Living Koine: Who teaches it, and where?

[Jonathan Robie]

I'd like to have a list of people who teach using Living Koine or related methods that combine oral and spoken Greek as a major part of teaching.

So far, I'm aware of:

• Randall Buth in Israel
• Daniel Streett at Criswell College, in Dallas
• Louis Sorenson, in Minnesota

Who else is doing this, and where? I'm interested both in courses offered at colleges and seminaries, and opportunities available to people learning outside of these environments.

P.S. Feel free to announce any related workshops, etc. that take these approaches during the coming year.

[Louis L Sorenson]

Don't forget Sebastian Carnazzo http://www.fsspolgs.org/academics.html in Nebraska.

[RandallButh]

Jonathan, thank you for your question.

We have an intermediate level "Jesus in Jerusalem" workshop 28Dec 2011 -- 6January. We're excited about this because of the transfer power and 'bang for buck or bang for time' that we've seen in previous workshops.

To preempt an obvious question:
What is 'intermediate'?
It means having covered the basics of the language one way or another AND having multi-listened through Living Koine Greek Volume One, plus at least a few extra listening hours in the 'John CD' with its listening drills on 1John. All the texts and drills in Living Koine Two are also recommended, as well as the Epiktetos CD, but these latter are not a prerequisite for participating. So why do the extra listening? Because whatever fluency/listening level a person comes in at, they will leave at that much higher level.

There will also be another Fresno Workshop around the last ten days of July 2012. Details are still being finalized so registration is not yet open. Registration is currently open for Jesus in Jerusalem. http://www.biblicallanguagecenter.com

We are seeing a slow, very slow, awakening in the field. Hopefully, many of us will be able to get together over lunch at SBL, in Greek of course. All levels and backgrounds invited. (There will be a Hebrew lunch, too, on a different day.) We are still quite a long, long way from following meaningful lectures in the language, but one can always hold up the goal and count progress. Meanwhile, we have James Asher addressing the ALBL session this year at SBL to discuss how people can learn multilanguages at the same time in the 21st century.

[Stephen Hill]

Don't forget Christophe Rico!

His organization is Polis Jerusalem at http://www.polisjerusalem.org/. He teaches Koine Greek as a living language and has other instructors who teach Biblical Hebrew and Latin in the same way. All three languages are offered in an intensive one-month format in Rome every July. His book is at http://www.amazon.fr/Polis-Parler-ancie ... 2204087572.

[Daniel Streett]

Also, I believe John Schwandt at New St. Andrews in Moscow, ID, teaches Greek as a living language (and Latin, and perhaps Hebrew).

[nicholasj.ellis]

Not a plug for me, more for Randall's method:

I teach basic and intermediate Greek at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford, and use Living Koine. It's hybridized in format due to the 8week x 3 term schedules, but at least we're getting across proper Koine pronunciation, and working hard in Greek fluency training. I started after attending Randall's Intermediate Koine class in Galilee last year.

I find that my students typically progress slower relative to the standards of Oxford morphology/exam requirements, but do get there eventually, and retain far far more 1-2 years after graduation. I tend to supplement the Living Koine with paradigm/vocabulary drills to make sure they pass their exams, and then work hard the rest of the time using immersion methods, and providing them with audio recordings of blocks of Greek text.

[Gregory Soderberg]

We (at Cary Christian School, NC) are experimenting with Randall Buth's curricula, and so far the kids enjoy it much more than the "traditional" way. We are hoping to switch to a fully "living Koine" program next year. Currently, our students are required to take Biblical Greek during their 11th and 12th years. We're probably the only school in the US trying to teaching Koine as a living language.

[Jason Hare]

You should also see http://www.michaelhalcomb.blogspot.co.il. Michael is putting on a weekend for Koine in Kentucky. I spoke with him via email today. I just thought you guys would like to know.