What difference between Greek and Latin pedagogy?

Answer 1

When teaching modern languages (including Modern Greek), there is more of an emphasis on conversation skills and being able to find public transportation and similar day-to-day modern topics. When teaching the languages of the ancient world, especially when those languages are no longer used (such as Koine Greek and Latin), the focus is generally more on being able to read and understand the texts that have been left behind by those ancient cultures. Vocabulary and grammar structures are more tied to the historical literary tradition than they are to the living cultural tradition of the modern world.

Traditional pedagogy in Latin and Koine Greek has relied on memorization of grammar charts and word forms, but there has begun to be a shift away from this in the High School and Middle School classrooms. These teachers are beginning to incorporate some of the same pedagogical tactics seen in modern language classrooms, such as speaking Latin, Comprehensible Input, having students write in Latin, and moving the focus away from flawless grammar forms and toward holistic reading skills (grammar still plays a part, but it's no longer center-stage).