Canberra, Thursday 23 August, 2001

The language of Homer meets the Internet at the ANU

The Australian National University is using the latest media technology to teach a language with its roots in one of the world's oldest civilisations - Greek.

The trail-blazing programme is bringing together Canberra's Greek community through the Hellenic Club, the Greek Embassy in the national capital and the University of Sydney, as well as ANU students from all over Australia. The ANU students are taking the Modern Greek course from the University of Sydney through face-to-face video conferencing.Any ANU student can join the course as an elective towards an arts or language degree.

The Greek Embassy is supplying a tutor, Frazes Tyrikos, to help the ANU students.

The heart of Canberra's Greek community, the Hellenic Club, is providing $10,000 a year for three years to the ANU to support the course.

"We Greek Australians are proud of our heritage; our whole community here is so pleased and proud that students can learn our language and about our culture and history through the ANU," Hellenic Club President, Mr Manuel Xyrakis, said.

"If Homer, Pericles, Aristotle, Archimedes and our other greats were around today they would embrace this technology as well. This is the 2001 equivalent of our greatest teachers from classical times sitting with their students under an olive tree."

The Modern Greek course is not restricted to ANU students and inquiries are already coming in from the general public for the course that started in the first university term of the year.

The ANU's Dean of the Faculty of Arts, Professor Adam Shoemaker, says liaison is also underway with the Canberra Greek community so that the course can be provided to its members. "Members of the community are very happy their children can learn the language of their families, and about Greek culture, through this course," Professor Shoemaker said. "We're very grateful - and gratified - with the level of support from Canberra's Greek community through the Hellenic Club and from the Greek Embassy.

"With the next Olympic Games being held in Athens fluency in Modern Greek will be crucial for any Australian. We predict an exponential growth in the use of this video conference technology once the success of our Greek language and culture experiment becomes better known."

Through face-to-face video conferencing, the lecturer and the students can see and hear each other almost in real time - there is about a one second delay. It is possible for the lecturer to zoom in on an individual to see/hear only that person.

"So it's almost the same as all being in the same room together," Professor Shoemaker explained. "If one student has a question the student can just put up their hand in the usual way and the lecturer at the other end of the video link can see that signal and invite the question."

Meanwhile, the members of Canberra's Hellenic Club are maintaining the Greek reputation for innovation and flair: the club is considering offering video conferencing as part of its package for business.

For further information contact:
Professor Adam Shoemaker, Dean of the Faculty of Arts, 02 6125 4582 (w)
Clarissa Thorpe, ANU Media Liaison, on 02 6125 5575 or 0416 249 245

No: 69/2001

© 2000 Marketing & Communications Division,
The Australian National University.
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Last Modified Tue, July 16, 2002