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Please help me choose our next Latin program


Flowergirl159
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Okay so I used Getting Started With Latin with my DD11 this year and we need another Latin program to go on with next year. I purchased GSWL to whet our appetite and see if we wanted to continue with Latin. And yes I most definitely want my girls to learn Latin, I am not really sure what my goal is for learning Latin now. But I do want to continue with Latin. I think I want my girls to be able to understand and read Latin? To also see Latin words and understand English grammar?

I purchased Henle First Year Latin thinking we would use that with Visual Latin. But silly me, thought that I would be able to access the videos through youtube, but they are only samples  blush.gif . So due to the cost (exchange rate added), I began looking into other Latin options. I thought that I would keep Henle (how is that even pronounced?) for myself and use it with my girls when they are in high school. I have the study guide written by Cheryl Lowe and it is recommended to do First Year Latin - considering my DD is going into Grade 6 - First Year Latin sounds right for her.

So in looking around and researching Latin programs, I have come up with three or possibly four that might work. I would really appreciate any thoughts or suggestions. As much as I would love it to be independent, I know that is not the best way to learn Latin. I have two younger girls who will be needing my time as well, and I am not sure that spending 30 minutes every day on Latin is beneficial for my daughter this year? She began French and Latin this year and is loving French. She is already talking about wanting to learn another language, which I am wanting to hold off on for another year or two until she has more grounding in French and Latin. She uses Duolingo for French as well as the activities we do in our group French learning time. She doesn't have the same enthusiasm for Latin though, and I think that could be partly because she had to wait for me to be available to teach her most days. And perhaps we didn't immerse ourselves in Latin the same way we did with French? So a program that has a little independent work is probably best? She has always loved language, reading, writing, grammar. Anything to do with words, she really likes.

So my options that I see are:

First Form Latin - sounds like there is a lot of bookwork?

Lively Latin - maybe too independent, meaning I would allow her to use it on her own and I wouldn't keep up. Maybe not very CM?

Visual Latin - ?

Lingua Latina - It's not in English!!! How do I use this program? This looks like where I would like to end up, but maybe I am missing something here in how this is usable?

ETA: When I told DD this morning that I am looking for her/our next Latin program, her response was "Make sure its fun!" lol

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After GSWL, we moved on to Latin Book One, which is an OOP book available free (with answers) from the Latin Bk 1 Yahoo group. (You can also purchase it inexpensively through Amazon.) There is also Latin Book Two, also available from its own Yahoo group. (And there are Latin Book Three and Latin Book Four, but they don't have Yahoo groups with answer keys!)

 

We have really enjoyed Latin Book One. The first book covers more than a standard first-year Latin class, so we are taking it slowly. It is a hybrid grammar/reading program. Most lessons have grammar, vocabulary, a reading, and exercises. There are regular review lessons. There are also English essays on aspects of Roman culture and history (these are my daughter's favorite parts). Latin Book One has been an excellent teaching resource. My daughter has learned a lot of Latin and learned it well. I have been able to learn along with her, although she remembers more than I do and was less thrown for a loop by some of the verb tenses. We spend about 30 minutes a day working on Latin. We break each lesson into three days. If you decide to use Latin Book One, I can post how we structure our lessons.

 

We have used Latin Tutorial on YouTube to make sure we are pronouncing things correctly (we use classical pronunciation). My daughter is also going to take the National Latin Exam in March, so we have been practicing with their online practice app and downloaded old exams. We are going through the NLE syllabus to make sure we have everything covered.

 

Just today I learned about a 179-part podcast on the history of Rome. Each episode is about 12 minutes long. I am going to add this to dd's studies. I listened to the first episode, and it is well done.

 

We are really enjoying our Latin studies. It is dd's favorite part of school. I remember that when the kids were preschoolers, I did some kind of FB list about 10 things I want to learn how to do, and learning Latin was on that list. I am fulfilling that goal through Latin Book One. We plan to use Latin Book Two next.

 

I will say that if you can't devote at least 30 minutes to Latin at least four days a week (five is better), it's not really worth it. To make steady progress, you have to be willing to devote the time, to work through some confusion, to work on things until they are memorized, and to not give in to frustration. Latin is fun, and it needn't be overwhelming if you take it slowly. I tell dd that I don't really care about her credit; I just care that she learns Latin well.

 

HTH!

Edited by TaraTheLiberator
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We use Visual Latin 1 & 2 after GSWL.   My DS has really enjoyed it, and it's been nearly hands-off for me.   I check the worksheets but don't watch the videos with him.   This year in VL 2 has been the first time he's really gotten into vocabulary that has stretched him to the point of needing extra help, and we work through those questions together.    VL is probably not the most rigorous program we could have done, but my goal with Latin was exposure, not necessarily mastery, and not Mom-intensive.

