Give yourself the highest chance of learning a 2nd language
Checking your incentive
Starting in several places
Starting in several places
Fluent people are the envy of monolingual speakers. That in itself is usually incentive to get started. But, it's also helpful for you to speak your goals. Then they are clear and you have spoken them into existence. Writing them is effective as well. We get you to learn your goals in your second language as you learn how to speak.
Starting in several places
Starting in several places
Starting in several places
Starting your path to fluency is usually easy because you are freshly beginning a plan you put in place for yourself. But, knowing where to start or how to start is not so clear. We help you by introducing a number of ways to enter the language. Then, as you make your entrance, you can do so in several entrance points speeding your progress.
Speed of learning
Starting in several places
Developing areas evenly
The rate of speed you learn in and the amount of information you add to your second language base is directly dependent on your satisfaction with how much you have learned already. If you are satisfied, then your pace slows. The less satisfied you are, the more information and language experiences you want to add.
Developing areas evenly
Understanding what is spoken
Developing areas evenly
Keeping track of your progress is not so plain to you while you are learning. We'll talk each session about the areas of progress you're making increases in. Devleopment is nearly always uneven, so we will keep you apprised of the areas you show increase and the areas needing more attention. You might be learning a lot of words, but unable to form verbs accurately, for example. We try to make your development more even.
Understanding what is spoken
Understanding what is spoken
Understanding what is spoken
Understanding what you hear is one of the hardest areas to develop, so we give special attention to it. Each class you will get to hear the second language spoken to you so that you can respond to it. Sometimes it is to respond to a command and sometimes to respond by speaking in return. The inability to listen for understanding stunts growth and slows speed of learning. Ability to listen allows for robust growth and faster rate.
The end game
Understanding what is spoken
Understanding what is spoken
When will you know that you are finished and fluent? That's more of a curiosity item than a real question. People give up too soon for a variety of reasons. But, as you probably know, finishing something is like beauty - it's in the eyes of the beholder. You will reach satisfaction plateaus as you progress. You will be satisfied to the extent that you use the language in your environment. Heavy use requires more time and vice versa.
Understanding Greek will never leave you stagnant
An ingredient of confidence in your faith
Christians who know how to read Greek are some of the most satisfied people I know. They have a certain surety about their faith. And, while it is not true that satisfaction is derived from knowing the language, it does add to more time in reading the New Testament, which leads to confidence in your faith.
A new way of understanding
Learning a new alphabet, a new grammar, and a new way of saying things is inspiring to a lot of people and serves as great incentive to learn the language closest to the time of Jesus actions and words. Cultural understanding of Jesus' times and the cause of some of his teachings and word pictures really deepens the insights of one's faith.
Making your faith your own
I have heard adults in their 30s and 40s reject the faith because they could never distinguish that their faith from their parents' faith, and it bothered them enough to quit the practice of Jesus' teachings. Learning Greek is certainly one of the distinguishing points in people's lives to separate their own beliefs from that of their parents. It takes people down the path of fulfillment and ownership.
Beginning sections
There's nothing like experience to teach a person that "a little knoweldge is a dangerous thing." One way to safeguard oneself from getting only a sampling of the surface message of the New Testament is to massage the phrasings read again and again that help you delve into the spirit and soul of an expression's meaning. Over time Greek supplants the English in your mind and you get to think more in terms of what was orignally said.
Translation principles
Of course, as you learn, you start to understand that translating is not merely changing one word for another with the same meaning. You understand that cultural meanings are left out sometimes or that the English equivalent doesn't fully represent the idea behind the Greek word. Thus, you will be introduced to some translation priniciples when such instances occur.