hands, 'Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in the Learning of Greek and Latin', Bryn Mawr Classical Review 9502
URL = http://hegel.lib.ncsu.edu/stacks/serials/bmcr/bmcr-9502-hands-computer
@@@@94.2.11, Reviews of CAI Software
Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) in the Learning of Greek and Latin
(Reviews of CAI software, by divers hands)
Introduction (William A. Johnson)
Recently an undergraduate, in praising a CAI package, remarked how very
much easier it was for her to remember something that she read on a
computer screen. Pause for a moment to let this sink in. We who are
university instructors do not commonly share this experience. For us, the
more familiar formulation will be that seeing something on the printed page
gives the great boost to recall and memorization. Indeed the flood of
information scrolling past us on a computer screen has become a very symbol
of what is ephemeral, evanescent, hard to attend, not the subject of close
scrutiny. As an intellectual community, we have made the transition to
computer literacy with unexpected grace, yet hardly any of us have grown up
with computers. How could we, when significant ingress of computers into
the home dates to the 1980s? Yet, even as we think ourselves comfortable
within the electronic environment, we lose track, I think, of how our view
of this environment differs from the view of the generation we are
currently beginning to teach. For today's freshmen, the Apple II was
introduced not long after they were born, the IBM-PC when they were 5 years
old, the Macintosh when they were not yet eight. Childhood learning at home
and school was closely associated with Sesame Street, Nintendo, Commodore,
Atari, and that darling of the schoolroom, the Apple II. The computer
screen, for such a student, is significantly less alien, more warm and
friendly, more normal as a means for the discovery and recall of
information.
There is therefore good reason to think that CAI may play an increasingly
important role in language instruction, and good cause to think useful an
overview of some of the CAI software currently available. What follows is
the tangible product (or as tangible as one needs in an electronic world)
of a group study of and meditation upon the use of computers in the
teaching of Greek and Latin (one theme of a recent graduate course in
"Classics and Computing" at the University of California, Irvine). The
software here reviewed was selected according to the results of queries to
the Classics-related e-lists and cognoscenti in the field. Though in
a couple of cases the selection reflects the textbook interests of our
local program, in general the software was selected more for reputed merit
than on any other basis. We hope, therefore, to provide here a survey of
some, at least, of the better software available today.
What is the state of computer-assisted instruction in 1994? To what extent
does it adequately address the needs of our students? The answers to these
questions must be mixed.
On the one hand, one notes a continuing reliance on very basic, and rather
limited, drill programs (some of which are little more than recompilations
of older materials). The drill function is not in and of itself to be
contemned, since introductory courses in Latin and Greek typically focus
upon exactly such elements of the language. And, as already noticed, the
importance of drill within an electronic environment cannot be
underestimated for today's students. But some rather general shortcomings
are so obvious and so readily remedied that it is hard to understand why
they continue. The frequent inattention to the aesthetics of interface
design is perhaps a minor point. More important will be the fact that much
of the software shows a surprising inability to generate a variety of
questions from one session to the next. In several cases, this problem
could be solved by so simple an expedient as the addition of more exercises
to the base set from which the program selects, so that the computer
generates, say, a session of 10 exercises from a base set of 50 (rather
than of 15!). Yet even more deplorable is the general inability of most
programs to understand the most rudimentary synonyms in processing the user
response. Our reviews are sprinkled with complaints on these sorts of
inflexibility. It would seem, then, that we are still sadly far away from
software which incorporates even mildly complex strategies for matching and
retrieval, or which takes advantage of the enormous resources of memory and
disk storage now available.
On the other hand, we do, here and there, see heartening signs of progress.
Some of the more recent packages show laudable improvements in the user
interface, in both design and function. Mastronarde's Electronic
Notebook, and in lesser part Wilken's HyperGreek, Blackwell and
Burian's Gramma, and Neuburg's JACT Greek, are noteworthy for
incorporating at least most of the following: (1) visual appeal, (2) a
well-developed network of on-line assistance, (3) easy movement among the
various subsections of the data, (4) user customization, and (5) the use of
sound. This last deserves additional comment. The importance of aural
reinforcement in learning, especially in memorization, is well documented.
Yet university instruction seldom lends itself to those monotonous yet
indelible chants ("hic, haec, hoc") so familiar to those of us lucky enough
to have learned Latin or Greek at an early age. Though none of the current
software takes the principle nearly far enough, the systematic inclusion of
aural reinforcement in exercises involving paradigms, vocabulary, and the
like is an exciting prospect. I suspect that the addition of aural
reinforcement may well prove decisive in encouraging instructors of the
classical languages to adopt more routinely "computer lab" hours in a way
analogous to the use of language labs in the modern languages.
In some respects the most significant of the software here reviewed is the
Transparent Language package, which, by means of elaborate help
windows, allows even an elementary student to work his or her way through
relatively large amounts of original text. There have been earlier efforts
in this direction (I am personally familiar with early experiments in Latin
by Jay David Bolter and in Latin and Greek by David W. Packard), but
TL is the first to make the attempt on such a grand scale.
