Galore Park Greek

[Mom in High Heels]

I've heard a lot of good things about GP Greek. Their samples are slim on the samples though as most of what you get it intro pages (they should rethink this). They currently have Classical Greek for Beginners, but in Nov will be coming out with So You Really Want to Learn Greek and wondering if I should hold off until that comes out as it will likely be similar to the Latin version which we will be using. I like the style of the Latin book and think Indy will find it engaging.

For those who have used CGfB, are there pronunciation guides or do you really need the CD?

[elinnea]

:bigear: I don't have an answer for you but I am interested in this too.

[Jen in PA]

:lurk5: Oh, this may be just what we are looking for!

[Corraleno]

I've heard a lot of good things about GP Greek. Their samples are slim on the samples though as most of what you get it intro pages (they should rethink this). They currently have Classical Greek for Beginners, but in Nov will be coming out with So You Really Want to Learn Greek and wondering if I should hold off until that comes out as it will likely be similar to the Latin version which we will be using. I like the style of the Latin book and think Indy will find it engaging.

For those who have used CGfB, are there pronunciation guides or do you really need the CD?

I've never heard of a CD for this program. :confused: I'm not sure what you mean by a "pronunciation guide," but CGfB lists the sounds for all letters and dipthongs (e.g., "au as in cow"), as well as how to pronounce accents and breathing marks. Greek is pronounced the way it's spelled, so you don't really need pronunciation guides for individual words. And if you want to actually hear the sounds of each letter, you can find audio files for free online (as well as people reading classical Greek texts).

 

As for So You Really Want to Learn Greek — can you link to the info on that? I can't find anything on the Galore Park website, and when I google it, I just get references to the book that was supposed to be published in 2006, but I don't think that ever materialized. Where did you hear that they're releasing it in November? :bigear:

 

Jackie

Edited June 24, 2012 by Corraleno

[kalanamak]

Where did you hear that they're releasing it in November? :bigear:

 

Jackie

 

:bigear::bigear::bigear:

 

This site says Sept 10th, but things like this sometimes turn out to be vaporware, e.g. Advanced Language Lessons.

 

http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/So-You-Really-Want-Learn-Ancient-Greek-1-Anne-Wright/9781902984681

 

This site says 134 days until pub:

http://www.waterstones.com/waterstonesweb/products/fred+pragnell/kristian+waite/an+introduction+to+classical+greek/9211835/

Edited June 24, 2012 by kalanamak

[Mom in High Heels]

It's listed as a pre-order on Amazon. There's also a workbook listed.

 

 

I've never heard of a CD for this program. :confused: I'm not sure what you mean by a "pronunciation guide," but CGfB lists the sounds for all letters and dipthongs (e.g., "au as in cow"), as well as how to pronounce accents and breathing marks. Greek is pronounced the way it's spelled, so you don't really need pronunciation guides for individual words. And if you want to actually hear the sounds of each letter, you can find audio files for free online (as well as people reading classical Greek texts).

 

A lot of other Greek programs come with CD's that have the words spoken on them so you can hear them pronounced properly. We can pronounce the letter sounds and I know that Greek is pronounced phonetically, but at the beginning stage, it's hard! We finished the Greek Code Cracker and even those basic words are hard to read, IMO without the pronunciation written next to it. I can't give you an example as I can't write in Greek here, but they put an English pronunciation example next to the word. The pronunciation for I teach is written di-DAS-koh and head is written as keh-fah-LAY. I know, by looking at this, where the emphasis sounds are. On the samples in GP, which admitadly are minimal, I don't see that. I don't think *I* could really figure it out without that, phonetically or not. Does that make sense?

[Laura Corin]

It's listed as a pre-order on Amazon. There's also a workbook listed.

 

....A lot of other Greek programs come with CD's that have the words spoken on them so you can hear them pronounced properly. We can pronounce the letter sounds and I know that Greek is pronounced phonetically, but at the beginning stage, it's hard! We finished the Greek Code Cracker and even those basic words are hard to read, IMO without the pronunciation written next to it. I can't give you an example as I can't write in Greek here, but they put an English pronunciation example next to the word. The pronunciation for I teach is written di-DAS-koh and head is written as keh-fah-LAY. I know, by looking at this, where the emphasis sounds are. On the samples in GP, which admitadly are minimal, I don't see that. I don't think *I* could really figure it out without that, phonetically or not. Does that make sense?

