If all goes according to plan, at the end of this coming semester I will hold in my hands a bright, shiny new Master’s degree with my name on it! My last requirement is a practicum, and the Fates must be smiling on me, because I’ve worked out a way to fulfill that requirement while also…studying ancient Greek! Somehow timing and patience and a few lovely professors have given me a two-for-one deal.
This is exciting, and also, I must admit, just a little harrowing. I took three semesters of Greek two years ago, so I’ll basically be picking up right where I left off, except for that unfortunate, you know, complete lapse in studying. I’ve dabbled here and there but it has certainly taken a back seat, especially when I became a full-time graduate student. And since I’m supposed to be assisting with the course, not merely attending, I don’t think a fake-it-til-you-make-it approach is going to suffice. Classes start in 11 days, so I have joined the ranks of probably countless generations of budding scholars – I’m cramming for Greek.
This reviewing/learning process presents some unique challenges, and unique opportunities. As part of my “assignment,” my Greek professor has asked me to keep a detailed journal of my process, something I was interested in doing anyway. She says that there’s a hypothesis, purely anecdotal, that she and most of her Classics colleagues have: if you stop studying a language, you can pick it back up pretty easily after a year; it starts getting harder after that; and after two years, you’re toast. Square one. Considering I am right at the two year mark, almost to the day, it should be, as she put it, “interesting.” 🙂 I’m the subject of my own applied linguistics research! (Do I get extra credit?)
I’ll be posting occasional updates over the next few months as to how things are going. In the mean time, wish me luck! And Happy New Year!
Like this:
Like Loading...
