Learning a new language can be an exciting and rewarding journey. If you’re embarking on the path to learn Modern Greek (here are some reasons why we chose it, and there are many more), plan to dedicate at least 15 minutes a day to learning, and even more if you are really dedicated (we studied about 45 minutes a day, 5 days a week, and about ten minutes a day on weekend days). Practicing and studying a foreign language once a week for an hour is not nearly as effective as fifteen minutes a day, and the best results come when you practice every. single. day.
It didn’t really matter which foreign language program you chose, so long as you practiced for a minimum of fifteen minutes a day. Practicing once a week for an hour is not nearly as successful as fifteen minutes every day, as long as you really study Every. Single. Day. Here are ten valuable tips to help you along the way:
Listen to Greek radio & podcasts
You can do this on your smartphone or on your PC too. as much as possible. Talk-shows are best. Even if you don’t understand what they are saying, listen to the sounds. You will become familiar with the language and the tempo and pace. At some point, you will start to recognize words, sentences, and dialogues. You’ll feel like you’re progressing fast! It helped us to slow down the speed at first because Greek people tend to speak fast, but overtime we recognized more and more and became familiar with pronunciation, accents, etc.
Stick stickers with Greek words all over your house and make flash cards
So that you see, read, and speak these terms daily. That’s how you learn those Greek words. “Mirror, toilet, table, door, lamp, etc.” Also make cards or sticky notes for basic greetings, introductions, and commonly used phrases in Greek. Build a solid vocabulary of essential words and phrases to help you communicate in everyday situations. Purchase a set of flashcards that teach the most common verbs (basic verbs that are used daily, such as “to be”, “to do”, “to make”, etc). Try to start using these words daily and become familiar with speaking them, hearing them, and using them.
Listen to Greek songs
Look up the lyrics too. Read them on your phone or print them out. Read along
the song out loud. Translate them, or read the translation of the lyrics. This will give you a larger Greek vocabulary and will improve your feeling for the language.
Look up the most important Greek grammar rules
Be sure to look up the most common grammar and verb conjugations at the beginning. Otherwise, you will never learn to make whole sentences and really understand the Greeks.
Immerse yourself when in Greece
Read the signs along the road, of stores. This way you will practice yourself in reading. If you have the opportunity, write down the words and later look up the translation in your dictionary. Our paperback frequency dictionaries provide ample space to make notes, and we encourage you to do so!
Surf to Greek internet pages and read the text
Even if you don’t know all the words. You are practicing your reading skills. For example, the Greek Wikipedia is a great source of Greek texts, and you learn about something interesting at the same time.
Books: It’s fun to try and read a children’s book in a foreign language, especially when you’re already familiar with the book in English! Start with simple Greek texts, such as children’s books or short stories, and gradually work your way up to more complex literature. Reading Greek texts will enhance your vocabulary, grammar, and comprehension skills. Children’s books offer a surprisingly wonderful amount of beautiful, mature vocabulary words (beyond simplistic “pat the dog” or “the cat sat”) and include adjectives and verbs in various tenses. Finding a few favorite children’s books, such as this one, and rereading it until you can almost recite the story yourself, is a great way to become very familiar with speaking and understanding where the adjective is placed (before the noun), and how to conjugate verbs, how to use possessive pronouns, etc while enjoying delightful, whimsical Greek tales.
Movies: If you’ve ever looked at the menu of a DVD, you know that there are different languages you can listen to a movie in. Usually they’re only the common languages of French and Spanish, but if you’re studying one of those languages, try watching the movie in it! Children’s movies are especially easy to follow along with, because they use more simple language, “Finding Nemo” and “The Incredibles” for example. If you have any family favorites that your children can practically recite from memory, it will be even more fun to hear them in a foreign language! Your children don’t have to understand every word, but will learn to figure out what’s happening and get used to the spoken word. Listening will help improve their ear for the language, and their pronunciation.
Video Games: Just like movies, some video games come with the ability to set the language, so this is a great way to add a little fun to the mix. Even Microsoft executives have been known to refresh their French by changing the language on the games they play!
Listen and Speak to Native Speakers: Immerse yourself in the sounds of Greek by listening to native speakers. In addition to trying to watch Greek movies, listen to Greek music, and find podcasts or online resources that provide authentic Greek language content, try to engage with Greek people- they love to discover people trying to learn their language. It makes them proud! Many will be happy to chat with you and help you practice. If you are shy, just try to listen to their conversations and see what words or phrases you can understand. This exposure will help you familiarize yourself with the rhythm, intonation, and cadence of the language also. You may be able to find language exchange partners (people in Greece offer this online, as they want to practice English) or join Greek language communities to practice speaking. Engaging in conversations with native speakers will improve your fluency and confidence in using Greek in real-life situations. At present, we have a Greek tutor from Greece who speaks to my sons via Zoom once a week to help them practice.
