3 tips to remember your Greek again after a break
Yes, you do not have to forget your Greek just because you took a break of two weeks or two months, even two years!
What if I have not practiced my Greek at all for a long time?
Learning a foreign language takes time. It is not at all uncommon to sometimes take a break. You may not have studied as much as you wanted during the Christmas holidays, you may feel like you do not remember anything after the summer break, or you may not have taken classes for years because you had a lot of work. Do not worry. The Hellenic Culture Center has three tips for you, to help you return to practicing your Greek.
1. Go back to basics: read aloud
If you haven’t studied Greek lately, of course, you will have forgotten some things. So don’t try to continue exactly where you left off! You need to take your time, take a few steps back and first make a thorough revision of everything you have learned. Do not think that this holds you back, but that it makes you more confident about what you know. This way, when you move on to new material, you will feel and be well prepared. Take a look at your previous notes and practice reading aloud. Just read aloud and, if you have the audio material, do something better: listen to a phrase, pause and repeat out loud. Do it again with the same paragraph, faster.
2. Start with baby steps
You don’t need to get into intensive classes right away to start again your Greek language journey. Find a group lesson that will allow you to communicate with classmates and learn from their mistakes, without having to go very fast, at the pace of a private lesson. Take your time to identify your weaknesses, recall forgotten vocabulary and use it to express your thoughts and listen to other people.
3. Get in contact with the real Greece
To make even greater progress, try to immerse yourself in Greek culture. Listen to songs (also read the lyrics e.g. here), watch movies and series or watch a talk online (e.g. here) or listen to a children’s story (e.g. here)
Hellenic Culture Center is your best choice
Take classes again after your break, this is a great first step! If you want, you can even do some revision lessons before moving on to where you left off. This will help you to focus on your needs again without the stress of studying new material. Hellenic Culture Center offers a multifaceted cultural and linguistic program, lasting two weeks, on the island of Santorini.
With us you will learn Greek through courses but also through communication with the locals, while you will get to know many aspects of Greek culture through daily activities such as cooking, singing, and dancing. Register now here!