(TL offers dozens of texts in several different languages, including
Latin, and, soon to come, Greek.) Such software, by radically facilitating
the reading of original texts, offers opportunities in at least two
directions. First, it could allow the instructor to introduce substantial
readings at a much earlier stage in the elementary curriculum; and
secondly, it could be used to encourage "rapid reading" among intermediate
students. These seem important prospects in environments --typical these
days-- where most students have only two years of exposure to a language.
The increasing dominance of the electronic world is creating gradual but
dramatic changes in how students are accustomed to learn, and it is
within this context that we should try to assess the merits of
computer-assisted instruction. We should think, that is, not so much of how
such software might have helped us learn Greek or Latin (for we grew
up in a different world), but how such software might help the students we
instruct. For an earlier generation, computer-assisted drilling and the
like helped students too undisciplined to work through flash cards or to
write out paradigms. But today's students, I suggest, are fundamentally
different in their attitudes towards what constitutes a normal atmosphere
for learning. For such students, computer-aided instruction may well be
fundamental to their abilities to learn. For this reason we as instructors
should be particularly aware of the electronic aids currently available,
even where, as often, the current state of the software falls short of the
ideal.
Table of Contents
Latin: 1) Transparent Language (J. Conant). 2) Latin Computerized
Grammar (S. Nakata). 3) Latin Flash Drill (M. Smith). 4) Johnston and
Milgram, Latin Tutor (D. Cassella).
Greek: 5) Mastronarde, Electronic Workbook (J. Beach & M.L.
Richards). 6) Burian and Blackwell, Gramma (K. Jaconi). 7) Wilkins,
HyperGreek (G. Vidler). 8) Neuburg, JACT Reading Greek (K. Golemo).
Latin CAI Software
1)Transparent Language 2.0 (Reviewed by John Conant)
(Software for Macintosh or IBM. Assorted Latin text packages as e.g. Aeneid
I, AP selections from Catullus and Horace, Plautus's Aulularia,
etc., ranging in price from $14.95 to $39.95. Available from Transparent
Language , 22 Proctor Hill Rd., P.O. Box 575, Hollis, NH 03049. Tel.
1-800-752-1767. Fax 1-603-465-2779. E-mail: 70541.3236@compuserve.com.)
Transparent Language is founded on the reasonable premises that the
best way to develop reading fluency is to practice reading and that the
best way to encourage practice is to make reading as easy as possible.
The presentation of Transparent Language is simple: a window of
Latin text is surrounded by a variety of "Information Windows". This
repertoire of tools should seem very familiar to any modern student of
Classics. The Original Language Text Window corresponds to the text you are
reading. The Word Meaning Window is equivalent to your lexicon. The Phrase
Meaning/Word Grouping Window displays information on complex and idiomatic
phrases, providing information you might look for in your Latin Grammar.
The Sentence or Clause Meaning Window is equivalent to your English
translation of the Latin text, and the Comments Window provides the
morphological, syntactical and background information you wish were in your
commentary (but so often isn't). The Notes Window is, of course, your handy
note pad.
Transparent Language also has a few more advanced features,
including two kinds of searching. Word Search searches the text for
recurrence of the same letters. Root Search searches for words with the
same lexical entry. Features also include the capacity to generate word
lists, e.g. of unfamiliar words for later study, and a vocabulary game
called "Vocabulous!".
The information in the auxiliary windows is keyed to the Latin text on
three levels, by word, by phrase, and by sentence or clause. The word under
consideration is indicated by highlighting. Words closely related to it,
e.g. adjectives which modify a noun or the elements of a subordinate
clause, are indicated by underlining. English translation is presented by
sentence or clause, but the boundaries are not indicated in the Original
Text Window.
Transparent Language supports both keyboard and mouse interface.
Most features are executable in three ways, by "hot key", button bar, and
menu.
In some ways, Transparent Language achieves its goal. Reading Latin
is very easy because the processes are so streamlined. Momentum is not
squandered by endlessly searching through references. Everything is at hand
on the screen. Of course, you can close information windows, if you require
less support, and easily reopen them, if you change your mind. It would
however be helpful if there were some preset sequence to summon help for a
particular word or phrase, and then have the help automatically disappear
as one moves along. An undisciplined student may well find that the
constant availability of "crutches" hinders an honest attempt to grapple
with the original text.
The only serious drawback with Transparent Language is the fact that
reading large amounts of text on a computer screen can be annoying. I can
read hard copy for hours, but more than a half hour or so of reading a
computer screen gives me a headache. Whether this is true for today's
students is hard to say. It may be merely a matter of practice, for I am
able to spend hours composing on the computer-- but perhaps that is a
different kind of reading? In any case, Transparent Language does
its best to ameliorate the problem by allowing the reader to move and
resize the various windows and to change the size and font of the text.
Transparent Language rightly claims to be useful to any level of
student. But I think it would be most useful for intermediate students,
those who have been introduced to Latin and have digested basic grammar and
are ready to start reading. Transparent Language could be used at
the end of the first year, and in second and third year Latin coursework,
to increase the amount students read. Another group who might profit from
Transparent Language are those who are done with formal study of
Latin in high school or college and wish to read Latin texts on their own.
