Speaking the Biblical Languages with Christophe Rico (Part 3 of Biblical Language Pedagogy)

April 19, 2021 // The Biblical Languages Podcast

In this episode of the Biblical Languages Podcast, Kevin Grasso interviews Christophe Rico about total language immersion, dynamic language development, and speaking the biblical languages. These and other methods are incorporated into the Polis Method at the Polis Institute of Jerusalem. 

Christophe Rico is a linguist with a doctorate in ancient Greek and holds the French official accreditation to direct PhD research. Member of the Faculty of the University of Strasbourg, he is Professor of Greek Philology at the Ecole Biblique of Jerusalem. Since 2011, he is the Dean of the Polis Institute at Jerusalem where ancient languages (Greek, Latin, biblical Hebrew, Syriac, Coptic, classical Arabic) are taught through full immersion as living languages according to the “Polis method”. 

Here's a snapshot of what you can expect in this conversation:

• The history and purpose of the Polis Institute of Jerusalem
• Christophe Rico's story of learning to speak Ancient Greek and how it impacted his reading fluency
• The Polis Method for learning ancient languages through total immersion, dynamic language development, and various living language techniques
• A discussion on the different Koine Greek pronunciation systems
• The history of the Grammar Translation Method and Living Language Approaches
• And much more!

Show notes

You can learn more about the Polis Institute and their various resources at https://www.polisjerusalem.org/

This is Part 3 of our series on Biblical Language Pedagogy. Check out the other episodes in this series:

• Part 1: The Four Strands of Language Learning with Paul Nation
• Part 2: Comprehensible Input and Communicative Methods with Bethany Case
• Part 4: Biblical Language Pedagogy in Crisis with David Miller
• Part 5: Current Trends in Biblical Language Pedagogy with Rob Plummer
• Part 6: The Future of Biblical Language Pedagogy

Where to listen

The Biblical Languages Podcast hosts discussions and interviews related to learning the biblical languages and issues relevant to biblical exegesis. Episodes cover topics in 4 major categories: language acquisition, linguistics, cultural backgrounds, and exegesis.

Listen & subscribe here: https://biblingo.org/podcast/