Course Description GL501CA Basic Greek I Tues, Sep 4 Mon, Dec 17 Module 1: 9 am 4:00 pm Sep 8, Oct 6, Nov 3 Professor Gerry Wheaton gwheaton@gordonconwell.edu This is the first semester of a year-long introduction to New Testament (Koine) Greek focusing on morphology, vocabulary, and some syntax. Our ultimate goal is to become more careful, faithful, and diligent students of the New Testament. Course Objectives 1. To gain an introductory understanding of the grammar and vocabulary of the Greek language at the time of the New Testament; 2. To begin developing skills for reading, translating, and interpreting the New Testament; 3. To become more diligent and exact students of the New Testament Scriptures in the original language in order to bring the message of the New Testament more fully and faithfully to bear upon Church and society in today s world. Course Texts - Stanley Porter, Fundamentals of Biblical Greek, Eerdmans, 2010. - Stanley Porter, Workbook for Fundamentals of Biblical Greek, Eerdmans, 2010. - Fairbairn, Donald. Understanding Language: A Guide for Beginning Students of Greek and Latin. Catholic University Press, 2011. Grading - 20% - Attendance (Two absences are permitted/semester for weekly meetings [see schedule below]. Missing an entire Saturday meeting will result in a failing grade for the course! At most, a student may miss one Saturday morning or afternoon during the semester. If your schedule will cause you unavoidably to miss an entire Saturday meeting, you should by all means drop the course and plan to take it at a future time when your schedule allows. Keep in
mind that virtual attendance is always permissible, though the expectation of full participation is the same as for those who attend on campus.) - 30% - Quizzes (lowest quiz grade is dropped) - 20% - Midterm (due no later than 11pm Mon, Oct. 22) - 30% - Final Exam (due no later than 4pm Mon., Dec. 17) Attendance grade will be calculated as follows. Zoom meetings occur weekly over 13 weeks. Two of the 13 meetings may be missed without deduction. Attendance grade will be calculated as the total number of meetings attended divided by 11. Thus, for a student who attends 8 of the required 13 Zoom meetings, his/her grade will be 8/13 = 73%. Course Format Digital Live Greek is a dynamic course in which instructors and students will engage the language of the New Testament in a range of ways designed to promote learning as effectively and efficiently as possible. We will meet on campus one Saturday each month (see above) from 9 am-3:30 pm. (Virtual students will attend via Zoom conferencing technology and will be expected to participate throughout the day as fully as those attending on campus.) The aim of these meetings will be to build upon what has been learned from the textbook and to develop skill in the translation of New Testament passages. We will also use the time to introduce more advanced concepts in syntax and exegesis. The bulk of the work in this course will take place between these weekend meetings as students work through one chapter/week in the textbook and workbook. My experience teaching the Biblical languages has taught me that most students do not learn well when left to work independently for the four weeks between each weekend session on campus. For this reason, two additional meetings are woven into the weekly routine. The first meeting, with the professor on Monday evenings from 8:30-9:30pm via Zoom, will introduce the material from that week s chapter. These meetings are optional and will be recorded so that students can view them on their own subsequently. The second meeting, with the course facilitators on Thursday evenings via Zoom, will review questions from the homework. These meetings are required and provide an invaluable opportunity to ask questions about the grammar that arise in connection with the homework. Attendance is mandatory; participation is not. While this time will be most beneficial for those who have completed the homework by that time, even those who have not done so will benefit from listening to the Q/A from other students. (Bear in mind
that the weekly quizzes will be based on the homework, so mastery of the latter will lead to higher quiz grades.) Additional opportunities to get help with difficulties in the material can be provided outside these times in the form of one-on-one office hours and tutoring. This will be explained during our first weekend module on Sept. 8. Headphones ALL STUDENTS ARE REQUIRED to bring headphones or earbuds to class. This is because part of the time will be spent in virtual breakout rooms where teams will work through exercises together. None of these meetings take place in groups of entirely on-campus students. Thus, earbuds or headphones are necessary for all students. Weekly Schedule The weekly rhythm revolves around a cycle of meetings and exercises that run from Monday at 8:30pm until the following Monday at 7pm. Each student is permitted two absences/semester from the weekly meetings. (Evening times have been chosen because these have consistently been the most convenient time slots for students in past years.) - Mon, 8:30-9:30pm (Zoom, optional): Introduction to each week s material in Porter - Thur, 7:30-9:30pm (Zoom, required): Homework review with course facilitators. Students will be divided into groups and will meet each week for during a single hour slot within this window. - Mon (of the following week), no later than 7pm (Canvas): Weekly quiz on grammar and vocabulary. It is imperative that you be faithful in keeping up with each week s work. A language cannot be learned in a few weekends! I strongly recommend spending 45-60 minutes/day for 5-6 days/week studying the week s chapter in Porter and doing the corresponding workbook exercises. Outside this, you should plan to spend 3-10 minutes several times/day reviewing vocabulary. Failure to do so will cause you to quickly fall behind and become overwhelmed by the amount of work necessary to catch up with the rest of the class!