They would find the extensive support provided by the information windows
especially useful.
Transparent Language is not perfect, but it is a step, perhaps even
a long walk, in the right direction. Reading Latin has never been so easy.
Addendum: Transparent Language has now announced version 3.0. The
promotional literature mentions an on-line reference grammar, more games,
and expanded audio capability: some texts (available on CD-ROM) are now
keyed to two digital recordings, words spoken continuously and each
individually.
2) Latin Grammar Computerized I and II. (Reviewed by Sharilyn R. Nakata)
(Software for Macintosh, IBM, Apple II [Macintosh version here reviewed].
License $59.95 ea., site $180.00 ea. Available from Lingo Fun, Inc., P. O.
Box 486, Westerville, OH 43081. Tel. 614-882-8258 or 800-745-8258. Fax
614-882-2390.)
This is a basic, no-frills software program containing two levels of drills
in first-year Latin grammar. Level I covers twenty grammatical topics,
including the following: the tenses of all four conjugations; all five
declensions; participles (along with the ablative absolute and the passive
periphrastic constructions); prepositions; pronouns (relative,
interrogative, reflexive, personal, and demonstrative); adverbs; the
passive system; indirect statement. Level II also covers twenty grammatical
topics, and includes the following: uses and constructions involving the
different cases; deponent verbs; irregular verbs; the subjunctive; the
sequence of tenses; purpose, result, and fearing clauses; cum
clauses; indirect questions and commands; conditions. This program does not
seem to be based on any particular textbook, although Wheelock does come to
mind, largely in terms of the sequence of topics presented.
Navigating through the program is simple. On starting up, one is confronted
by a box identifying the topic being covered as well as the kind of drill
being presented, and one is always brought back to this box at the
beginning and end of each drill. The topic and drill may be changed -- as
the instructions in the box indicate -- by clicking on the Topic and Lesson
menus at the top of the screen. The Help menu provides on-line assistance
in the form of general instructions and information on input, feedback, and
scoring for the drills, as well as in the form of a concise discussion
(Lesson Review) of each grammatical topic.
Drills consist of ten questions, each worth three points if the correct
answer is given on the first attempt. Points are deducted with each
unsuccessful attempt, though hints as to what is wrong with one's answer
are provided by means of various symbols. After three wrong answers, the
correct answer is provided, and one is moved along to the next question.
Different kinds of drills are provided with each grammatical topic. One
may, for instance, choose to concentrate only on generating forms, or on
translating phrases and clauses from Latin to English or vice versa, or on
practicing other skills through other kinds of drills. One may also opt for
a combination of all of these.
This program is commendable and of enormous potential for the beginning
Latin student in a number of ways. The interface, if plain, is for the most
part self-explanatory and easy to use. The list of grammatical topics is a
relatively complete one for first-year Latin, and the fact that the
software does resemble Wheelock in its sequence suggests that it might be
used as a supplement to that textbook. (The exercises in Wheelock, after
all, do not emphasize individual grammatical drills so much as the
translation of complete sentences from Latin-to-English and vice versa). Of
course, the program's main feature -- the grammatical drill -- would be an
extremely useful supplement to any beginning textbook. The principal
strength of the drill feature in this program is its potential for variety,
since it does allow the choice of one or more drills for each topic. The
Lesson Review provided with each topic is also noteworthy in that it is
concise and clearly written, making for an easily digestible (and
relatively painless) chunk of information to be taken in as one moves along
through the program.
Unfortunately, there are a number of things about the program which hinder
its practical usefulness. The box which identifies the topic and drill
being covered contains the word Text in place of what was probably
intended, Test. In any case, this clearly refers to the drill being
covered, and so the word Drill would have been a more logical label.
Likewise, since the Lesson menu obviously refers to the drills, it should
have been called the Drill menu. This sort of inconsistency is
annoying at best, and confusing at worst. The Help menu lists
Accents as an option, and while this is appropriate and necessary
for Spanish or French (for which this drill program is available), it is
hardly so for Latin. Lesson Review is probably a misnomer; it would be
better to read the discussion of each grammatical topic before
proceeding to the drills, since at times the latter (through its
terminology and use of abbreviations) assume that one has done this. The
presence of the Exercise menu is also questionable, since one of its
options -- Grammar Computerized -- goes without saying, and the other
option -- Teacher's Gradebook -- should not be there for the student. There
is a small number of misspellings throughout the program, e.g. spec
for spes under 4th and 5th Declensions, and ipsis for
ipsa as a neuter plural accusative for ipse under
Demonstrative Pronouns. There are also a few mistranslations, e.g.
"Let them not speak" for Ne loquamur under Subjunctive: Commands
and Wishes. Within the drills themselves, a serious flaw is the fact
that the range of allowable translations is simply not large enough.
