Learning Latin requires time, lots of time. Learning any language takes hours of listening to and reading the language, and Latin is no different. To read the classic Great Books in Latin we have to first read a number of Good Books in Latin. This course exists because it is difficult to find a guide through the beginning of reading Latin.

Understanding over Translating

While this course is not organized around learning the parts of the Latin grammar, it is grammatical. Students will be looking at and understanding sentences word-by-word, though we will usually avoid translation. This is not because translation is bad, but because Latin is so good. Very often, students understand and remember words better when they associate them, not with English equivalents, but with images, sounds, sentences, stories, and quotations.

Towards this end, this course is conducted primarily in Latin. Students will come to class expecting to hear and see Latin (and English when necessary). This practice adds to the student’s time spent in Latin, not just looking at Latin, but understanding what is going on through Latin directly.

Ørberg’s Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana

This course proceeds through chapters 1–13 of Ørberg’s Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata: Familia Romana. This text is one of the best available for learning Latin and its grammar. Although it may sound daunting to learn there are only Latin words in this entire book, the author guides the reader step-by-step reviews new words often.

In addition to the main story, there are a number of supplemental texts that accompany Familia Romana and make reading it a delight. Personally, I have known dozens of students whose Latin study came alive when they started reading Ørberg.

What Is Class Like?

After we recite our class catechism, class time includes narrating previous readings, reading new texts, taking dictation (an old-fashioned but highly effective technique for learning a language), answering questions, acting out illustrated stories, and playing games using Latin.

In addition to Familia Romana, Colloquia Personarum, and Fabellae Latinae, we will read a number of Æsop’s fables, various tales from Roman mythology, and selections from Scripture.

Homework

In brief, during the week students are expected to

• recite their catechism,
• read aloud a portion from the text,
• write out a scriptorium (dictation) of portion of the text from class,
• complete an exercise or two from Ørberg’s materials, and
• spend a half-hour in voluntary free reading.