When I first took Greek at Biola, our textbook was Chase and Phillips.
It was WAY over my head. I lasted exactly three weeks in the class before dropping. Here's a typical explanation (p. 4): "A word bearing the acute upon the ultima is known as an oxytone, one with the acute upon the penult as a paroxytone, one with the acute upon the antepenult as a proparoxytone." The authors add this: "These terms, though formable, will save much laborious periphrasis."
Say what?????????????????????
Teachers of ancient Greek should in my opinion keep their instruction as simple as possible to help their students better understand the language, especially when they're beginners. At the very least, this means using clear language that initially avoids complex vocabulary and explanations. Complex methods and techniques can easily overwhelm and hinder a student's ability to master the language. To know a language is to develop a skill. The material you use to learn Greek, at least at the initial phases of language learning, plays a critical role in your eventual success as a teacher. The best textbooks in my opinion are those that are both well organized and simple. Why, then, should two of the most recent beginning grammars of New Testament Greek be 600 pages?
Incidentally, after dropping Greek 1 at Biola, I took Greek 1-2 from Moody Bible Institute by correspondence, then took two semesters of intermediate Greet at Biola that summer, and then took two Greek courses at Talbot School of Theology the following two semesters. A year after I dropped Greek 1, I was hired to teach 11 units of beginning Greek at Biola. Our textbook? The one I couldn't understand! Don't tell me that God doesn't have a sense of humor. That was in 1976. I was 24. Fifty years later God is still letting this beach bum teach Greek!