Category Archives: Latin

A Short History of Latin Pronunciation

There are many twists and turns to the pronunciation history of a very old language like Latin. The pronunciation of the ancient Romans, called the classical pronunciation, was modified by Christians in the Middle Ages, when Latin became the language of the church and of the educated class. You may see this pronunciation referred to […]

The Lost Art of Teaching Latin

teach

Because of the education meltdown in the 20th century, the art of teaching Latin, and nearly everything else, has essentially been lost. As we work to restore the content of the classical curriculum, we must also strive to resurrect the art of teaching it.  Latin, as it has been taught in the second half of […]

The Natural Method is Not Natural

natural

Modern languages are taught by the conversational method. If I understand this method correctly, it involves an emphasis on oral and written conversation in the classroom, supplemented with a secondary focus on grammar. Ideally this conversational instruction is augmented by travel and an immersion experience with native speakers. It could also be called the natural […]

National Latin Exam Awards

The National Latin Exam, sponsored by the American Classical League and National Junior Classical League, is an international competition for middle and high school Latin students. Each exam consists of forty multiple choice questions over Latin grammar, vocabulary, translation, English derivatives, and the history, geography, and culture of Greece and Rome. There is an Intro. Exam for middle school students and Exams I-IV that generally correspond […]

Top 10 Reasons for Studying Latin

In this day of computers, and the triumph of science and technology, when there is so much to learn and so little time, why study a dead language? Why not study something practical and useful? Like Spanish, for instance. While we agree the study of Spanish is a very good thing, what I propose to […]

How Can I Teach Latin if I Don’t Know it Myself?

There are a lot of good reasons for thinking that Latin should be restored to its former place of honor as the Basic Subject in the elementary years. In previous issues of the Classical Teacher, I talked about some of these. But knowing that you should teach it and knowing how to teach it are […]

In Defense of Latin

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SOME CRITICS HAVE SAID that the value of Roman literature is that it has been the vehicle which conveyed Greek ideas to the world. The Romans took their art and, as far as their civilization rests on these, their civilization from Greece. Why, then, do we study Latin? Some of the reasons are given by Cicero […]

Recovering the Lost Tools of Latin (Parts I & II)

Tools of Latin

  Progressive education began its destructive march through schools at the turn of the century, and the first thing it corrupted was Latin. In his book The Teaching of Latin and Greek, published in 1911, Dr. Charles Edwin Bennett describes the changes in Latin textbooks that had occurred over the previous two decades and contrasts them with the successful classical methods […]

An Apology for Latin and Math

Many who are attracted to the idea of a classical education don’t know exactly why, nor do they understand the necessity for Latin, or at least so much of it. A little bit of Latin is a good thing, but every year? Spinach is a good thing, but every day? I think five decades of […]

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