Examples abound: "big gift" is not allowed for donum magnum under
1st and 2nd Declensions; "I act" is the only translation for
ago under Present Tense of the 3rd Conjugation; "you are
desiring" is not allowed for cupitis under Present Tense: 3rd
-io/4th Conjugation; etc. This serves only to hinder and frustrate the
beginning student, who should be taught that there are a number of ways to
translate different words and phrases, and that while there are many wrong
answers, there is no absolute right answer when translating. A final
desideratum: an on-line vocabulary list would be helpful for the
drills involving the translation of English-to-Latin. As it stands, it is
not clear what level of vocabulary the user of this program is supposed to
have mastered.
While the above flaws do hinder the potential of this otherwise useful
program, one should still keep in mind the fact that the program
does have potential. With adjustments and corrections, Latin
Computerized Grammar I and II should be of enormous benefit to students and
instructors alike in terms of its usefulness in grammatical drill review.
To many beginning students, this is probably the most tedious aspect of
learning Latin, and when it is done orally in the classroom, it can also be
stressful and intimidating. With this program, the tedium might not be
entirely removed (no colors, pictures, or voices provided here!), but the
stress and intimidation are. One may drill at one's own pace, outside of
the classroom, and so this allows classroom time to be freed up for other
things which the instructor should ideally oversee and comment on directly,
viz. the translation of longer sentences and passages.
3) Latin Flash Drill, Centaur Systems. (Reviewed by Margaret M. Smith)
(Software for Macintosh, IBM, Apple II [the Macintosh version reviewed here
runs under HyperCard]. Site license only, $95.00. Available from Lingo Fun,
Inc., P. O. Box 486, Westerville, OH 43081. Tel. 614-882-8258 or
800-745-8258. Fax 614-882-2390.)
Remember your elementary Latin class? You learned paradigms by repeating
them after your teacher for seemingly endless stretches of time. You may
have even written countless forms in a faithful notebook. Perhaps you were
lucky enough to have a workbook to accompany your textbook. Latin Flash
Drill, an electronic workbook, is designed to assist students in
memorizing paradigms of Latin nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and verbs. The
electronic practice page looks like one found in a workbook. The Latin
word, its gender (when applicable), and meaning are provided at the top of
the page. The student is prompted to type the stem of the word and then the
appropriate endings in the boxes provided for the paradigm. At the bottom
of the workbook page are six commands: Menu (return to the main
menu), Quit (exit Latin Flash Drill), Hint (provides a
coded hint for the stem or ending), Code (retrieves a list of codes
for the hints), Help (shows the entire paradigm), and Skip
(allows the student to skip a line of the paradigm and proceed). If the
student types an incorrect ending, the program responds with the written
message "Try again," or "Help/Hint?" until the student either types the
correct response or selects the Skip command to move ahead in the exercise.
When the student completes the paradigm, the program gives a report (Good
job! / Well Done! / That wasn't too bad / You need more practice) and asks
the student whether he or she wants to continue practice or to move on.
The program also includes brief grammar and syntax discussions for each
part of speech. These Grammar Explanations review English grammar as the
first step in the discussion of Latin grammar. Students may freshen their
resolve between paradigms by reading Main Menu item #5: Linguistic History
(Why study Latin?).
Latin Flash Drill does have limitations and a few drawbacks. The
vocabulary list is fixed and cannot be customized. The program selects
words for the paradigms at random, but a word may be repeated several times
in a row before a new word is selected. The program does not include
infinitives, participles, gerunds, gerundives, supines, or any irregular
verbs such as sum or volo. Nor does Latin Flash Drill
make provision for the memorization of alternate endings. For example: the
accusative plural form of civis can only be listed as cives;
the third person plural perfect indicative active form can end only in
-erunt not -ere. There are also occasional errors. The
genitive plural of ego is given as nostrorum rather than
nostrum / nostri. When the Help command is used -oru/-aru
appears for the genitive plural ending for many pronouns although
-orum/-arum is accepted as the correct answer. Latin Flash
Drill asks the student to type simple word endings without long marks.
It focuses on learning the endings with relatively few obstacles. For rapid
review, this can be an advantage over programs that require the student to
type the whole word. Occasionally, however, as in the case of pronouns, the
ability to type the whole word would facilitate memorization.
Latin Flash Drill allows students to practice at their own pace.
There is no time limit, the program does not tire of incorrect responses,
and the student can refer to hints or help as needed. This is not a fancy
practice program. But simple though it is, Latin Flash Drill interacts with
the student and provides the immediate feedback necessary to encourage
students to memorize paradigms. This program does not depend on one
particular text. It is a tool that can be incorporated into the assignments
of any introductory Latin course. The conscientious use of Latin Flash
Drill could result in less time spent on drills in the classroom and
tutorial sessions, thus increasing the time in which classes can discuss
syntax and read Latin.
4) Patricia A. Johnston and Marc Milgram, Latin Tutor: Software to
Accompany Traditio: An Introduction to the Latin Language and Its
Influence. (Reviewed by Dean Cassella)
(Software for MS-DOS. Available for cost of diskette and shipping from
Prof. Maria Pantelia. E-mail: mariap@christa.unh.edu.)
This software package is designed to be used exclusively with the
elementary text Traditio by Patricia A. Johnston (Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice Hall, 1988). The program is broken up into two parts (verbs and
nouns/adjectives) and focuses on vocabulary acquisition and parsing of
forms. The vocabulary and paradigms employed in the drills and exercises
correspond to the individual chapters of the Traditio text.
