Time for Mom to Learn Latin, What to Do?

[Sahamamama]

To all of you out there who have taught yourselves Latin --

 

What did you do? How did you do it? What resources did you use? How looooooong did it take to "master" Latin, or did you quit, and if so, why?

 

I just need to hear from someone out there who has been completely "self-taught," because I do not have the flexibility in my schedule/life to get to any Latin classes. So, it's a book, or online, or video, or whatever works. Please let me know about your own experiences, and what you found most helpful in teaching yourself Latin. Thanks!

[Nan in Mass]

I'm not fluent yet, but I can see light at the end of the tunnel. I'm learning along with my children using Ecce Romani, but one summer I used Lingua Latina by myself and realized that if I weren't trying to teach and learn at the same time, I'd just do Lingua Latina. It is definately the method for me. I think a lot depends on how you learn. My plan is to do LL for myself when my youngest finishes Ecce Romani 3 and moves into readers. I know from French that he learns really well just by reading, so I'm not worried about abandoning him at that point. I'll happily plug through LL and then start on his old readers. That will firm up Latin in my not-so-plastic-anymore brain. Meanwhile, Ecce Romani has been fun and I'm glad we chose it because I also realized that summer that I can't teach LL.

-Nan

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

Well, I haven't mastered Latin by any stretch of imagination.. But that's ok. I am slowly progressing. Being over 40 hasn't helped me either. I remember, when I started, spending a whole evening learning the first declension. There! I had it, I could recite it without flinching! I could go to bed. I had just finished brushing my teeth when I realised I could no longer recite it at all. !!! :tongue_smilie:

 

Anyway, here I am, 4 years later... Still studying Latin...

 

I started with LatinStudy, an online group that goes through Wheelock. I went all the way to chapter 30 (out of 40) when I dropped out. At that point, I could no longer deal with the Latin to English to French I had to do (I'm a French speaker by birth).

 

I then went with Latine Sine Molestia, another online class that uses Assimil in order to (try to) teach spoken fluency in Latin. That class deals with French, English, Italian and Spanish, so there was a place for me. I managed the first year, thanks to previous knowledge from Wheelock. I couldn't do the second year due to lack of time. I may go back eventually.

 

Then I moved on to Lingua Latina, a reading fluency program. I'm taking it slowly, but am really making headways finally!!!

[Nan in Mass]

That fast forgetting is why I want to do LL.

[Tullia]

I'm a "work in progress" but have at least found out what does and does not work for me.

 

For self-teaching I prefer Henle, but added Lingua Latina this semester because both ds and I had bogged down. For me, the combination works better than either one alone. I doubt I'd be able to self-teach using only LL. Henle works, but I was getting weary of the Gauls and the Romans.

 

I have Wheelock's on my bookshelf mostly as a reference, but Cassell's Latin English Dictionary has been useful.

 

My biggest challenge is finding time to work daily, and covering enough material to stay well ahead of my son.

[AngelaC]

I have been "doing" the Latin Road to English Grammar and many different elementary programs for years. I'm not sure if I'll ever be done! I don't do it by myself, I work along with the child.

 

I will say that it gets easier each year. I can now confidently get each child through a year of high school Latin (about the middle of book two in LREG), but after that . . . it is still fuzzy.

 

My goal is to know enough to help get any grandchildren through two years of Latin. Maybe by then, I'll be ready. Hmmm . . .

[Cedarmom]

Well ,I still have a lot to learn, but the most effective for me seems to be a combination of Henle and Lingua Latina. I did Henle almost 3/4 through and swtiched to Lingua Latina ,referring to Henle when something I am unfamiliar with comes up.I loved the poster who said by the time she finished brushing her teeth, she forgot the declensions, I can so relate.:001_smile: By combining Henle and LL , it helps me to remember, because I can see how it all fits together. People on this board encouraged me to try LL, and I am so thankful.

If you get LL, make sure you get an audio version and The College Companion

 

Cedarmom

[Moira in MA]

I started and finished Wheelocks with LatinStudy. It was tough but important work to prepare for teaching my dds. I chose to use Matin Latin then Henle with them due to their age. I must say that my appreciation for Father Henle grows every year. He really understood when to bring back concepts that are on the verge of being forgotten.

 

I have a hard time retaining vocabulary and lack the background to make Latin Literature interesting so I hand them over to online classes for Latin III. This means that I get stuck at the grammar stage which is probably just my speed for now since there are so many other things that I need to cover with them for high school.

 

HTH

[Sahamamama]

... to all the ladies who responded to my "Self-Teaching Latin" question! I had been thinking about going with Henle, but had also heard that the Gauls and Romans and wars get a bit hard to take after a while! :001_smile: So it's good to hear about Lingua Latina, which might provide some different reading material, as well as a different learning method.

 

I probably learn best by a combination of approaches, anyway, so that might just be the ticket. Even though I studied French in school for years, I still cannot really speak it, because I have never been immersed in French -- no real opportunity to use it. But when I lived in Belize, Central America for one summer, I came back speaking rudimentary Spanish, even though I had never "studied" it. All that summer I would get dropped off in Las Flores every morning, and had to figure out the language! In the evenings, I would study the Spanish-English dictionary and the grammar book I had, then go to sleep. It was amazing, in the morning, I would wake up speaking Spanish. Go figure.

 

Still can't speak French! Ha Ha. But we are listening to our French First Steps CDs around here, and I have started dreaming in French again. Yeah! Thanks for the tips about learning Latin.

[Laurie in CA]

I got this yesterday on Amazon for the Mac and it contains both Familia Romana and Roma Aeterna for $29.95. I am kind of disappointed because it looks like the spoken part is not on the Mac version only on the PC version. I should have looked at this more closely because I wanted to actually hear it. I already have the books for Familia Romana so at least I will be getting Roma Aeterna. So if you have a PC you could get the CD-Rom and actually hear it too.

[ChrisN in NY]

I'm in Volume 3. So far, so good.

 

I'm finding that my vocabulary isn't the greatest -- I have to look up many of the words from this one. But I think I'm doing well with the concepts.

 

The time it's taken has varied by how much time I've had. Dd, however, is finishing Volume 2 this year, so I'd better get cracking on volume 3 -- I'm only in Chapter 7!!

 

The author is very helpful in answering my questions.

[Jean in Wisc]

This is rather easy to use, and there is a Yahoo group that will help you with any questions.

 

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/HenleLatin-FY1/?yguid=287335179

 

Jean