In general, immerse yourself in Greek culture. The music, the food, the history, the people… it’s all magical. Immersing yourself in Greek culture will deepen your connection to the language. Watch Greek movies, listen to Greek music, try Greek cuisine, and explore Greek history and traditions. This cultural immersion will make your language learning experience more engaging and enjoyable. Remember, learning a language requires dedication, consistency, and patience. Embrace the process, celebrate your progress, and enjoy the journey as you explore the beautiful world of Modern Greek. Kαλή επιτυχία! (Good luck!)
Fun Trivia about the Modern Greek Language
The Greek language is the native tongue of the people living in Greece and Cyprus. It’s of the Hellenic family, and independent of the Indo-European language family, so despite the importance of Greek in world history, the language isn’t related to any other in the world. It’s unique and has been learned by some of the wisest and most impactful individuals in history, and some of the most important written historical and religious works are in Greek (usually ancient Greek, a predecessor of today’s Modern Greek).
Because it’s not related to other languages, some aspects of learning Greek may be more complex for some, but other aspects are simple because a lot of other languages borrow from the Greek language. The 24 letter Greek alphabet is the basis of the 26 letter English alphabet. The word alphabet is derived from the first and second letters of the Greek alphabet (Α/α (“alpha”) abd Β/β (“beta”).
You Already Know Some Greek
As a native English speaker, you may already have a vocabulary that includes about 25% Greek at the root of the words. You may be speaking Greek words on a daily basis and not even know it! Here are some cool Greek words we learned in the last year that we all use and didn’t know were Greek:
Astronaut = Αστροναύτης (Astronaftis)
Biology = Βιολογία (Viologia)
Cosmos = Κόσμος (Kosmos)
Dinosaur = Δεινόσαυρος (Dinosavros)
Echo = Ηχώ (Echo)
Enthusiasm = Ενθουσιασμός (Enthousiasmos)
Harmony = Αρμονία (Armonia), the “h” is rejected in modern Greek.
Idol = Είδωλο (Idolo)
Irony = Ειρωνία (Ironea)
Machine = Μηχανή (Mechane)
Mystery = Μυστήριο (Mysterio)
Ocean = Ωκεανός (Okeanos)
Panther = Πάνθηρας (Pantheras)
Planet = Πλανήτης (Planeetes)
Psychology = Ψυχολογία (Psychologia)
Sarcasm = Σαρκασμός (Sarkasmos)
Strategy = Στρατηγική (Strategiki)
System = Σύστημα (Systeema)
Technology = Τεχνολογία (Technologia)
Therapy = Θεραπεία (Therapia)
Thermometer = Θερμόμετρο (Thermometro)
Tragedy = Τραγωδία (Tragodia)
Triumph = Θρίαμβος (Thriamvos)
Type = Τύπος (Typos)
Utopia = Ουτοπία (Utopeea)
Zoology = Ζωολογία (Zoologia)
For some great elementary books to learn Greek, check out Greek123. With these books, you can learn from the most basic (kindergarten) to advanced Greek (about 8th grade and adult levels). The books and workbooks are fabulous, engaging, easy to use and understand, and incorporated all aspects of learning- reading, writing, speaking, listening. We love them!
Since language learning is the most fun when it’s not based solely on a textbook, all those other sources of learning Greek have been part of our learning loop. Here it is:
1. Review vocabulary words
2. Watch a short YouTube cartoon
3. Read a children’s short story or picture book in Greek
4. Practice speaking with short sentences and verbs in known tenses
5. Listen to a short Greek audiobook story
6. Watch a long Greek cartoon movie
7. 10 minutes of narration or copywork in Greek from a children’s book (eventually dictation)
The idea behind looping our foreign language learning is that my boys are exposed to Modern Greek in the written word, practice writing it, learn to understand what they are hearing from different sources (sometimes cartoons or movies, other times words without visual clues). It’s not boring, and we can keep it short. Usually a video or short story is 5-8 minutes long. If they keep watching the same videos over and over, they will become more familiar with the language and the new vocabulary will become second nature in no time.
Καλή επιτυχία και καλή διασκέδαση!