What people are saying
“Jonathan Wolters is a wonderful professor. I had never learned Koine Greek before his class. He helped prepare me for the rigorous language studies in my MDiv program. I am extremely grateful for his persistence and patience with me. He taught me Fall and Spring of the 2016/2017 year for Beginning Greek.
Jonathan had a wide range of talents that he brought to class. First, he was consistent with giving us vocab quizzes every class period. This disciplined us to stay on top of our vocabulary. Second, he drilled us on parsing verbs almost every day. The reason I found this so helpful, is because it disciplined me to know what to look for when I am looking at a word. Third, he gave us motivational talks and helpful study habits that helped us beyond the classroom. He personally sat down with me on multiple occasions to help me specifically with questions I had. I would recommend him for any school or teaching position based on my personal experience and growth. In Christ.”
— Jonathan Elliott, Mdiv
“It is my honor as a student of Jonathan Wolters to provide this letter of recommendation for him as he pursues a New Testament Greek teaching position. Mr. Jonathan Wolters is able to get the students excited about learning New Testament Greek and also motivate them throughout the entire semester by challenging them to succeed. Moreover, he makes us grasp complicated Greek concepts by letting us understand how the Greek language system works. Jonathan Wolters has my highest recommendation for the position as a New Testament Greek Instructor.”
— Ammishaddai Boateng, MA
“I’d like in the beginning to highlight the fact that I am one of the students of Professor Wolters and I am also an Assistant Professor of instruction of Arabic at Northwestern University. I am the author of Barrons Arabic: The Fast and Fun Way and the winner of the 2015 Excellence in Teaching Award from NU Council on Language Instruction. I have had the privilege of being one of Prof. Wolter’s students of Beginning New Testament Greek during the Fall of 2017 and I am still taking his second course on the same sequence this Winter. Prof. Wolters exhibits not only depth of knowledge of the Greek language, but is also adept at teaching it within its biblical linguistic context. He successfully created an extremely efficient and healthy student-centered pedagogical environment. Professor Wolters is highly organized with lesson plans that are carefully designed showing an excellent use of class time. Every class, he starts with a quiz, presentation and discussion of the new topic/text, question and answers (student engagement), prayer, textual analysis and preview of next lesson’s vocab. Every single class, he offers sound pedagogic suggestions that helped me and other students try new strategies. He demonstrated sincere care for his students and always made himself available to ensure that students understood the material and were prepared for the next proficiency level. Prof Wolters is a high-energy educator, with an encouraging classroom style. He would fit in very comfortably with educators who are serious about their work and can also work as genial colleagues. With full confidence I can say Prof. Wolters is a world-class language instructor whose mastery of using technology in class and in providing diverse tools for learning is superb. I am pleased to endorse his skills and professionalism without reservation. If I can be of further assistance in supporting Prof Wolters, please feel free to contact me. .”
— Ragy H Ibrahim Mikhaeel
Assistant Professor of Instruction, Arabic,
Northwestern University
“I took Jonathan Wolters’ NT 4030 Beginning Greek class in 2017-2018. The best part of his teaching is that it creates an environment where students want to put in the hard work to learn Greek. I had never taken any Greek before and was quite apprehensive about learning the language, but Wolters teaches in a way that fosters a love for learning. His own enthusiasm for the subject is infectious. Also, the way he structures the class (with students reading about the concepts on their own before the lecture) allows us to use class time for digging deeper and practicing the concepts without falling behind.”
— Caleb Jenkins, Mdiv
“I am writing on behalf of my former Greek instructor Jonathan Wolters to recommend him for a full-time teaching position in your academic institution. As a fellow second language teacher, I believe that Mr. Wolters is an excellent pedagogue and personality who would make a fantastic addition to any faculty.
One of the most important parts of being an instructor in general yet, I believe, more so as a language instructor is the ability to accomplish two tasks: effectively facilitate second language development and reduce effective filters that inhibit this process (namely, create an atmosphere where students enjoy it). I can say with the highest regard that Mr. Wolters possesses both abilities.
To the first point, Mr. Wolters effectively utilized technology in the classroom, such as Bible programs and research tools that enhanced the learning experience, such a determining word frequency, highlighting verbal aspectual roles in narrative, etc. He recommended and presented videos, articles, worksheets, and other resources on weekly (and daily) basis that greatly supplemented the class text. For example, there were not a few times when he would come to class with a pile of books among them being commentaries, current Greek studies, and vocabulary builders to which he recommended. This is to say that Mr. Wolters not only successfully instructed us in the prescribed curriculum but did above and beyond. By the time I completed my beginning Greek sequence and entered into exegetical courses, I felt gratitude for the thorough preparation I received. Particular grammatical features and important exegetical observations were introduce to us already in beginning Greek that was only at that time being introduced in the Greek exegesis class.
To the second point, Mr. Wolters created an atmosphere of trust and enjoyment that reduced the level of anxiety among students. He did this in a number of ways but two are worth mentioning. First, Mr. Wolters instructs with a light hearted and welcoming manner, telling jokes, sharing stories, and overall inviting the students into his life. This made him more personable and shortened the distance between us as “the expert” and “the novices.” We felt we were a team, a family even, and this enhanced our language learning experience. Second, Mr. Wolters provided is with ample opportunity to increase our grade by doing extra translational work. For example, on a given quiz (especially if it was considered a more difficult one) he would give a few extra credit opportunities by including verses from familiar parts of the New Testament for us to translate. All of the students were motivated to do this extra work and felt more relaxed that doing so might have increased their class score.
Last of all, Mr. Wolters pioneered “Greek Club” – a bi-weekly hour long meeting where students and he sat around a table to read through a text of scripture practicing parsing, building vocabulary, making exegetical observations, etc. This “going above and beyond the call of duty” so to speak is what truly prepared me for my future Greek studies and the success I would have in those advanced courses.”