Whoops!! I misread it: it is the 'Historical Association' about 'History', which children have the option of dropping at age 14. But is this impossible for Latin? As a start, the A.R.L.T. used to have a leaflet, 'Why Latin?' (sparked by Belinda Dennis) and our cousins in the American Classical League have generated a persuasive leaflet:
http://www.promotelatin.org

The Friends of Classics' glossy leaflet 'Taking the long view' deserves being strewn all over the country. Download the leaflet in .pdf form by following the link under Attachments below.

Brian Bishop.

The Lampeter on-line Greek course

I don't know how good this course is, but it's on the net and it's free! Find it here.

Note: The Greek course is no longer available. (14th November 2006)

An interesting survey of Greek teaching in US schools

This dates from 2000, but the site is still there – I stumbled across it just now.

The questions are here
and the responses are here.

I was chiefly interested in the comments that a number of teachers made about Athenaze:

I switched to Chase & Phillips because I found Athenaze too slow and cumbersome and also devoid of Greek thought.

I use Athenaze and enjoy it along with my students. … Perhaps a new edition of Athenaze could be in color.

I think Athenaze is the best of what’s available right now. What we’d really need is a Greek textbook series similar to Ecce or CLC.

I think we need something with story like Athenaze, but more etymology and recorded readings to accompany. Perhaps also study guides on-line for web and guides for teachers to help them promote some oral practice of ancient Greek.

Athenaze I works well for our students.

I like the Athenaze book, though it could contain more derivative work.

Everyone feels that the two volumes of Athenaze coupled with Chase and Phillips provide a solid preparation for the reading courses that follow.

Comments on Athenaze: A work book would be helpful w/ a few more exercises and even some tests. The grammar presentation is good. Etymology is a very important part of the course I teach as I use it to help students in the sciences, English, and PSAT/SAT tests. A stronger emphasis on etymology would be appreciated. The stories are good but could be expanded. Students (at least mine) enjoy them.

Hecuba on tour – here are the venues

Foursight Theatre are performing Hecuba in the British premiere of the new translation by John Harrison for Cambridge University Press. You can find their tour schedule, with a few enthusiastic press reviews of their Medea in 2001, here.

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