In comparison to other such autodidactic programs, Latin Tutor is
quite simplistic, with a plain layout and straightforward functions. In the
verb section, the student is given the choice of 1) Conjugating Verbs in
Latin, 2) English-to-Latin Vocabulary Drill, 3) Latin-to-English Vocabulary
Drill, and, in later chapters, 4) Verb Synopsis.
The verb conjugation option requires the student to give the definition of
a word and then to enter the paradigm of a tense preselected by him. The
verbs for the chapter are initially listed for reference. The computer
keeps track of the user's performance and gives a score at the end of each
drill, followed by a "second chance" with the forms missed. If the student
doesn't fare well, a review of the relevant paradigm appears on the screen.
The Latin-to-English and English-to-Latin drills work along the same
premise. The program presents a series of 10 infinitives, to which the
corresponding translation is to be supplied by the user. Again, the
vocabulary for the given chapter is in full sight on screen, and a score
follows.
Perhaps the most intensive (and useful) of the verb sections is the Verb
Synopsis. The user chooses a verb from a given chapter, then selects person
and number. The program then requires the student to list that form for
every possible tense, mood and voice learned thus far. It's quite a
workout, and requires the user to call to mind individual forms outside the
context of the paradigm.
The noun section consists of 1) Noun/Adjective Phrase Declension Drill, 2)
English-to-Latin and Latin-to-English Noun Vocabulary Drills, and 3)
English-to-Latin and Latin-to-English Adjective Vocabulary Drills. All of
these drills work along the same principles as the verb section.
Noun/Adjective Phrase Declension asks the student to input a noun/adjective
combination (e.g. "unhappy book") and then list all possible declensions,
one at a time. The noun vocabulary drills work along the same premise as
that of the verbs, with the exception of the nouns, which also test
knowledge of the genitive singular and gender.
As I stated above, the program is extremely simple, and therein lie its
advantages and disadvantages. Latin Tutor is about as basic, in
terms of user friendliness, as one can get. The potential user does not
even need to use a mouse: arrow keys and "enter" are all that is required
beyond typing in the answers. Loading the program is also a breeze. The
first-year student, cold, hungry, and struggling for dear life, does not
need to do a rain dance with manuals, options, etc. in order to get
started.
The bareness of the formatting, however, seems designed for an earlier and
clunkier generation of computers. For example, long vowels are indicated by
capitals, instead of macrons; this could be a source of confusion (or at
least inconvenience) for beginning students.
Perhaps the greatest shortcoming of this program is its complete lack of
syntax drills. Self-correcting exercises in the Traditio textbook
are sorely lacking; since the whole Traditio package (i.e. the text
and software) does not allow the student to gauge his progress
independently, the student must still rely on the instructor more than is
perhaps necessary; this also limits the application of the software for a
student learning Latin on his own. Consequently, the potential for
independent study afforded by this program is undeveloped. Perhaps a second
edition could improve the deficiency.
Finally, how can the elementary Latin teacher employ this program? Its
greatest potential is that it could free up class time to work on syntax.
Parsing forms and the like can quickly eat up a given classroom hour, at
the expense of other topics. Today's beginning students often are not
prepared for the rigorous and unusual demands placed on them in learning
Latin; many have no idea how to go about memorizing paradigms and
vocabulary lists. Support from this program can fill in the gaps an
instructor with limited time cannot provide.
5) Donald J. Mastronarde, Introduction to Attic Greek, Electronic
Workbook. (Reviewed by Jennifer Beach and Mary Lou Richards)
(Software for Macintosh. To be published by University of California Press,
price not yet determined. Review is based on the "beta test" release, which
is not complete.)
Donald Mastronarde has assembled a very attractive software package as
companion and supplement to his new textbook, Introduction to Attic
Greek. The Electronic Workbook, as Mastronarde aptly calls it,
is engagingly designed, with close attention to the aesthetics of the
presentation and ease of operation. The mobility among the elements of the
program is excellent, as is the flexibility which the program offers both
in choice and customization of the drills and tutorials. On-line help at
every turn, including help balloons, make the software virtually
self-explanatory. In addition, the interactive interface lets the student
know not only that an answer is wrong, but why it is wrong or what part of
it is wrong. Sound, color, and narrative are used throughout the package to
acknowledge correct answers and give positive and negative feedback in a
well-balanced proportion. The end result is a rich set of alternatives and
assistance without unnecessary confusion or intimidation for the user.
The program consists of several discrete lesson modules, all of which can
be accessed easily from within any module with a few clicks of the mouse.
The modules contain lessons on accentuation, pronunciation, nouns, verbs,
and vocabulary. All of the modules (with the exception of pronunciation)
have a variety of interactive drills, with a heavy emphasis on parsing and
vocabulary recognition. Each exercise has a number of labeled buttons which
lead to pertinent paradigms or summary of rules, thereby offering instant
aid to students who require review. The student also can customize each
drill to address his or her immediate needs by selecting options available
under the "Customize" button. Several of the modules use vocabulary
corresponding to the units in Mastronarde's text, but there are customizing
options available to allow preparation of one's own lists. This feature
makes it possible for instructors to augment the vocabulary, and could make
the software useful even for students and instructors who are not using the
Mastronarde text.
