(1) Understanding and memorizing grammatical rules and vocabulary are the sine qua non of any language course. But a reading skill requires more than that. The feeling for sentence structure, capacity to anticipate what will come next, sensitivity to word order and so on are skills that must also be learnt if quick progress is to be made towards comprehending unadapted texts. Hence the long reading passages of RG, which not only illustrate the new grammar but also provide practice in reading continuous texts.
(2) A student can translate a text without understanding every single detail of the text in front of him/her. For example, if the student knows that the PaaiA- root means king and o defines a subject (s.) and tov an object (s.), the fact that the PaaiX- root will appear as PaaiXeoc; or PaaiAia is neither here nor there as far as meaning goes. That does not mean the student does not have to learn the declension of PaaiAeu^. That would be an absurd conclusion to draw. But it does mean he/she can meet it regularly before the declension is actually learnt. Likewise, ano means ‘away from’. One does not have to know the genitive form to be able to translate ano xov PaaiAirac; with full confidence. But that does not mean you do not at some stage have to learn it. Of course you do.
In other words, a Greek text designed for translation into English can be far more linguistically complex at an early stage - and therefore far more interesting - than one designed for translating English into Greek. Consider what you need to know to teach the rules of npw and erac; successfully in either case. But the fact that one can stay ahead of the strict details of the grammar when translating Greek into English does not absolve you from learning the rules of that grammar when the time comes. It does help to have met it on many occasions first, however. And if an enquiring student asks about the forms, there is no reason not to explain them, pointing out that they will be set for learning later on.
(3) Learning a language, especially an ancient one, makes no sense unless one has a sense of the civilization that produced it. To be given the word Kpix^c or K^pu^ and asked to translate it as ‘judge’ or ‘herald’ without context or comment is to deny meaning at the most basic level, even more so with abstracts like uPpic; or xi^n or %apic. That is why RG teaches Greek through a continuous text adapted from original sources, with constant reference to explanatory cultural and historical material in WoA. We do no justice to the ancient Greeks or their language if we do not at least try to make the Greek experience and understanding of the ancient world our students’ constant point of interaction with the language. Otherwise, learning ancient Greek becomes a moribund exercise, as if it were nothing but twenty-first-century English written in funny letters.
So while there is no doubt that RG requires the teacher to keep far more balls in the air than in most other courses, we would argue that it delivers far greater benefits, both linguistic and cultural, to our students. Even one year of RG will have given them a thorough grounding in the language, its structures and thought- patterns, while at the same time offering them a comprehensive view of what the ancient Greek world was all about through the language (however adapted) of those who actually thought and communicated in it.
Mainly for teachers of Years 11 and 12 (11—12th graders)
The considerations which face university and college teachers, sketched above, tend also to face school teachers, only usually more acutely. In the United Kingdom, this is especially the case if students begin Greek in Years 11-12. Such students, with perhaps three or more other ‘A’-levels to cope with, will be lucky to have one hour a week in their schedule for Greek. In the United States, this is especially the case if senior high-school students are studying Greek in addition to other languages and subjects in which they will take as many as four to six different College Board Achievement examinations. Because there is no College Board in Greek, students will be likely to fit Greek into the margin of their other studies (especially of Latin, in which there is a College Board); for this reason, Greek in American high schools is frequently taught during breakfast or lunch periods as an ‘overload’. Under such conditions, secondary-level students and teachers in both the UK and the USA need all the help they can get.
One way in which RG can be used in Years 11—12 or senior high school (given the staff and curricular space) is in the General (Classical) Studies course for a term, semester or even a full year. The linguistic pace of the course can be slowed right down and heavy emphasis placed on culture, history and word-derivation (WoA comes into its own here). With a modest linguistic goal in view (e.g. Sections 4 or 5), the teacher can work wonders. The same goes for Adult (Continuing) Education classes. These classes are enormously stimulating and revivifying. Adults who feel they have missed something of great value in the past and now wish to acquire it are an object lesson in determination, application and inquisitiveness. xovovxov ev tcovxec; yEvowxo ...
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