Jonathan Robie wrote:Can you say more about the workshop? What was it like for you as a participant? What did you do? How did it affect your learning?
Nearly 8 days of 8 hours straight of pretty much 100% Koinê dialogue, including lunch. Much repetition and physical activity to try to get the phrases to become second-nature - i.e., so you'd almost spit out the words (even if not quite correct) before you'd have time to think of what to say. Lots of basic action words (not necessarily based on NT frequency) that encouraged interaction between the students and the teachers/facilitators. Jordash and the others created an amazing syllabus and vocabulary list that will be useful to any of the attendees who want to put this to use at home with their NT Greek students. (Since I don't teach NT Greek for a living and currently am not at a church where I could put together a Living Koinê Greek class - and not sure how much interest there would be anyway - I'm still thinking about what I will or can do with this.)
Though it could have been intimidating, it wasn't at all, because the atmosphere was full of fun and encouragement. My initial impressions included finding it kind of funny to see how many seminary NT Greek teachers were having just as much difficulty thinking and saying the language as I was. A lot of it was on the Dick and Jane level (if you grew up when I did and read those books for your first readers), but it became evident pretty soon that that's where you have to start. If you've read through Randall Buth's picture books you know what I mean. Also, if you have only the first edition of the first Living Koinê Greek book (Part 1 - MP3 CD labeled α), it's been revised - there's been a rearrangement of some material and a refinement of some of the phrases - e.g., putting something on a table, chair, floor, etc., uses epi + accusative, whereas when it's now on the table, chair, floor, etc., it's epi + genitive - and it's now on a single MP3 CD, instead of 3 audio CDs.
One great thing was the constant mixing of verbal forms together - e.g., we would say "I am sitting down" followed by "I am seated," etc. (in Greek, of course) - so you'd begin to intuit what form to associate with what aspect of the motion/action that was being done. Then the teacher would go around the class and point at people to answer questions, e.g., "Where is Eutychus? Who was standing on the table? What did Lydia give to Junia?" to which people would be expected to give full-sentence answers, not just one-word ones - e.g., "Eutychus is lying down on the floor" not "On the floor," etc.
Everyone liked the story-telling sessions where Barbie Dolls and stuffed/plastic animals were used to tell a story, interspersed with questions from the storyteller to the students (broken into groups of 5 or 6) re: what had just happened, who did what, where they went, etc. This to me seems like an effective way to get people to start using the language.
The whole 8 days was videotaped with several HD cameras - BLC probably doesn't even have the hard drive space to process it all right away - which I assume will one day show up in a package that can be bought and viewed by teachers on how to conduct such a class. Some videos are on the Biblical Language Center Facebook page for viewing.
Sebastian Carnazzo
http://www.fsspolgs.org/academics.html had already taught 2 classes, I think, with Buth's materials before he attended the workshop, and may be one of the best ones to talk to re: how to use the method to teach NT Greek. I assume you can contact him through his seminary's contact form at that Website. In the evenings some of us would get together to practice the lessons (there was very little else to do at the campus). He'll remember me as Ευτυχος.
Hope that helps!
Randall, Jordash, etc., mine ancient Greek literature for proper terms for phrases and words that need to be created and used in the classes. I suspect the team is almost like the Koinê Greek equivalent of Eliezer Ben-Yehudah.
(Νυν ερχομαι προς τον αφεδρωνα - yes, there was some "bathroom humor," too.

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