 

I used the GP Greek programme with Hobbes. I now longer have the book, but as far as I recall I just used the pronunciation chart at the beginning, which gives the greek letter/diphthong and the pronunciation. I had to refer back a bit at first but found it fairly easy to pick up. This book was one that GP bought in - they didn't write it themselves - so they have never invested in making CDs, etc, in anticipation of bringing out their own, more comprehensive text. When I used it, it didn't even have an answer book, but they added that later.

 

The main GP Greek text has been announced several times in the past but has been put on the back burner. The market is relatively small and the project is complicated. I will contact the publisher directly and ask him what the status is.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

Edited June 24, 2012 by Laura Corin

[Corraleno]

It's listed as a pre-order on Amazon. There's also a workbook listed.

Well that's very encouraging that it's already on Amazon, with a new co-author and a very specific publication date (Nov. 5th)! It looks like the 2nd book is an answer key, though, rather than a workbook (even better!).

 

We finished the Greek Code Cracker and even those basic words are hard to read, IMO without the pronunciation written next to it. I can't give you an example as I can't write in Greek here, but they put an English pronunciation example next to the word. The pronunciation for I teach is written di-DAS-koh and head is written as keh-fah-LAY. I know, by looking at this, where the emphasis sounds are. On the samples in GP, which admitadly are minimal, I don't see that. I don't think *I* could really figure it out without that, phonetically or not. Does that make sense?

All Greek words of more than one syllable have an accent (in addition to the breathing mark) that tells you where the stress is. However, in looking at the samples of CGfB, I see that they've left the accent marks off the Greek words on those pages, so I understand how that would be confusing! I'll try to locate my copy tomorrow and see if that's true throughout the book.

 

I will contact the publisher directly and ask him what the status is.

Please do! :bigear::bigear::bigear:

 

Jackie

[Laura Corin]

He's going to check the publication date for the new Greek text. He's also going to look into getting better samples online for the old one.

 

Laura

[Mom in High Heels]

He's going to check the publication date for the new Greek text. He's also going to look into getting better samples online for the old one.

 

Laura

 

You rock!

[kalanamak]

You rock!

 

:iagree: And it goes to show it pays to have friends in high places. ;)

[Laura Corin]

:iagree: And it goes to show it pays to have friends in high places. ;)

 

If you add together the hours I have spent online explaining his products....

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

You rock!

 

The publisher (Nick Oulton) is a member of the group and is very happy to answer any further questions you may have.

 

Laura

[crazyforlatin]

If Galore will be releasing in November, I better hold off buying Learn to Read Greek. I can't seem to find Andrew Keller's contact information to see if he can send me an answer key. I prefer his book versus Athenaze, but I haven't found any reviews here.

[Corraleno]

He's going to check the publication date for the new Greek text. He's also going to look into getting better samples online for the old one.

 

Laura

Laura, would it be possible ask if this will eventually be a 3-book series, like SYRWTL Latin & Spanish? Thanks so much for contacting him!

Jackie

[Mom in High Heels]

I just got an email from Nick and he looked into it.

 

I gather it's due on 5 November - should be fireworks!!

N

 

He also said (in another email), that is should follow the style of SYRWTL Latin. Yay!

 

I wish it were coming out a bit sooner so we could start it at the beginning of the school year, but that's okay. I'm definitely going to pre-order it on Amazon.

Edited June 25, 2012 by Mom in High Heels

[crazyforlatin]

I just got an email from Nick and he looked into it.

 

 

 

He also said (in another email), that is should follow the style of SYRWTL Latin. Yay!

 

I wish it were coming out a bit sooner so we could start it at the beginning of the school year, but that's okay. I'm definitely going to pre-order it on Amazon.

 

Thank you.

 

Now why are some of us considering Galore's Greek rather than Athenaze?

 

Oh, will Galore provide original Greek passages for translation? Learn to Read Greek does, but there is no answer key.

[Mom in High Heels]

 

Oh, will Galore provide original Greek passages for translation? Learn to Read Greek does, but there is no answer key.

 

There is an answer book available for pre-order as well.

[crazyforlatin]

I've been waiting for First Form Greek, and I really thought it would be released this year, but I haven't heard any news yet, so this is indeed great news from Galore.

[abbeyej]

...

Now why are some of us considering Galore's Greek rather than Athenaze?...

