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Download The Verb Train: Teaching Ancient Greek Verbs at Secondary
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The Verb Train: Teaching Ancient Greek Verbs at Secondary School Level via Interactive Multimedia M. Xesternou lecturer in the Philology Department of the University of the Peloponnese – [email protected] In contemporary teaching, the traditional model of learning based on the Education-Educator-Learner approach is gradually being abandoned in favour of more flexible pedagogical practices that are personalized and open to a wide range of innovations Verb Train deals with the specialized field of teaching Ancient Greek verbs. The rationale of this particular software stems from the need to codify verb conjugations in alternative ways Information was drawn from the work of Bergeron (1990) in order to construct a learning environment based on the following principles: definition of the object of study; structuring of the activities and the related material; unification; creation of models; and, of course, the potential of experimentation. The locomotive engine and freight cars (see Fig. 2) are the kits to be assembled (Bertrand 1999), which provide the final data that will be constructive in the overall learning experience. Using the simple device of successive projections of the verb development stages, the data is gradually conveyed. On the home page of the program, Sophocles the Parrot makes his appearance. He is the wise helper who guides the user through the program. Three (3) main options will appear that will admit the learners to their corresponding class: the 1st, 2nd or 3rd year of secondary school. By clicking on any of these button/portals, the users are taken to the screen with the entries to the train station, which correspond to the teaching units, according to the grammar curriculum for each class. the user can see six (6) options, which are activated by pointing the mouse to the icons of the corresponding students. In this way, the user can choose the Voice of the verb in combination with the level of the task (learning or practice) and move to the corresponding platform. By selecting Active Voice, for example, at the PRACTISE & APPLY 1 level, the user moves to the central platform, where he/she has access to various categories of verbs (e.g. ones with vowel stems or dental stems). Here the user can click on one of the available categories on the wall of the corresponding platform, such as verbs with vowel stems or consonant (velar, labial or dental) stems. Following this route, the user ends up at the final station. Following this route, the user ends up at the final station. He/she selects the verb of choice from the platform. Then, the user will see the six (or fewer) train engineer buttons (Fig. 1), by which to choose the mood, infinitive or participle. The user selects the verb, then the engineer (mood), at which point the train arrives, and finally he/she selects the tense of the verb he/she wants to conjugate to start loading the train. There are additional buttons in the form of train parts (e.g. foglights, headlights and hooks) which correspond to suffixes, augments, reduplications, verb stem endings and infixes, helping the user to form the various verbs. When the user selects a verb and tense in the LEARN & GRASP function, then the verb is automatically ‘loaded’ onto the train car and a voice is heard reading out the verb. In the PRACTISE & APPLY function, the difference is that the user must construct the verb form. The verb is conjugated as the user loads and unloads the proper affixes by clicking on the auxiliary buttons. The cars are loaded by dragging and dropping the correct parts in the correct car. When the user clicks on the “Information” button, Sophocles the Parrot appears on the screen and gives instructions and information about the auxiliary buttons. The following tool/buttons are on every screen of the program: “Information”, which calls up the parrot with the corresponding instruction; “Back”, which allows the user to return to the previous screen; “Exit”, which allows the user to exit the program; “Eraser”, which allows the user to delete mistakes in the PRACTISE & APPLY function; “Print”; “Save”; “Connect to the Internet”; “Paper & Pencil”, which calls up the grammar rules corresponding to the conjugation of the specific verb; “Volume”; “Analyse”, which activates the grammatical analysis of a verb. The user may key in a verb using the polytonic system of orthography, and the verb is automatically analysed as to its voice, mood, tense, number and person, loading it onto the corresponding cars of the train. The learner of Ancient Greek grammar initially has to deal with a range of mental functions The learner is called upon to memorize a large number of affixes corresponding to moods, tenses and noun verbs (infinitives and participles) and apply the corresponding rule in order to form them correctly; Apart from memorization, the learner must also have a firm command of the rules of spelling and of the diacritics (accents and breathings) used in the polytonic orthography system; At the practice stage, the learner must instantly recall a range of information that he or she must codify in order to give the correct answer. Pedagogical principles This software was designed to help learners learn to conjugate Ancient Greek verbs and facilitate the above-mentioned mental functions. This is an interactive teaching method that compares the conjugation of verbs to loading the cars of a train. At the train station, the user is called upon to select the software functions that correspond either to learning verb conjugations or to applying the knowledge he or she has gained. There are two levels of difficulty: A and B. The software obviously makes use of the train and cargo metaphor to achieve the visualization of the mental functions that the human brain must carry out in order to form the verb. At the same time, in a single screen it presents all the knowledge needed to complete the complex task of finding the verb form, so that the learner can become familiar with it. The verb database is particularly broad, containing all the regular verbs found in Attic prose. This interactive teaching method, based on the train metaphor, is capable of explaining the formation of the verb in terms of voice, mood, tense, number and person. Though the focus is on the learner in terms of choosing, loading and unloading the affixes, the teacher’s role is definitive in coordinating and guiding the learners. Sounds… The sounds used in the program are limited so that the learner is not distracted, especially in the computer lab. Yet the complete absence of music and sounds would be dissatisfying and would impede the comprehension of the message. There are analogue sounds that are a direct reference to the real world (the hubbub of the train station and music heard on the platforms). The sounds allow for a greater dramatic effect, and activate and sensitize the learners’ unconscious, encouraging them to identify with the role of the porter or traveler. The cars are the sign in semiotic terms; they are a strictly codified form of communication. For example, the users understand that the empty cars must be filled in (or loaded) with affixes in order for their train to be able to start off. There are two main aims: the information should be clear and brief; the visuals should be legible, that is, they should present the highest degree of imagery and representation (Koroneou 2002, p. 48). The learning process can develop as Karakiza (1999) illustrates so that: The learners do not focus on the teacher, but on the computer screen in groups. The teacher only guides. Low-achieving learners develop a much higher level of communicative interaction with the teacher and their classmates, thus finding opportunities for a more substantial and equal standing in the classroom. The learners do not focus as a class on the teacher, but work in small groups focusing on the computer screen. In this way a localized form of communication is developed. There is shift in the teacher’s role from the source of all information to the guide or facilitator. the computer screen presents the information in a better structured way The multi-sensory organization of the verb conjugations through the train model also offers something of vital importance to dyslexic learners: the combination of movement and sound (Bradley 1981). This method creates conditions for a “visual overview” (Stasinos 2001), where the learners have the opportunity to do the following: a) look at the words; b) repeat the words; c) check their knowledge.