Επικοινωνήστε ελληνικά 1: Communicate in Greek 1

This fine series (there are 3 levels)is entirely written in Greek. This is certainly no problem with volume 1, even for those who are still at the basic level. You will soon get used to the 2-3 dozen grammatical terms in Greek and I keep a little card to remind me what they are. It is the ONLY book I know of that shows you how to correctly write (form) the Greek letters so that your writing doesn't look like that of a three-year-old!!! There is writing practice and good intro to phonetics in the book (only part with explanations in English) and on the CD. Volume 1 has 24 lessons and comprises text/grammar with two workbooks. All exercises in all books have answer keys. The grammar and concepts are intuitively explained in diagrams, drawings and tables for which you will not need explanations. The grammar is also very thorough without being a pain. This way anyone can understand the grammar!The explanation of the numbers is especially good. Why didn't they do it this way for other languages when I was still in school? There is alot of useful practice like filling in forms, crosswords, telephone lists, etc. Volume 1 has a glossary with about 1600 words and their equivalents in English, French, German,Spanish, Italian and Russian. Maybe a little too many words, but not really a problem since they are introduced gradually and receive enough use in the text and exercises. The whole system is built up very methodically and every 6th lesson is a review lesson so that you really get practice. There is, unfortunately, only 1 CD for each volume but it contains dialogues and also listening comprehension exercises. Don't let the all-Greek aspect scare you. I find volume 1 really fun to use, and you'll be proud of yourself when you see what you have learned without using a word of any other language. I have been using it along with Oxford's Take Off in Greek (which has 4 CDs). Highly recommended.

I rate this as an excellent book for the intermediate learner, rather than the beginner, only because it is written in the Greek alphabet. It is designed for native speakers of English, German, French, Italian and Spanish. The text is therefore in Greek rather than in any of those 5 languages. The dictionary in the back of the book is in all 6 languages. The accompanying CD is also worthwhile. This book is a good choice for the student who wants to learn to read and write Modern Greek, rather than to just speak and understand the spoken language.