 

My reason for considering it would be because it's more user-friendly, particularly for logic stage students. Athenaze is a challenging course for high school students (although I've seen some schools that just do So Little of it in a year as to make it manageable -- I'm not thrilled with that approach), and too much for most middle schoolers unless they have a really great teacher (and, preferably, a good grounding in Latin grammar). I'd love something more like SYRWTLL as a bridge between Elementary Greek and Athenaze.

[crazyforlatin]

My reason for considering it would be because it's more user-friendly, particularly for logic stage students. Athenaze is a challenging course for high school students (although I've seen some schools that just do So Little of it in a year as to make it manageable -- I'm not thrilled with that approach), and too much for most middle schoolers unless they have a really great teacher (and, preferably, a good grounding in Latin grammar). I'd love something more like SYRWTLL as a bridge between Elementary Greek and Athenaze.

 

Aha, I understand. I was planning to use Athenaze, but the format of it keeps me from starting it. I like Keller's textbook and workbook, but his book appears to be even more difficult than Athenaze. I'm not willing to shell out the money for MP's online Greek course, not at this stage.

[Corraleno]

Now why are some of us considering Galore's Greek rather than Athenaze?

For me, it's just a matter of different books for different kids at different ages. I'm actually a huge fan of Athenaze, which DS is using for Greek 1 & 2 (he did Greek 1 last year w/Lukeion, in 7th, and will do Greek 2 next year) — but he happens to be absolutely passionate about Greek and was willing to put a LOT of work into it. OTOH, while DD is interested in Greek, she's not nearly as passionate about it, and there's no way she could handle the Lukeion class as a 5th grader, so I think SYRWTL Greek will be a much better fit. I may even start with Classical Greek for Beginners, and then do SYRWTLG in 6th; I'll decide once I have the new book in hand in November.

 

Jackie

[crazyforlatin]

For me, it's just a matter of different books for different kids at different ages. I'm actually a huge fan of Athenaze, which DS is using for Greek 1 & 2 (he did Greek 1 last year w/Lukeion, in 7th, and will do Greek 2 next year) — but he happens to be absolutely passionate about Greek and was willing to put a LOT of work into it. OTOH, while DD is interested in Greek, she's not nearly as passionate about it, and there's no way she could handle the Lukeion class as a 5th grader, so I think SYRWTL Greek will be a much better fit. I may even start with Classical Greek for Beginners, and then do SYRWTLG in 6th; I'll decide once I have the new book in hand in November.

 

Jackie

 

It's great to read about kids who love Classical Greek. Too bad my own Dd who seems passionate has not met another kid like that IRL. She's too young for Lukeion at this point, but it's a class I would consider when she is in middle school, even if we will have used Athenaze or similar books by then. I want to keep the passion alive and continue our studies, albeit at a slower pace.

 

All this talk about Galore and I haven't even placed an order yet. :auto:

[Embassy]

My reason for considering it would be because it's more user-friendly, particularly for logic stage students. Athenaze is a challenging course for high school students (although I've seen some schools that just do So Little of it in a year as to make it manageable -- I'm not thrilled with that approach),

 

Can you explain the drawbacks you see with that approach? I'm using Athenaze with my younger kids at a slower pace and I'm interested in any potential drawbacks.

[SophiaH]

I may even start with Classical Greek for Beginners, and then do SYRWTLG in 6th; I'll decide once I have the new book in hand in November.

 

Jackie

 

I had thought about doing this too. I wonder though if even SYRWTLG would be too much for my 10yo dd this year (I saw the recommended age is 13+). She is very eager to learn Greek but we will be getting into the nitty gritty of Latin grammar next year with 2nd Form so I don't want to overwhelm her. I'm still hopeful that First Form Greek will come out this summer (last I heard on MP's forum, it's still a possibility) and that will be targeted for 6th or 7th graders so I wonder if it will be more doable than GP. *sigh* I guess there's always Elementary Greek to use as a placeholder until she's reasy for Athenaze (which I recently got in the mail, and LOVE the looks of.) But man, I would love to just start out with a Classical Greek program...

[Laura Corin]

I had thought about doing this too. I wonder though if even SYRWTLG would be too much for my 10yo dd this year (I saw the recommended age is 13+).

 

I did it with Hobbes when he was about that age.

 

If the new Greek programme is going to be similar in level to SY Latin, I wouldn't recommend it for a 10yo. The three year course would be designed for ages 13-16, leading to the UK GCSE exam at that age, so it's likely to move fairly fast.

