By Eugenia Manolidou
The growing international momentum around Classical Education reveals a clear movement towards its meaningful renewal, beginning with a redefinition of how Ancient Greek and Latin are taught in contemporary educational systems.
A few days ago, I participated in the Jornadas de Cultura Clásica conference in Écija, Spain. What is now becoming increasingly evident at an international level, with consistency and continuity, is that Ancient Greek and Classical Studies more broadly are entering a new phase of dynamic renewal. This development extends beyond the boundaries of academic research and is actively reshaping the way Ancient Greek and Latin are taught worldwide.
The conference, organized this year for the twentieth time by the Asociación Cultura Clásica, brings together each year an international body of educators and researchers. They meet in an environment where Ancient Greek and Latin are used as languages of communication, instruction and creative expression, with the aim of enabling students to approach the wisdom of ancient texts more rapidly, effectively, and with greater enjoyment. The choice of Écija, a city with a strong Roman past, added a powerful symbolic dimension to the event, as the historical landscape functions as a natural extension of the teaching itself, linking the ancient world with contemporary education in an immediate and organic way.
This conference is not an isolated example, but part of a broader international network of initiatives that, in recent years, has been shaping a new reality for the classical languages. In the United Kingdom, the Association for Latin Teaching organizes training programmes focused on the pedagogical renewal of Latin and Ancient Greek, while at a pan-European level Euroclassica operates as a network for collaboration and exchange of best practices among educators and institutions. At the same time, organizations such as the Paideia Institute develop experiential learning programmes in which Classical languages are approached as tools of thought and communication through active engagement.
Particular importance is attached to institutions that invest in long-term immersion in language and culture. Ralston College returns to Greece for the fourth consecutive year, choosing to begin its graduate programme in the Humanities with intensive instruction in Ancient and Modern Greek, in which American students participate in an environment where learning is built through active language use and daily practice. Similarly, Polis Institute has developed a comprehensive model for teaching ancient languages based on an experiential approach, which is increasingly influencing international pedagogical discourse. The Accademia Vivarium Novum has, for over thirty years, offered a unique model of full linguistic immersion, where students and teachers live and communicate daily in Latin and Greek, forming a community in which the language acquires immediate functionality.
At the core of this shift stand individuals who have played a decisive role in shaping modern approaches to teaching ancient languages. Scholars such as Randall Buth, Luigi Miraglia and Christophe Rico have developed methodologies grounded in oral use and direct comprehension of the language. Their work has significantly influenced the way Ancient Greek is taught internationally, highlighting the language as a medium of immediate understanding and use rather than as an abstract system of rules to be memorised.
This dynamic becomes particularly significant when it moves from conferences and specialised programmes into school classrooms. In recent years, there has been a growing number of pilot applications of experiential teaching methods for Ancient Greek and Latin in European schools, with an emphasis on language use, dialogue, and comprehension. These approaches fundamentally transform students’ relationship with the subject. Often presented as innovative, they in fact draw upon a long pedagogical tradition: for more than three centuries, the active use of language was the primary method of teaching Ancient Greek and Latin in Europe, and it aligns closely with contemporary educational trends that prioritise student engagement and the connection between knowledge and practice.
The timing of this renewal is closely linked to broader transformations in the field of education and knowledge. In an era in which artificial intelligence is radically reshaping access to information, there is an increasing interest in forms of learning that cultivate structured thinking, critical reasoning, and linguistic precision. In this context, Ancient Greek, as a language with unparalleled historical continuity and conceptual richness, re-emerges as a powerful tool for intellectual formation.
This international momentum also creates a clear space for reflection in Greece. As a country possessing a unique cultural and linguistic heritage, Greece is called upon to reconsider how this legacy is taught and transmitted to younger generations. The developments described above raise an essential question: how can the teaching of Ancient Greek in Greece creatively engage with this international dynamic, strengthening an already strong philological tradition while genuinely mobilising student interest? International initiatives point towards an approach that treats language as a living medium of thought and expression, making teaching more engaging and intellectually meaningful.