The accentuation module includes a tutorial section summarizing the rules
of accentuation in a concise card format, with each card dedicated to a
particular subject. The subject range covers syllables and accents,
proclitics, enclitics, definition of terms, and persistent and recessive
accentuation. The practice and drill section, which utilizes vocabulary
from units two through eight, allows students to drill on both persistent
and recessive accentuation. The first drill consists of identifying the
proper accent for each word, and giving a summary of the accent rule it
demonstrates. The second drill asks the student first to select and then to
place the proper accent over the correct vowel in a list of words. Errors
are noted for both accent type and placement; students are allowed as many
trials as necessary to obtain the right answer. The first exercise is
passive and demands reflection, and the second is interactive and gives the
student an opportunity to apply newly acquired knowledge.
The pronunciation guide and practice modules come equipped with sound, and
give aural reinforcement to help solidify vocabulary knowledge. Aural
reinforcement is not, however, integrated into the other modules.
The noun and verb modules offer some of the strongest features the software
provides. These modules concentrate on form identification and parsing
skills. The exercises require the student to select the part of speech of
the word given, and to parse it by selecting the correct choice from a
series of columns listing possibilities. Provisions are made for forms that
have more than one possible answer, and choices are inactivated as
appropriate (e.g., when "infinitive" is selected as the form, the student
does not have the option of identifying "person" or "number"). Once the
student has made a final decision, the correct answers are displayed. In
these exercises, the program offers great flexibility in customizing the
word lists to be studied. Nouns can be reviewed alone or with adjectives
and pronouns and may include all declensions or just one particular
declension. Verbs may be studied with all principal parts or any specified
part. This allows the student to concentrate on a particular area or to do
a general review. The principal parts module specifically addresses this
aspect of verb study, and includes various recognition drills. One feature
sure to be popular with students is a principal parts match game patterned
after the TV game show, "Concentration." The student is shown a screen with
several squares, each containing the principal part of a verb. The student
must match parts from the same words. When done correctly, the matching
words turn the same color.
The vocabulary module is, in effect, a ready-made flash card drill
including options for dictionary meaning, English derivatives, and
English-to-Greek mode. Word selection can be based either on textbook
units, or on pre-selected and saved lists of vocabulary words. The flash
rate can be set to accommodate students working through the material for
the first time (advancing only on the mouse click) as well as those
brushing up for quizzes and exams (automatic flash card advance with as
little as one second intervening).
One negative aspect to the software is the fact that the student never has
the opportunity to respond with a Greek word, except in his or her
imagination. This has, of course, the great benefit that it obviates the
problem of learning the Greek keyboard equivalents. Yet for some exercises
it would surely enhance the learning process if typing the Greek answers
directly were at least an option.
All in all, the software does an excellent job facilitating student study
requirements that demand drill and repetition. Variety both in the
exercises and in the types of interaction should help keep students
interested longer. The Mastronarde software at present provides no
syntax-related material, and all vocabulary entries reflect only the simple
meanings. Yet these are the very areas of language study that instructors
alone can best provide. This software could go a long way towards freeing
the instructor to spend more classroom time on syntax, translation, and
reading skills.
6) Peter Burian and Christopher Blackwell, Gramma: Software for Students
of Ancient Greek; Mnemonika 3.0, Onomata 2.1, Rhemata 2.1b. (Reviewed
by Kristen Jaconi)
(Software for Macintosh, running under HyperCard. $25.00. Available from
Prof. Peter H. Burian, Dept. of Classical Studies, Duke University, Box
90103, Durham, NC 27708-0103. E-mail: pburian@acpub.duke.edu.)
Christopher Blackwell and Peter Burian's Gramma is a visually
appealing software program based upon Maurice Balme and Gilbert Lawall's
Athenaze: An Introduction to Ancient Greek (Oxford 1991). The
program targets either novices of the Greek language or students familiar
with Greek but desiring to perfect their language skills. Essentially
Gramma consists of three different drills which test the memory of
the student: MNEMONIKA, a vocabulary drill, ONOMATA, a noun, pronoun, and
adjective paradigmatical drill, and RHEMATA, a verb drill.
MNEMONIKA permits the student to drill himself not only from Greek to
English, but also from English to Greek on a vocabulary of 1,197 words. The
student selects a range of chapters of Athenaze from which to draw
the vocabulary. The student encounters the most "technical" difficulty in
the English-to-Greek part of this drill. For each response the program
requires a precise Greek spelling inclusive of the diacritical marks, thus
necessitating an intimate acquaintance with the keyboard of the Duke Greek
Font. On-line help does not exist for this keyboard (and indeed the
greatest shortcoming in Gramma is the lack of any on-line
help). The student must look in the Appendix of the Gramma program
guide or use the laminated keyboard accompanying the software package.
