Learning Latin, the best approach

[Lucius Apuleius]

Okay, I'm on my third attempt to learn the language. I just got the Henle Latin series (1st year and Grammar). While it primarily teaches what Henle calls Continental Latin, it's certainly close enough for a beginner.

 

I also have Wheelock's Latin (but not the exercise book), something called "Learning Latin," and am also looking at the Rosetta Stone version.

 

The Rosetta Stone promises more, but is also a lot more expensive (nearly $200). And it seems more conversational in nature. But how much of a problem could that be?

 

So what are the Group's opinions on learning the language? What's the best (their favorite) resource? And how about tutors? For example, I live in the St. Louis, Missouri area. I think SLU and WashU are good starting points (both Catholic universities) to find them. Any other avenues that anyone knows?

 

I looked and didn't see any other Latin resource threads, so I figured I'd get one going.

 

Thanks.

[docoflove1974]

Well, as a language teacher (and I believe I'll be backed up by the other language teachers out there...if not, please say so!), there really are only 2 ways to learn a language:

1) Go to a country where the language is spoken natively, and immerse yourself. (Obviously, this isn't going to work for your purposes)

or

2) Learn in a class.

 

Bottom line is that you can really only learn by interacting with people who are either speakers or learners of the language. And, yes, that means regularly attending classes. A tutor will not help unless you're in the class. The class provides structure, guided lessons, and are tailored for people who are learning. As a private tutor, I can't tell you how many times my students have promised to prepare...and then aren't. It's a waste or money.

 

Now, that being said, you mentioned 4 year universities in the STL area...have you checked out the community colleges? They often have various language courses--Latin often being one--and are often cheaper and go at a slower pace than at a 4-year school.

 

Once you enroll in the course, it's down to one thing: PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE!!! Do the homework that's assigned, go to the classes, and don't be afraid to speak up when you don't get something. Latin's not easy...and I took it after having studied 2 other Romance languages, but it still took a while to set in. Bottom line...have a sense of humor. Realize that you're going to sound like a child--or even worse--at first...but that's ok! Enjoy the class, enjoy the comraderie, and enjoy the language!

[FLavius Valerius Constantinus]

As a student of Latin: Year one of latin will be a breeze, most importantly is memorize all the endings and usages, most especially the constructions of sentences. Year two is when you fully know the grammatical structure of Latin and should be able to read Caesar's Comentarii De Bello Gallico...hint: the notes they give yo on how to read his prose style are very useful. Year three is when you suffer and suffer through more complex Latin belonging to Cicero or Virgil. Year four, you suffer even more with Virgil, the Aenid, and learning the types of way to read meters=real pain.

[Andrew Dalby]

Well, as a language teacher (and I believe I'll be backed up by the other language teachers out there...if not, please say so!), there really are only 2 ways to learn a language:

1) Go to a country where the language is spoken natively, and immerse yourself. (Obviously, this isn't going to work for your purposes)

or

2) Learn in a class.

 

Bottom line is that you can really only learn by interacting with people who are either speakers or learners of the language. And, yes, that means regularly attending classes. A tutor will not help unless you're in the class. The class provides structure, guided lessons, and are tailored for people who are learning. As a private tutor, I can't tell you how many times my students have promised to prepare...and then aren't. It's a waste or money.

 

I agree with all of that except that it is possible, if you're really motivated, to learn a language on your own. I know people who have. I knew one who learned several ancient languages on his own, while growing up in a remote district of Australia, and ended up as a professor of Central Asian languages at Cambridge. But having a teacher, and being part of a class, certainly do help to provide the continuing motivation that is essential to the learning process.

 

Admittedly, if the language is in fact currently spoken, you do need to interact with others to learn the pronunciation. If it isn't (and that's the case with Latin) your pronunciation doesn't honestly matter very much.

[DDickey]

I, too, have been considering trying my hand at learning Latin. I did find this site, and I was wondering what any of you think about the texts they have.