 

We do GSWL in 6th grade, VL 1 in 7th, and VL 2 in 8th.   DS will do Spanish through an online virtual school for high school credit next year.

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We  use Lingua Latina (by Olberg--I believe there is another book with the same title). We are in the middle of volume 1, Familia Romana. 

 

My daughter does find it fun, as it has an humorous overarching story line. There is no English in the text. The student is suppose to intuit the meaning of the text from the context and the sidebar illustrations, etc. The grammar is illustrated with examples. The book does not emphasize translation, but understanding of the text. The book builds very carefully from one chapter to the next, so there are not huge leaps and the student should be able to understand each successive chapter. 

 

We used I Speak Latin prior to this, and in order to have more "people" to talk to, we included assorted stuffed animals (dressed in old tee-shirt togas) into our Latin class. Now when we do the exercises, it is a girls team against the boys. One of the girl stuffed animals (voiced by me) helps correct my daughter's work before it is compared with the boys' answers, which are filled with humorous mistakes (supplied by me). 

 

To use the text most efficiently, you will need to buy several supplement books (such as a the answer key to the exercises). There is also a small booklet in English that explains the grammar chapter by chapter, and a new publication with additional exercises for each chapter. While it may seem like a lot of books, it will take you 3 or 4 years to complete Familia Romana (9 chapters a year is apparently normal in a high school setting). 

 

There is a discussion forum of teachers who use this series, and they are very helpful to us home schoolers. 

 

We also drill the vocabulary using the Anki flashcard system. 

 

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After GSWL, we moved on to Latin Book One, which is an OOP book available free (with answers) from the Latin Bk 1 Yahoo group. (You can also purchase it inexpensively through Amazon.) There is also Latin Book Two, also available from its own Yahoo group. (And there are Latin Book Three and Latin Book Four, but they don't have Yahoo groups with answer keys!)

 

Thanks for this info. Would you mind linking the Latin Book One you are referring to? I am having trouble finding it.

Edited by Flowergirl159
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We  use Lingua Latina (by Olberg--I believe there is another book with the same title). We are in the middle of volume 1, Familia Romana. 

 

 

To use the text most efficiently, you will need to buy several supplement books (such as a the answer key to the exercises). There is also a small booklet in English that explains the grammar chapter by chapter, and a new publication with additional exercises for each chapter. While it may seem like a lot of books, it will take you 3 or 4 years to complete Familia Romana (9 chapters a year is apparently normal in a high school setting). 

 

 

 

Thanks Steven, do you mind listing the necessary books? Each time I look at Amazon or Book Depository, I get so overwhelmed not knowing which resources I need.

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We use Latin's Not So Tough, starting on level 3, after GSWL. Mainly I use it because someone gave us several components to it, but overall, I like it and think it does a good job. Lots of practice in translating, both to and from Latin.

 

You might also look at Latin Alive. I'm going to have my 13yo start on it soon. It looks to have more culture and history. I'm not sure if it'd appeal to an 11yo or not. LNST is very clean and plain, and so is Latin Alive, but LA has smaller print and just a more grownup appearance in general.

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Thanks Steven, do you mind listing the necessary books? Each time I look at Amazon or Book Depository, I get so overwhelmed not knowing which resources I need.

I didn't have the books handy when I wrote my first response. Here are the books that I am using:

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Pars I Familia Romana (Hans H. Orberg)--this is the basic text.

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Teacher's Materials -- reproduces the exercises from the text book in a format easier to copy for students, but more importantly, it has answers to all the exercises.

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Latine Disco Student's Manual (Hans Orberg) --Has a brief explanation in English of the grammar that is presented by example in the textbook. I as the teacher use this to make sure that my daughter has comprehended the grammar that was presented in each chapter. Since I am learning alongside my daughter, this book is useful to clear up my own confusion. 

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Colloquia Personarum (Hans H. Orberg) -- has 24 supplemental stories about the characters from Familia Romana in dialog form using the vocabulary and grammar for each chapter. We read these after we have completed the corresponding chapter in Familia Romana. 

 

Nova Exercitia Latina I (Roberto Carfagni) -- a newly published book that provides additional exercises for each chapter of Familia Romana. I highly recommend this, as I do not think that the basic text book has enough practice. The only drawback of this book is that there is no answer key. I wish it had been available when we first started the book. We are now doing the exercises that match our current chapter, as well as exercises from past chapters as review. 

 

All of these and more will come up if you search Amazon for "Familia Romana Orberg." I see there is also a supplemental exercise book by Orberg himself. I don't know why I didn't buy that--probably an oversight. 

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I didn't have the books handy when I wrote my first response. Here are the books that I am using:

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Pars I Familia Romana (Hans H. Orberg)--this is the basic text.

