In the 45 years I've dedicated my life to teaching Greek, I've seen many incredible transformations. Some of my students have even gone on to become Greek teachers themselves. I myself had excellent Greek teachers when I was in school. It's one thing for someone to tell someone how to learn Greek. It's quite a rarity for someone to be able to motivate you and inspire you to want to master Greek.
This is a very important time in the field of Greek studies and you could not have picked a better moment to be part of this great area of knowledge. I thank God for blessing my life and for giving me the passion and desire to help others by writing and communicating in ways people seem to understand. Yes, something deep inside each of us seems to desire growth in some area of our lives. And you know what? Greek is something that will make a wonderful lifetime companion! Forget the past and what you could have or should have done. Right now is your new beginning, a clean slate that has nothing written on it.
To help you to attain your goals, it's good to be reminded of some basic principles of language learning. Remember these "rules of the road" in your study of New Testament Greek:
- Don't be too shy to read Greek out loud.
- Don't be lazy.
- Keep trying -- you've got nothing to lose and much to gain.
- Be proud of your accomplishments. There's nothing that motivates us more than our own success.
- Stick with it every day.
- Make this world a better place by developing self-discipline.
- Don't compare yourself with other learners.
- Constantly remind yourself about the benefits of learning Greek.
Hopefully, you have a teacher who makes learning dulce et utile -- sweet and useful. If their approach is neither interesting nor enthusiastic, find another teacher. In my case, I talk to myself in the language I'm learning. It makes me want to know how to say this or that all the time. I know I make mistakes, but who doesn't? I always tell people when they ask me how I learn a language, "I just want to." If you want to, you will find a way to make it happen!
