Help with choosing Latina I or II

[dkholland]

My son will be entering fifth grade this fall. He has had two years of the Canon Press Latin series in a classical school here in our town. I am keeping him home this year and want to do the Latina Christiana because I have no experience teaching latin but I am not sure which one would be appropriate for him. He did very well in his first two years. Any opinions would be appreciated.

Thanks

[Maria]

dkholland,

I think that it would be good to start with Latina Christiana I.

First of all, it is important that you, as the teacher, know what you're teaching because students learn best when their teachers are really teaching.

Secondly, Latina Christiana II needs a foundation. The Canon Press Latin series does not necessarily provide the proper foundation, whereas Latina Christiana I certainly does.

Thirdly, reviewing can only help with Latin because drilling, reviewing, and memorizing are important keys to success in Latin. When I started Latin, I was already in high school. Technically, I could have started with Henle I. Instead, I started with Latina Christiana I and II. I am thankful that I did because Latina gave me an excellent introduction.

Finally, I personally don't know how you could learn Latin by starting in the middle of Latina (i.e., with book II). I think it would be better to start with Henle I than with Latina Christiana II because Henle I starts from the beginning whereas Latina Christiana II only picks up where Latina Christiana I leaves off.

The following is from http://www.memoriapress.com/articles/start_latin.html:

"The teacher's experience is almost always more important than the student's background. Even if your child is very good at languages, if you are not comfortable with Latin, you may consider taking an easier path...It is much better to start off slower and be successful than to be overwhelmed and give your child a bad taste for Latin."

In other words, I highly recommend starting with Latina Christiana I!

Hope this helps,
Maria

[dkholland]

I was thinking the same thing. Thank you for the direction!

[abbeyej]

Okay, I have a different take... I think 2 years of the Canon Press materials (whether Latin Primer or Matin Latin) would probably be plenty of foundation to move on to LC2. ... Now, that said, I would *absolutely* recommend that you go ahead and buy the teacher's manual at least for LC1. *You* need to read and learn the material even if your student does not.

Your son could most likely go through LC1 *very* quickly with his background and on to LC2. (There's actually a pretty thorough review at the beginning of LC2 which, considering his background, I would *expect* to be sufficient). You might even give *him* the TM for LC1 and ask him to teach *you* for a while, and then you could both begin LC2 as co-learners (since it would probably be silly to set yourselves up as tutor and student when all of this will be so very knew to you, the teacher).

If you do LC1, I would expect it to take 2-3 months. Then LC2 for the rest of the school year, probably at the usual pace of a lesson a week. *You* will have to commit to some memorization to keep up with this schedule, but I think that's entirely doable for an adult.

I think it would be exceedingly frustrating for your son to start back at the beginning and work so slowly through all the basics *again*. At least let him do them at a more rapid pace, so that he can get back to more interesting material. I'd hate to see him get bogged down and start to find Latin tedious.

BTW, he will also most likely be changing pronunciations, if he has been using Classical pronunciation at school and will be switching to Ecclesiastical with LC. That is one change that might take a little adjustment on his part.

[dkholland]

...for your valuable input. You're right that I will be the one doing the homework the first part of the year. He did Latin Primer I and II but I do feel he should do some of the beginning of LC just to get the feel of the program. Letting him teach me is a great idea!

[Maria]

Abbeyej said:

You might even give *him* the TM for LC1 and ask him to teach *you* for a while, and then you could both begin LC2 as co-learners (since it would probably be silly to set yourselves up as tutor and student when all of this will be so very knew to you, the teacher).

Splendid idea! I myself know from experience that a person really learns a subject when he has to teach it to another.

Maria