Holidays Exceptions to the above schedule: - The week of Columbus Day (Monday, Oct 8), we will meet to introduce new material on Monday evening, as usual. This meeting is optional. - The week of Thanksgiving (Thursday, Nov 22), TA will meet to review homework on Friday, Nov 23. This meeting will be optional. Vocabulary Diligent study of vocabulary is the backbone of all language study. In order to ensure progress in this course, it is imperative that students spend time consistently reviewing vocabulary introduced in each chapter of the textbook. I strongly suggest preparing flashcards immediately each Monday and then spending small amounts of time (3-10 min) reviewing flashcards several times each day. Vocabulary is, of course, cumulative across the course (if you think about it, this is unavoidable) and so you should plan to review both new vocabulary and vocabulary from past weeks. Students may create physical flashcards or utilize some of the handy apps such as Quizlet, Duolingo, or Memrise. I find Quizlet to be the best. Flashcards for Porter s vocabulary already exist on Quizlet (search under Fundamentals of NTGreek ALL (= 12+) Porter ). Breakdown of coursework (in hours) All seminary courses are required to approximate a total of 135 hours of work. This includes all time spent on assignments, reading, and class attendance. Below is a breakdown of the hours required for this course. Please keep in mind that this is an estimation based on past experience teaching this course. All students are different! Some students will invest fewer hours and achieve an A. Others will invest more hours and achieve a C. Past experience leads me to believe that most students will be able to achieve a B or better by investing 135 hours as described below. 18 hrs Saturday sessions (3 Saturdays x 6 hrs each)
Managing our expectations 26 hrs Zoom meetings (2 hrs/wk x 13 wks) 39 hrs Vocabulary review (3 hrs/wk x 13 wks) 52 hrs Self-study in Porter (4 hrs/wk x 13 wks) 135 hrs Total course time A language course is different from most other courses at the seminary. Some of us have been gifted by God with the ability to pick up languages quickly and easily. Others must labor much harder for a lower degree of proficiency. Some people will therefore require fewer than 10 hrs/week to master the material. Others will require closer to 20 and may not obtain the same level of comfort with the language. Please do not suppose that by investing X hours/week, one is thereby entitled to a particular grade! Grades are based very simply on achievement, not on effort, attitude, hours invested, etc. Some aspects of the course will be especially demanding for all students and will require time and persistence to be mastered. Most people learn vocabulary and grammar relatively ably (given the due investment of study time). Translation of Greek sentences, on the other hand, is very challenging for everyone (even A-students)! Please cut yourselves some slack and resolve that you will make steady gains in your translation ability over time. This does not come quickly for anyone! Submission of quizzes and tests All quizzes must be taken on Canvas by 7 pm each Monday. Tests will also be taken on Canvas by the dates shown above. Late Assignments Accommodations for late quizzes will only be made for grave extenuating circumstances (e.g., birth, death, grave illness). Ministry activities, weddings (besides one s own), the general busyness of life do not constitute legitimate grounds for acceptance of late work. Everyone in the class is busy! It is the responsibility of each student to plan out his or her semester in such a way as to prioritize this
course. Out of respect for the professor and one s fellow classmates, please do not ask for extensions in such cases! Cancellation of Class In the event the seminary has to cancel a class meeting (impending storm, professor illness, etc.), the Registration Office will send out an email (via the GCTS email account) notification to all students registered in the respective course. If the cancelation occurs the day of the scheduled meeting, the Registration Office will also attempt to contact students via their primary phone contact on record. If a weekend class is cancelled, the class will be made up during the scheduled make-up weekend (Sat., Dec. 8). All students are expected to keep the make-up weekend open for this purpose. Attendance will be required on this weekend just like any other weekend. For more info, consult your Student Handbook. Extension Policy Course work to be submitted after the end date for the semester must be approved by the Registration Office. An extension form, available online, must be submitted to the Registration Office prior to the stated date. Requests received after this date will either be denied or incur additional penalty. For a full discussion of this policy, please consult the Student Handbook.