Learn Greek in the most fascinating way with ‘Lydia: A summer in Greece!’

Are you in the early stages of learning Greek or do you just want to brush up on your colloquial Greek? Then here is the book you are looking for! A real story, which will give you the opportunity to learn or revise Greek in a relaxing and pleasant way!

‘Λυδία: Ένα καλοκαίρι στην Ελλάδα!’ is an easy reader intended for A1/early stages of A2 level Greek learners, as defined by the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages, CEFR.

The book which is available as a hard copy or an eBook, includes natural dialogues that offer the reader the opportunity to gradually build or revise the basic vocabulary used in a wide variety of real-life situations.

Apart from his/her reading skills, the student can also improve their listening skills, thanks to the audiobook that accompanies the story, recorded by native Greek speakers.

A bit about the authors of the book

• Terpsi studied in both Greece and abroad. She studied Greek Philology at the Kapodistrian University of Athens. During her studies she attended an Erasmus exchange program in Austria. After that, she studied in Grenoble, where she completed her master’s degree in Linguistics. After completing her masters, Terpsi returned to Greece and followed a seminar on teaching Greek as a foreign language. Since 2011, she has been working at OMILO Greek Language and Culture as a Greek teacher.
• Konstantinos is a graduate of the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Faculty of Philosophy, Department of History and Archaeology. He also holds a master’s degree in Applied Linguistics (University of Essex, UK) as well as a postgraduate certificate in Publishing (London College of Communication, UK). During his studies in London, he realised that the teaching profession may be sometimes hard and challenging, but it is definitely very rewarding too. When Konstantinos moved back to Greece in 2006, he knew he wanted to keep on teaching and has been working for OMILO since 2006.

“What I really love the most about this job is that I have the chance to meet wonderful people -our students- from all over the world. Their passion for Greece, Greek language and culture is touching. A very interesting thing is that they very often come from different cultural and educational backgrounds; this may be a big challenge for the teacher at times but it definitely helps you expand your horizons and evolve as a person and as a teacher too,” Konstantinos added.

The idea for ‘Λυδία: Ένα καλοκαίρι στην Ελλάδα!’was born during the Omilo courses. “Many students at the Beginner levels (A1/A2) were asking for an easy reader in Greek to practise or revise the grammar and the everyday vocabulary they had been taught in class,” Konstantinos noted.

Since there were very few such books for the specific language levels, Konstantinos and  Terpsi decided to write a story themselves.

‘Λυδία: Ένα καλοκαίρι στην Ελλάδα!’ features:

• plenty of dialogues covering a great variety of everyday topics, such as: introducing myself / talking about my family / ordering in a coffee–shop or a tavern / arranging a meeting with friends / asking for or giving directions / hobbies / shopping / travelling / describing a city / clothes, etc.
• short, easily–manageable chapters
• illustrations at the start of each chapter that show the reader clearly the essential elements of the story which follows
• footnotes with explanations of words in Greek
• footnotes with synonyms of words
• footnotes with the Present Tense of verbs found in the text in other tenses

Experienced English illustrator, David Hitch, who has an excellent understanding of the Greek language and culture, created the illustrations and designed the book.

Original melodies for the audiobook were also composed by talented musician Issidoros Papadakis. In addition, two great musicians- bouzouki master Petros Kapellas and guitarist Yannis Varthalitis, played a taqsim (a piece of improvised folk music) that was recorded on the island of Syros and included it in the story.

“Teaching is very interesting itself, but it becomes an unforgettable experience- for the teachers and the students- when it takes place in a beautiful scenery, i.e. by the Aegean sea, on the island of Syros, or by the Ionian Sea, on the island of Lefkada. After the classes, the teachers and the students have the opportunity to explore the two islands, to swim in crystal clear waters of amazing colours and to admire the stunning landscapes. Moreover, the students also inverse themselves in the local daily life, culture, cuisine, etc. They become members of the small villages where the lessons take place, they get acquainted -and very often become real friends- with the people who own or work in the taverns, pensions, shops, etc. In this way, they do get a feeling of ‘being a Greek’, not just a tourist. And as they mention to us, this feeling is priceless!” Konstantinos said.

“Learning Greek- or any other language- is a process that cannot be limited in the use of a textbook within a classroom. That is why during OMILO lessons we offer our students different cultural activities, as we believe you cannot separate culture from language. So, we listen to Greek songs, we watch a Greek movie, we give students lectures on Greek traditions or on the life and work of important Greek personalities, e.g. Melina Mercouri, we even teach them to dance Greek traditional dances. Specifically in Syros (this is also the case with our Athens courses), an island full of culture, the students can also easily go to a theatrical/musical performance or a concert. And occasionally we all -teachers and students- enjoy an evening out to a local tavern; even then the Greek learning process goes on, of course in a much more relaxed atmosphere! Finally, the locals in the small villages are very often willing to play the role of a teacher, encouraging the students to speak in Greek, correcting their mistakes or teaching them new words!” Konstantinos concluded.

For more information about the book ‘Λυδία: Ένα καλοκαίρι στην Ελλάδα!’, please click here.

Omilo Greek Language and Culture is a school that offers Greek language and culture courses in Athens, Nafplion (Peloponnese) and the islands of Syros and Lefkada.