Certainly the student working diligently with the program eventually
memorizes the Greek keyboard, but the intermittent user is at an extreme
disadvantage. If the student misplaces or mistypes the accent, the answer
is incorrect. Perhaps the program could allow the student to decide whether
he wants to work with or without accents and breathings. Similarly, the
Greek-to-English drill requires a response in English in exact accordance
with that of the program. For example, if OU)DEI/S, OU)DEMI/A,
OU)DE/N appear and the student writes no one; nothing, he is
incorrect because the program expects no one; nothing; no. This
fastidiousness can be disheartening for the beginning student. Why is the
program incapable of allowing for variances? The manner, and a faulty one
at that, in which the program attempts to alleviate such problems, is by
allowing the student the choice to click RIGHT or WRONG, after having seen
the correct answer. So if the answer is essentially correct, the student
can override the program's decision (viz., that he was wrong), select
RIGHT, and the score will reflect a correct response. The program does
permit the student to control how many words and how much English-to-Greek
and Greek-to-English drilling he desires: thus, the student can select 10
words, 100% Greek-to-English; 15 words, 75% Greek-to-English and 25%
English-to-Greek; etc. And MNEMONIKA is the one drill which tallies the
score at the end of the quiz and saves this score if asked, allowing the
instructor to keep tabs on the results. This drill also allows students to
create individual word lists.
ONOMATA includes 1,418 forms of 59 substantives (nouns, pronouns, and
adjectives). The student parses forms or gives the Greek form demanded. The
student can optionally quiz his knowledge of dual and vocative forms. He
has the choice to work with whatever words in the word list or in the
chapters he wants, but the program can handle only 23 words for each drill.
And here, in this component of the program more than in the other two, the
student needs to have the textbook Athenaze before him to see which
chapters are associated with which paradigms. But again there is no on-line
help. To combat the problem of precision found in the English-to-Greek part
of this drill, there is a "Messages" box which reports to the student if he
has misplaced, mistyped, or omitted a diacritical mark. The student can
click either TRY AGAIN if he wishes to adjust his response or GIVE UP if he
wants to see the correct response. To improve this drill, there should be a
way to see the complete paradigm of a given word for study before and after
the student tests himself.
RHEMATA comprises 6551 forms of 18 paradigmatic verbs. The student has a
choice between parsing forms or producing Greek forms. With the
English-to-Greek part of the drill he can choose to work with only the
present active indicative, all verb types, the aorist passive subjunctive,
etc. The student can even work with dual forms, infinitives, and
participles. Problems similar to those unveiled in MNEMONIKA and ONOMATA
(typing of Greek and irritating precision) arise here also and again there
is no on-line help. As in ONOMATA's English-to-Greek drill, a "Messages"
box appears if the student has misplaced, mistyped, or omitted a
diacritical mark. This component of Gramma also should have complete
verbal paradigms accessible to the student.
Without any doubt the three components in Gramma can assist the
student of Greek in memorizing vocabulary and grammatical forms.
Gramma also could allow the instructor to spend less class time
reviewing paradigms. But given the emphasis of the Athenaze
textbook, one would dearly like to see more. Why not include the reading
drills so prevalent in Athenaze? Why not make the student able to
enjoy the travails and joys of Dikaiopolis on line? Installation of a
fourth component involving translation would greatly increase the utility
of this program. As it stands, however, the program will serve well the
complementary function of helping with memorization of the formal aspects
of the Greek language, though that function would be better served with a
few adjustments, including most particularly on-line help and more
"intelligent" matching of the student's responses.
7) Don Wilkins, HyperGreek. (Reviewed by Gregory Vidler)
(Software for Macintosh, running under HyperCard. $25.00. Available from
Intellimation, Dept. XA, PO Box 1922, Santa Barbara CA 93116-1922. Tel.
800-3-INTELL or 805-685-8587. Fax 805 968-8899.)
HyperGreek is a software package designed to be a relaxed and
efficient method of learning Biblical and classical Greek. The tutorial,
intended for use as a supplement to the classroom or for independent study,
consists of sixteen lessons and an appendix containing vocabulary and
syntactical explanations. Each lesson begins with a concise explanation and
follows with exercises. At regular intervals a student can quiz himself on
vocabulary.
The software is simple and easy to use. Only a few minutes are required for
a student to learn everything that is necessary to operate
HyperGreek. Starting with an introduction to the Greek alphabet, the
tutorial proceeds in a logical direction, and permits easy return to a
previous lesson at any time. Supplementary notes give exceptions to the
rules and other helpful hints, and these are available at the click of a
mouse.
The software is visually pleasing and provides the student with the
opportunity to hear the correct pronunciation of Greek words. Bursts of
applause, explosions, sighs and other various sounds are integrated into
the software to indicate correct and incorrect answers to the quizzes. In a
student's first encounter, this is likely to be a rather fun experience;
however, after a few sessions, many students will find themselves turning
off the sound.
