The beginners course is designed for complete novices. No background in either Greek or English grammar is assumed. The aim of the course is to equip you to read the New Testament in the language in which it was originally written. This is achieved by attendance at weekly classes, summer schools, skype sessions, or four one day weekend tutorials spread out over a year, and by written course work and reading exercises. (Note: The first weekend course also functions as an intensive introductory course to New Testament Greek for those who wish to get a flavour of the language before deciding whether they want to continue studying it).

The beginners course is based on Jeremy Duff's The Elements of New Testament Greek (Cambridge University Press 2005). In weekly classes a chapter per week is covered. On weekend programmes five chapters of the book are tackled, leaving students three months to digest the material before the next session. During the three month interim between weekend courses the tutor will be in regular contact with the students to check on progress and help with any questions or difficulties that may arise. Summer schools also tackle five chapters of the book, with the objective of giving students a "taster" of what Greek is like and laying a foundation for possible future study.

Students who decide to purchase a Greek New Testament during the course are advised to opt for either the United Bible Society Greek New Testament (UBS 4th edition) or the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament (27th edition). Both texts are based on the same manuscript evidence but offer slightly different textual apparatus for making sense of variant readings (for e.g. in some manuscripts of Rom 5:1 the Greek says "let us have peace with God" while other manuscripts read "we have peace with God". Textual apparatus helps us to trace these differences and account for their origin). More recently the United Bible Society's Greek New Testament: A Readers Edition (based on the UBS 4th Edition) has gained popularity on account of being user friendly for beginners (it contains an excellent vocabulary of key words on the same page on which they appear in the New Testament - however it does not have textual apparatus). Before purchasing a Greek New Testament however it is advisable to speak to the tutor who can suggest the most suitable version for your personal needs.

 All these books can be purchased on Amazon UK or ordered from your local bookshop.

For further information about the beginners course see the FAQ section.