I trust that you won't be surprised to find that I agree with both of these, without qualification.cwconrad wrote: (1) beginning the study of ancient Greek with Attic may not be what one had in mind, but it's not a matter of making the best of a bad situation, and (2) learning Greek by immersion is very desirable but is unfortunately not an option for every one who wants to learn it; an opportunity to get a start with ancient Greek, whether in Attic or Koine, shouldn't be put off until one can do it in a classroom where the ancient language is used conversationally.
So why give the following advice?
Because it raises awareness that can help lead to change in the field. If one student walks into a beginning Greek class and after some time asks the professor why they aren't using Greek in class, the professor is likely to brush this question off. But if two students do this, it may get the professor to thinking unsanctioned thoughts. "Why aren't we doing that?" And imagine if a whole group of students were marching into a shrink's office singing the Alice's Restaurant massacre in four-part harmony? (Younger listers will need to listen to Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant to make sense of this reference.) I think that every student should be told at the beginning of their training that oral use of the language for real communication is vital for the most rapid progress in the language. Eventually, things will change and this will be good for the field.RandallButh wrote:I recommend starting with starting ancient Greek through a spoken medium.
In the meantime, by all means, start learning Greek.