"Singing Grammarian" Video Bundle (H. Daniel Zacharias)

TITLE: Singing Grammarian 17 Video Bundle [Video Download]
AUTHOR: H. Daniel Zacharias
PUBLISHER: Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publications, 2013.

With catchy melodies and sometimes humourous linkages of memory mneumonics, this package of videos makes learning Greek memorable and fun. It reminds us again that the study of Greek need not be dry or difficult. If we can be creative in our learning methods, chances are, we can make learning a meaningful experience. Using music, powerpoint transitions, highlighted Greek paradigms, parsing tools, grammatical highlights, vocabulary, pronunciation, and many other tips for learning the biblical Greek, Zacharias sings with an encouraging voice supported by a clear visual presentation.

How should this tool be used? For a start, it can be used by teachers just before the teaching of the grammatical topic, and again at the end of the lesson. In the middle, the student will need to do the hard work of writing down the actual Greek, to be familiar with the words themselves, and how the endings, the nuances of the language, and the way each Greek table is constructed. This is the hard work that needs to be done first, and the video cannot replace this actual learning. The video aids a little bit in terms of helping the student to remember. It cannot be used to replace the need to memorize the table in the first place. Secondly, students will benefit by using these videos to remind them of what they have learned. Especially helpful before any test or exams, the videos can instill a melody to pull out stuff at the back of our heads. That is where the hard work done initially will prove helpful. Learning melodies can be easy, but without the actual content to be reminded about, the melodies remain useless melodies. Thirdly, the tool is a good way to refresh previous Greek students who have long forgotten their introductory Greek. Finally, if you can let your creativity run while, there are many other possible uses of this video bundle. Let me share one creative gem. This is especially for those of us who are young parents. What do we do if we want to sing our kids a bedtime melody, and at the same time, we have to prepare for an upcoming Greek grammar exam the next day? Do not fret. Play the melodies by Zacharias over and over again to charm our kids to sleep. Such parents who are also Greek students will not mind playing the melodies over and over again. The kids will love it. The Greek student will savour it. Maybe, the spouse may not find it as amusing but, well, if the kids can sleep well, and the Greek can be learned well, why not?

The list of 17 videos covers:

1. Articles
2. Greek Alphabet 
3. Aorist Active and Middle
4. Future Active and Middle
5. First Declension
6. Second Declension
7. Third Declension
8. Imperatives
9. Infinitives
10. Liquid Verbs
11. Participles
12. Passives
13. Present Active Indicative
14. PluPerfect
15. Present, Middle and Passive
16. Secondary Endings
17. Subjunctive

I find some of the videos a little too quick, especially with all the different Greek characters coming in and out of the transitions. This should not be a problem with modern technology. With the pause and rewind on the computer, it is easy to either slow down, replay, or to pause at any time to pace ourselves. The first time may take some getting used to. After a while, it's a breeze. Hang on to the videos. Learning Greek need not be dry and monotonous. This singing grammarian puts the fun back into learning Greek.

Note that this item can be purchased from Christian Book Distributors here. It is not available on Amazon.

Rating: 4.5 stars of 5.

conrade

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This resource is provided to me free by Kregel Publications without any obligation for a positive review. All opinions offered above are mine unless otherwise stated or implied.