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Teacher's Materials -- reproduces the exercises from the text book in a format easier to copy for students, but more importantly, it has answers to all the exercises.

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Latine Disco Student's Manual (Hans Orberg) --Has a brief explanation in English of the grammar that is presented by example in the textbook. I as the teacher use this to make sure that my daughter has comprehended the grammar that was presented in each chapter. Since I am learning alongside my daughter, this book is useful to clear up my own confusion. 

 

Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Colloquia Personarum (Hans H. Orberg) -- has 24 supplemental stories about the characters from Familia Romana in dialog form using the vocabulary and grammar for each chapter. We read these after we have completed the corresponding chapter in Familia Romana. 

 

Nova Exercitia Latina I (Roberto Carfagni) -- a newly published book that provides additional exercises for each chapter of Familia Romana. I highly recommend this, as I do not think that the basic text book has enough practice. The only drawback of this book is that there is no answer key. I wish it had been available when we first started the book. We are now doing the exercises that match our current chapter, as well as exercises from past chapters as review. 

 

All of these and more will come up if you search Amazon for "Familia Romana Orberg." I see there is also a supplemental exercise book by Orberg himself. I don't know why I didn't buy that--probably an oversight. 

 

Do you use the Nova Excercitia Latina in place of the Exercitia Latina  that Orberg published? Or in addition? 

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Do you use the Nova Excercitia Latina in place of the Exercitia Latina  that Orberg published? Or in addition? 

I was unaware of Orberg's Exercitia Latina until recently, and purchased Nova Exercitia Latina when I first discovered it because I felt like we needed the extra practice. I can't compare the two since I have never seen Orberg's book. I do like Nova Exercitia (except its lack of an answer key). 

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I was unaware of Orberg's Exercitia Latina until recently, and purchased Nova Exercitia Latina when I first discovered it because I felt like we needed the extra practice. I can't compare the two since I have never seen Orberg's book. I do like Nova Exercitia (except its lack of an answer key). 

 

So I know this thread is a bit old, but I was coming on to find it and saw someone had recently bumped it!  Good timing.  

 

Can you tell me what you'll use after Famila Romana?  Is there a second level in the same series?  

 

Did you use any other materials first or go straight to Familia Romana as your intro to Latin?  

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So I know this thread is a bit old, but I was coming on to find it and saw someone had recently bumped it!  Good timing.  

 

Can you tell me what you'll use after Famila Romana?  Is there a second level in the same series?  

 

Did you use any other materials first or go straight to Familia Romana as your intro to Latin?  

 

Although it is not immediately apparent from the book, it will take you several years to cover Familia Romana. There is an active discussion group for FR, and from that I learned that typically in U.S. high schools, only 9 chapters a year are covered. (As a college text, it is covered more quickly.) 

 

We have been doing 8 to 9 chapters a year. We did 9 the first year. At the end of the second year, we were working on chapter 18, but did not finished over the summer. So in the fall we started chapter 18 again and went through it quickly. We are just now completing chapter 21. We do about a chapter a month. 

 

Note that the sequence of topics covered is very different from traditional course. Only in the last couple of chapters have we covered future, perfect, and imperfect tenses. On the other hand, we have covered all the noun and adjective declensions and passive voice. (This is an issue if you want you kids to do the National Latin Exam, since the material for year 1, for example, includes various tenses.)

 

Since there are 36 chapters in the book, we have at least one to one and half more years with it. 

 

But there is a follow-on Latin literature course: Roma Aeterna: Pars II (Lingua Latina). 

 

 

We did not start with FR. First we did SSL (a waste of time), Minimus (fun, but not comprehensive), and I Speak Latin (which I highly recommend). It might have been hard to take a my daughter directly into FR, but with the very solid base from ISL, we had no problem. 

 

I should also add, that if one is learning Latin primarily as vehicle for learning English grammar, FR might not be a good choice. We have been using KISS Grammar since second grade, and it meshes very well with FR. She has no problem recognizing subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, finite verbs, etc. in English, so the introduction of these concepts by example in FR was no problem. 

 

Edited by Steven
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Although it is not immediately apparent from the book, it will take you several years to cover Familia Romana. There is an active discussion group for FR, and from that I learned that typically in U.S. high schools, only 9 chapters a year are covered. (As a college text, it is covered more quickly.)

 

We have been doing 8 to 9 chapters a year. We did 9 the first year. At the end of the second year, we were working on chapter 18, but did not finished over the summer. So in the fall we started chapter 18 again and went through it quickly. We are just now completing chapter 21. We do about a chapter a month.