 

The question then comes: if you use Classical Greek for Beginners now, how will you bridge the gap until your child is ready for the new SY Greek? I don't have a good answer for that.

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

There are now better samples on the website for Classical Greek for Beginners, in case anyone needs to see more detail.

 

Laura

[Mom in High Heels]

There are now better samples on the website for Classical Greek for Beginners, in case anyone needs to see more detail.

 

Laura

 

Fantastic. Is there any chance you can talk them into better samples of SYRWTL Latin? There are 13 sample pages and only 2 of them are an actual lesson! The rest is intros and pronunciation. I want to see how a lesson works.

[Laura Corin]

Fantastic. Is there any chance you can talk them into better samples of SYRWTL Latin? There are 13 sample pages and only 2 of them are an actual lesson! The rest is intros and pronunciation. I want to see how a lesson works.

 

I'll get on it for you. Just to check: is it SY Latin you need or Latin Prep?

 

Laura

[SophiaH]

I did it with Hobbes when he was about that age.

 

If the new Greek programme is going to be similar in level to SY Latin, I wouldn't recommend it for a 10yo. The three year course would be designed for ages 13-16, leading to the UK GCSE exam at that age, so it's likely to move fairly fast.

 

The question then comes: if you use Classical Greek for Beginners now, how will you bridge the gap until your child is ready for the new SY Greek? I don't have a good answer for that.

 

Laura

 

Exactly my dilemma. I got into a similar situation with Latin and I don't care to go through it again with Greek. I'm thinking I'll have to suck it up and do Koine first. :001_unsure:

[crazyforlatin]

Exactly my dilemma. I got into a similar situation with Latin and I don't care to go through it again with Greek. I'm thinking I'll have to suck it up and do Koine first. :001_unsure:

 

Maybe it's better for us to wait for First Form Greek and then proceed to Galore's Greek.

 

I know not every child will be keen on reading the Bible in Greek, but we've been using Elementary Greek, and it's really one of Dd's favorite subjects.

Edited June 29, 2012 by crazyforlatin

[SophiaH]

Oh, I know dd would love to be able to read the Bible in Greek as well, so it's not all bad! ;)

Yes, I think I'm going to put off making the decision until I see if MP gets a release date on FF Greek soon. I know they're working hard on a number of programs this summer. And I could deal with having to wait until late fall or winter by giving dd Greek Code Cracker to work through in the meantime.

[crazyforlatin]

Oh, I know dd would love to be able to read the Bible in Greek as well, so it's not all bad! ;)

Yes, I think I'm going to put off making the decision until I see if MP gets a release date on FF Greek soon. I know they're working hard on a number of programs this summer. And I could deal with having to wait until late fall or winter by giving dd Greek Code Cracker to work through in the meantime.

 

We did Greek Code Cracker, which was fun and a quick way to learn the Greek alphabet.

[Mom in High Heels]

I'll get on it for you. Just to check: is it SY Latin you need or Latin Prep?

 

Laura

 

I don't mean to be difficult, it's just that you're so awesome. :D I'm looking at SY Latin. There are only 2 pages of the 13 that have an actual lesson sample. So many publishers do things like that. They put out samples but it's usually the first few pages of a book which is all introduction stuff and very little of what a lesson looks like. Before I buy something I want to see how it's going to work!

[Mom-ninja.]

My head is spinning!

[JadeOrchidSong]

We did Greek Code Cracker, which was fun and a quick way to learn the Greek alphabet.

 

Wehomeschool also recommends Code Crackers. I am interested undoing it with my boys.

Where do you get Chardenal French free? I would like to try it, too. I wish I could teach languages all day long!

[crazyforlatin]

Wehomeschool also recommends Code Crackers. I am interested undoing it with my boys.

Where do you get Chardenal French free? I would like to try it, too. I wish I could teach languages all day long!

 

There are different editions, but this particular one has combined Book 1 and Book 2, which I find much better, but I haven't found an answer key for it. There is one for Book 1, but I don't like it as much. However, I'm not sure if one is necessary. It's incremental, so if you learn along, you could possibly correct your child's work, although with DD's motor skills, we use it only orally. I like combining this book with Skoldo and BtB French. I want to add SYRWTL French because Laura has given great reviews for it, but I'm going to finish Skoldo first.

[JadeOrchidSong]

I know some French with 3years study in college, so I can figure out the answers, maybe. Thanks for the link.