Language Prep

[neat]

Hi all, 

I'm weighing the possibility of beginning some language prep in advance of an MDiv program. Specifically, I'm looking at getting some Greek under my belt- I don't have any background there and would like to develop my ability, both because of my academic interests and because having that skill interests me in general. I currently live in an area with a little bit of a dearth of resources in terms of ancient languages; we do have a local private university, but it seems foolish to apply for admission and pay big bucks to take a few hours of Greek (assuming that their offerings are worthwhile anyway...they don't have a religious studies dept.). My inclination is to take a couple classes at the local community college- it's not particularly expensive, and it would provide a bit of structure. My sense is that you would have to be awfully motivated to take on self study, and even then, there aren't many affordable interactive programs....I would probably just have to get a textbook and work through it from there.

My question is this: does anyone have recommendations for this beginner on delving in to Biblical Greek? I'm willing to pursue self study if the program was right, but I'm not aware of anything that fits that category.  It seems that studying at the local community college makes the most sense, but I don't know if classes at that level would prepare me for language exams at the graduate level. While I want to get a head start and begin building my knowledge base, I don't want to enroll in classes just to learn the alphabet and a couple verb tenses. Perhaps its better to wait and take the requisite language courses in the program I end up in? All thoughts are welcome. 

[malakchris]

Mounce has a lot of his lessons free online. He's one of the go-to authors.

[Almaqah Thwn]

Mounce is actually designed very well for self study; I've known a couple of guys who have done so with a good amount of success. The advice I give newbies at the seminary who are looking to get ahead on a language is to learn the alphabet and the vocabulary. Knowing all the words beforehand (or at least 200-300) will save you many headaches. This is especially important for our seminary, as we do intensive Greek. But, even if Greek is stretched out over a full term, knowing the vocabulary would still be good. 

[drivingthoughts]

@918Philosophizer The above comments are accurate. Track down Mounce & at least learn the alphabet and basic structures - he has lots of resources on his website and youtube. Getting a jump on vocab would also be really useful. Additional note: folk often find an affinity for either Greek or Hebrew, not always both. So if Greek is hard, maybe Hebrew will be "easy" (or they will both be hard).  I got C's in Greek and A's in Hebrew.

[AEscalante1]

Also be sure to check out iTunes U(niversity). Not sure what the current offerings are now, but in the past iTunes U had very good podcast-like courses available for download/streaming, and both Greek and Hebrew were available with most of the professors using Mounce's Greek and Pratico/Van Pelt's Hebrew.

[neat]

Thanks, all! I appreciate the input!