RE: grammars: Hewett, Voelz, etc.
Don Wilkins (dwilkins@ucr.campus.mci.net)
Tue, 19 May 1998 15:57:38 -0700
At 05:24 PM 5/19/98 -0400, Mary Pendergraft wrote:
...
>By second semester we start giving them some prose to supplement the Homer,
>often NT. In third semester we typically do Euripides, where the
>deliberately archaic elements, esp. in the choruses, make the transition
>less difficult. Then in fourth semester we usually try Plato, and, at
>least this past term, they do beautifully.
>
>My experience with students who begin with koine is limited to the MA
>students in religion who work with us in Classics, but it's not uplifting.
>Last fall I had a class in Mark with our undergraduates, who had come
>through a curriculum like the one I've described, and MA students with 2 -4
>years of NT. The gap in their preparation and facility with the language
>was so drastic I had to split the class, and the undergraduates read nearly
>twice as much in the course of the semester.
That is very impressive, Mary. I would be grateful for more details about
the MA students (on- or off-list). 2-4 years preparation seems like a great
deal for them to have had so much trouble with Mark. Did they receive any
Greek training in the Classics dept., or was it all in the Religion dept.?
And if you can comment, what do you think were the weaknesses in their
preparation?
Best to you,
Don W.