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143
people found this helpful, as of 2023
ranked #214,166 most helpful out of 571,544,897 reviews
★★☆☆☆
Greek tutor does not recommend...
I was a Greek tutor for a student using this book, although I learned myself 3 years ago from a different textbook. I don't recommend this one because it has a very confusing format. The book jumps around too much. It introduces difficult concepts (like middle voice) very quickly to beginners while they are still struggling with the basic noun and verb endings. The Greek paragraphs don't come with translations, and the trivia about culture and mythology buries the important information. It's very easy to overlook important concepts hidden in the middle of a busy page. Also, the book never presents helpful charts for quick-reference... instead students have to rift through the pages every time they need an ending. I ended up copying tons of material from my old Greek textbook for my tutoree because she couldn't find what she needed in the Athenaze book. My student isn't alone in having trouble with the book; her professor has decided to switch texts for next semester because Athenaze doesn't give students what they need to be proficient. This book appears to be a fun way to learn ancient Greek, but it's too disorganized for a serious student who actually wants to learn the language. I recommend L.A. Wilding's "Greek for Beginners" (edited by C.W. Shelmerdine) instead because of its clear format that presents information up front, its Greek-to-English and English-to-Greek sentences, the interesting end-of-chapter longer readings, and (especially) the amazing charts at the end of the book that I am STILL using 3 years later because they are so quick and easy to reference.
January 2005 · Books
the product in question
Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek Book I
4.4★ · 141 ratings, as of 2023
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