[Tiro]

I, too, have been considering trying my hand at learning Latin. I did find this site, and I was wondering what any of you think about the texts they have.

Have you considered

http://www.mnlg.com/cscp_ws2/main_entrance.php

the Cambridge Latin Course, I have just completed it and can give you any details: must confess, I enjoyed it, never say that about learning Latin!

Tiro

[M. Porcius Cato]

I agree with doc that teaching oneself Latin isn't an optimal strategy. An expert Latin reader can provide feedback on errors, suggest effective learning strategies and alternative translations (and back-translations), provide insight on why Latin works as it does, and (maybe most important) provide a playful environment where learning Latin is fun. It's bad enough that we can't learn Latin via immersion in a Latin-speaking culture; removing oneself entirely from the social context of language learning would make a bad situation even worse.

[spittle]

The reviews on Amazon.com are more favourable to the Oxford Latin Course than the Cambridge one.

 

I'm learning Polish and after ten two hour lessons in a local college one is lucky to be able to order a large coffee (I know from comparing experiences with other learners) but after a few one to one lessons with a teacher over an internet skype connection the foundations for learning this very difficult inflected language are starting to fall into place.

 

With Polish the grammar is the key. This makes the shortcut style of Rosetta Stone little more than an aid for learning extra vocab and practising pronounciation. No one could learn Polish to any useful standard using Rosetta Stone alone. I suspect the same could be said of Latin. But if you want it don't spend good money on it either buy a copy from e-bay (as I did) or bit-torrent it (as my friend explained I could have, after I'd spent

[Silentium]

I agree with doc that teaching oneself Latin isn't an optimal strategy. An expert Latin reader can provide feedback on errors, suggest effective learning strategies and alternative translations (and back-translations), provide insight on why Latin works as it does, and (maybe most important) provide a playful environment where learning Latin is fun. It's bad enough that we can't learn Latin via immersion in a Latin-speaking culture; removing oneself entirely from the social context of language learning would make a bad situation even worse.

I agree with what Andrew Dalby said.

The key variable in the learning process is motivation. One could attend the best course in a given language and yet fail miserably for lack of motivation. Using the wrong approach in class might imply students' demotivation and consequent failure. Language courses these days are so comprehensive and covering all aspects of the learning experience that while tutoring and guidance are undoubtedly a valuable contribution, they are not altogether necessary, in my opinion.

[nina]

Looks like I'm going to get to have a class in Latin this semester!

Are there any English-Latin dictionaries around, or should I just use online sources to help me with it?

[sonic]

There is one thing that you need to learn Latin: a good working knowledge of English. I took a Latin course at University and found that the main difficulty for me - and othrs doing the course - was learning the structure of English at the same time as the structure of Latin. Without knowing English, Latin is extremely hard!!

[docoflove1974]

There is one thing that you need to learn Latin: a good working knowledge of English. I took a Latin course at University and found that the main difficulty for me - and othrs doing the course - was learning the structure of English at the same time as the structure of Latin. Without knowing English, Latin is extremely hard!!

 

That's true for learning any foreign language, that knowing one's own (native) language and the grammatical structure of it facilitates learning of other languages when we're adults. This is quite true in the case of English, where there is little inflection on various nouns and verbs...and then learning a language which is quite inflected (like Latin)!

[Antiochus III]

NOT THAT I CONDONE THIS, but you can easily get Rosetta Stone for free, we did it by downloading a bittorrent file (or something like that). Heck, my borther got final cut pro for free off the internet. I advise that you dont go wasting money you dont need to waste. good luck on learning latin.

 

ATG

[ASCLEPIADES]

NOT THAT I CONDONE THIS, but you can easily get Rosetta Stone for free, we did it by downloading a bittorrent file (or something like that). Heck, my borther got final cut pro for free off the internet. I advise that you dont go wasting money you dont need to waste. good luck on learning latin.

 

ATG

Gratiam habeo for the advice, A III.