Greek Participle and Infinitive flowcharts uploaded

For any who are interested, I have uploaded to the Greek section of deinde my hand-crafted Participle and Infinitive flowcharts. Hope you find them useful !

Dear Dale Pritchett - show me the proof!

The big new news for Logos Bible Software lately has been the pre-pub announcement of Learn to Use Biblical Greek and Hebrew with Logos Bible Software. While I am happy enough with the concept, I will hold off until I actually see the videos to comment. Suffice it to say, I think there is tremendous value in actually learning a language. Conversely, knowing just a little bit without knowing all of the main elements can make you a dangerous preacher and exegete. The traditional answer for language acquisition has been to teach all of the basic elements first, while this new method will try something different. It will be interesting to see if it in fact does equip Logos users to do it on their own, or if it just holds their hand through a few passages (churches with Logos-using pastors may start hearing identical sermons once the publication comes out :-)

However, the question I want to ask today is a statement made by Dale Pritchett at the beginning of the most recent Logos blog post. He states:

For many years now, schools have been downsizing Greek and Hebrew programs due to decreasing demand. Students have been opting-out of the rigorous language programs in such numbers that we now estimate that less than fifteen percent of all seminary students complete a Greek or Hebrew language course as part of their degree program. You have to believe, as a result, the exegetical skills in the pulpit have been greatly reduced. This concerns us greatly.

I would really like to know what statistics Dale has to estimate this 15%. I of course am in agreement with his last statement, exegetical skills without the primary languages are limited and it shows in churches. But as far as I can tell, the "downsizing" of language programs is a myth- or at least an over-exaggeration. Let me explain.

Currently, my place of work is going through the tedious 10-year ATS review. Following this review will be a year-long re-evaluation of the curriculum. Now, as the intro languages teacher, I naturally got just a little nervous about my "babies" (intro Greek and intro Hebrew) as it is "common knowledge" that seminaries are dropping the languages.

So, in order for me and my colleagues to think intelligently on the issue, I did some fact finding. I visited the websites of about 30 seminaries, mostly Canadian but some American, of similar size offering similar programs. I found 1 which had dropped the languages, and as far as I can tell it is because they have a greatly reduced M.Div. (72 credit hours rather than 90). EVERY other seminary I looked at required languages at the graduate level. In fact, my school ranks as one that requires the least amount. This led me to the belief that this "downsizing" is a myth that has been simply passed on and taken as truth.

It is easy to understand why. Students complain about it and so the myth begins that schools will cut them to make students happier. Trouble is, most of those who are in leadership at seminaries continue to recognize the value of the original languages and keep them as core courses.

Now perhaps I am wrong, but if I am, show me.

Updates on my multimedia flashcards- including the iPad!

Wanted to make a quick note on my Greek multimedia flashcard sets that I've been selling for quite some time. They continue to be very well received and purchased frequently. Here are some updates:

iPad!

As far as I know I'm the first Greek flashcards on the iPad! Simply purchase the excellent Mental Case for iPad along with the multimedia flashcard pack which is created for your grammar, and study away!

iPhone/iPod Touch

I created a "lite" version of my flashcard sets, with just audio and text. The price is "lite" too.

PC (and iPhone/PC users)

The company LearnLift (creators of MemoryLifter) contacted me, interested in selling my flashcards via their online (and in app) store. What makes this so great is that MemoryLifter is not only on the PC, but sells right in the iTunes app store! So by the end of June or so you'll see my name in the app store. You can purchase the PC module of your choice until then right from deinde- which will save you a couple of bucks as LearnLift will be charging a little more.

Duff's Elements of New Testament Greek

I'm hard at work and anticipate completing multimedia flashcards compatible with Jeremy Duff's popular intro Greek grammar.

Flashcards by Frequency

My latest and largest creation, currently for PC only (but soon to be available on the iPhone app store too). I'm very proud of this module for MemoryLifter. What do you get? 1) words categorized by frequency 2) and image/mnemonic for all words occurring 40x or more 3) audio for all words occurring 20x or more 4) a contextual example for all words occurring 20x or more.

For more information on all of this, check out the deinde page.

Me at SBL

Since most of my blogging brethren have mentioned when and where they'll be presenting, I thought I might as well mention what I'll be doing in order to contribute to the collective stroking of personal egos. This year will be really fun, as I've been invited on to a panel- I didn't even have to submit a proposal!!

Truth be told, I'm kind of nervous about this. I only had 3 semesters of Hebrew under my belt before I began teaching intro Hebrew, so I'm not that far ahead of the students. (Guess what- I think that's what makes me a decent teacher of intro languages!). But sitting in a room full of members of the NAPH is pretty intimidating- I'm quite positive I will be the one with the weakest Hebrew skills in the room. But no matter, I look forward to it, and if anyone asks me a question I don't know the answer to, I will simply answer the question with a question!

See you all there!

National Association of Professors of Hebrew/Applied Linguistics for Biblical Languages
Joint Session With: National Association of Professors of Hebrew, Applied Linguistics for Biblical Languages
11/21/2010
1:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Room: Room TBD - Hotel TBD

Theme: New Biblical Hebrew Grammars

Pamela Scalise, Fuller Theological Seminary, Presiding (5 min)
Brian L. Webster, Dallas Theological Seminary
The Cambridge Introduction to Biblical Hebrew (20 min)
H. Daniel Zacharias, Acadia Divinity College
NAPH: Hebrew Grammars (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)
Jo Ann Hackett, University of Texas at Austin
Celebrating "A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew" (20 min)
Martien Halvorson-Taylor, University of Virginia
NAPH: Hebrew Grammars (Hackett, A Basic Introduction to Biblical Hebrew) (20 min)
Vivian L. Johnson, United Theological Seminary
NAPH: Hebrew Grammars Panel (20 min)
Theodore Hiebert, McCormick Theological Seminary
NAPH: Hebrew Grammars (20 min)
Discussion (10 min)