HyperGreek, despite its accessibility, is sadly limited in its
scope. The sixteen lessons cover the equivalent of roughly four weeks of
college level Greek. A student who entirely devotes himself to learning
everything in this software package will still find himself unable to read
Greek. The software covers only the indicative mood; the subjunctive and
optative are left out, as well as the passive voice for the future and
aorist tenses. No mention is made of the perfect and pluperfect tenses. The
syntactical explanations of nouns are basic and barely break the ground by
way of explanation. Not only does the software lack many of the essentials
for reading and understanding classical and Biblical Greek, there are also
occasional errors, as for example: the feminine dative plural ending is
mistakenly listed as AI rather than AIS in the
exercise section of lesson four; in the parsing exercises of lessons eight
and nine E)/RGA and DW=RA can only be parsed as
neuter accusative plural, and when parsed as nominative or vocative, the
answer is rejected as incorrect. The tutorial also fails to explain that
neuter plural subjects take a verb with a singular form, yet the first
translation exercise contains such a sentence.
It is conceivable that HyperGreek could be used as an aid to a Greek
instructor during the first few weeks of instruction; the grammar and
vocabulary in this tutorial are similar to that which a student will
encounter in his first few weeks of Greek. However, the software would
become obsolete in a relatively short time. As a form of independent study,
HyperGreek is, again, too limited to serve as a viable tool.
A question comes to this reviewer's mind: Why bother? HyperGreek
does not possess the required scope to be an adequate instructional aid,
and it lacks the inspirational ingredient that a student can find in a good
instructor.
8) Matt Neuburg, JACT Greek. (Reviewed by Karl Golemo)
(Software for Macintosh, running under HyperCard. Freeware. Available from
Matt Neuburg. E-mail: clas005@csc.canterbury.ac.nz.)
Matt Neuburg's JACT Greek software (which is distributed without fee
over the Internet) provides exercises designed to accompany the first
sixteen sections of the textbook Reading Greek: the Joint Association of
Classical Teachers' Greek Course. Each exercise includes specific
drills such as re-writing Greek sentences with the correct placement of
accents and breathing marks, practice in parsing verbs and nouns,
vocabulary drills, and an extra practice section which combines each of the
previous exercises. The student is allowed to choose between a sequential
or randomized approach to these drills. Instruction may begin at any of the
sixteen sections and for any component of that section (e.g. the vocabulary
drill in section five, the parsing drill in section eight, etc.).
Once inside the actual testing environment, the student is given a Greek
word to define (or parse) or a Greek sentence to re-write or translate. If
the response is correct, the student is given the choice of continuing the
same drill or moving to a completely different exercise anywhere in the
program. If the response is incorrect, the student is given the same
choices as above with the addition of an opportunity to peek at the correct
answer, which, if requested, is displayed briefly on the screen.
The vocabulary section offers perhaps the greatest advantage to the
student. Here the program takes the place of flash cards and provides an
efficient way of developing a functional personal vocabulary. The parsing
drills are equally beneficial to the student, aiding in the understanding
of the morphological structure of words.
An interesting feature of this software is the ability to generate speech.
Using the Macintalk Pro system extension, the program can pronounce all of
the Greek words and sentences in a variety of voices. These speech routines
could be very beneficial, especially for the beginning student. But in the
current implementation, the feature has problems which seriously impact its
usefulness. The speech routines are available only on demand, that is, one
must pull down a menu and issue a command in order to hear the sound. A
more thorough integration into the program presentation would be much more
helpful, and more likely to be routinely used. Also, certain syllables
(especially where vowels adjoin) are wrongly pronounced and stress accent
is entirely haphazard. This too limits the useability.
There are also limitations within the main program. First, the responses
judged correct by the program are too restrictive in some cases. For
example, for the word A)POFE/RW, the program will not accept
"carry off" or "carry away" but only "carry back" as a reply. Similarly in
many instances the program does not allow for alternate spellings. For
example, the program will accept only "saviour" for the word
SWTH/R, which will be confusing to American students who are, of
course, used to writing "savior". Secondly, some will find the vocabulary
offerings meager, since the program only uses the words from the Vocabulary
to be Learnt section of the textbook rather than from the entire vocabulary
of a given chapter. An option to include the wider base of vocabulary would
be helpful.
These limitations, admittedly, are not very great, and Neuburg has added
another feature which can correct them to a large degree. Using the
"Teacher Stacks" teachers can created customized data for their students.
Vocabulary can be added, with variations in spelling and meaning, and the
teacher can input specific instructions right into the program. This
feature is very useful for developing one's own course of classroom
instruction and makes the program very practical as a pedagogical tool.
The format of the program is basic and fairly easy to use once the student
learns the Greek to Roman equivalents on the keyboard (for which on-line
help is available). The program closely follows the first sixteen sections
of the JACT textbook and is a handy companion to that text. For teachers
who find the regular program too confining, the Teacher Stacks allow
customization of the data. Given the close reliance of this software on the
textbook exercises, the program could well substitute for the execution of
these exercises in class or at home. But-- and here, a last desideratum--
one therefore wants some scoring mechanism so that the students can get a
sense for how well they are doing and so that the instructor can properly
monitor the students' progress. (The advertising is somewhat misleading
when it says, "Why waste time checking the results of the student's
exercises when the computer can do it for you?") Such a mechanism would
greatly add to the program's appeal.