 

Note that the sequence of topics covered is very different from traditional course. Only in the last couple of chapters have we covered future, perfect, and imperfect tenses. On the other hand, we have covered all the noun and adjective declensions and passive voice. (This is an issue if you want you kids to do the National Latin Exam, since the material for year 1, for example, includes various tenses.)

 

Since there are 36 chapters in the book, we have at least one to one and half more years with it.

 

But there is a follow-on Latin literature course: Roma Aeterna: Pars II (Lingua Latina).

 

 

We did not start with FR. First we did SSL (a waste of time), Minimus (fun, but not comprehensive), and I Speak Latin (which I highly recommend). It might have been hard to take a my daughter directly into FR, but with the very solid base from ISL, we had no problem.

 

I should also add, that if one is learning Latin primarily as vehicle for learning English grammar, FR might not be a good choice. We have been using KISS Grammar since second grade, and it meshes very well with FR. She has no problem recognizing subjects, direct objects, indirect objects, finite verbs, etc. in English, so the introduction of these concepts by example in FR was no problem.

Thank you for all of this great information. Last question- how old were your kids when you started? Thanks!

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My DS 12 and I really enjoy First Form Latin. (We started it after zipping through Prima Latina when he was 10 years old.) We are taking our time with First Form, not only to ensure we both really understand it, but also because we don't always get around to Latin class every day - more like once a week, if we are lucky. In addition, I've made flashcards of of the vocabulary words in all the tenses, plus sayings from the book, so we can spend half an hour reviewing these when we have Latin class. But I feel this review ensures a thorough knowledge of what we've learned, especially since we aren't progressing at a traditional pace (one of the benefits of homeschooling).

 

We also tried Lively Latin, which has an excellent endorsement from Cathy Duffy. I felt it was a little below his learning level. It incorporates Roman history,though, which is something to consider. Since we studied Roman history separately, it wasn't necessary.

 

I also purchased Visual Latin, but the teaching method didn't work for us, although the instructor has a great sense of humor.

 

We like DVD instruction, but be forewarned - the Prima Latina DVD instructor has a thick Southern accent and the First Form Latin instructor speaks a bit fast. Memoria Press (Prima Latina, First Form, Second Form, etc.) uses quite a bit of workbook activity for their instruction; however, we find it very effective. Since we are learning Latin together, we both enjoy First Form Latin immensely. 

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Thank you for all of this great information. Last question- how old were your kids when you started? Thanks!

 

We started I Speak Latin in February of 2nd grade (after we had done some SSL and Minimus). We started Familia Romana at the end of 3rd grade, after we finished ISL, but we restarted FR at chapter 1at the beginning of 4th grade. 

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I have never heard of I Speak Latin. How does it compare to GSWL? We are finishing up SSL2 this year, and I was planning to use GSWL next year, along with Minimus Secundus. 

 

I have only briefly scanned through one of the other common Latin texts besides SSL, Minimus, and Wheelock, so I do not have a clear basis for comparison. I don't even remember which one I looked at. I have never seen Minimus Secundus. 

 

ISL teaches Latin as if it were a living language. The emphasis is on direct understanding, not translation. It does not include Roman history or culture. It teaches grammar by examples/patterns, not wordy descriptions. We did most things spoken. I don't remember writing anything (or very little--my daughter dislikes having to put pencil to paper). The book suggests making flashcards by drawing pictures and labeling the back of the card in Latin (no English). We tried that, but it was hard, so we switched to taking pictures, printing them at Costco, and then labeling them. (After the first year of Familia Romana we switched to the computerized flashcard program, Anki.) If I were doing it over, I would have started right away with Anki, which allows you to build flash cards using pictures, movies, sounds, as well as text. 

 

Here is a link to the ISL website: http://ispeaklatin.com

 

I would suggest a good English grammar alongside ISL and FR. I liked KISS Grammar because it emphasized identifying the words fulfilling the various grammatical categories in real sentences, not the memorization of definitions. I think we started KISS in 3rd grade. 

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We started out with Song School Latin and Latin for Children.  It was after that I discovered ISL.   FWIW, A friend of mine,  who is a Medieval scholar, took a cursory look at both and said that ISL teaches the grammar one encounters in actual Latin texts.  He highly recommended we do Lingua Latina  next.  I bought the books, but we haven't started yet.

 

The publisher's site has more information on Lingua Latina than you can get at Amazon: http://focusbookstore.com/PartI-familiaromana.aspx

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We started out with Song School Latin and Latin for Children.  It was after that I discovered ISL.   FWIW, A friend of mine,  who is a Medieval scholar, took a cursory look at both and said that ISL teaches the grammar one encounters in actual Latin texts.  He highly recommended we do Lingua Latina  next.  I bought the books, but we haven't started yet.

 

The publisher's site has more information on Lingua Latina than you can get at Amazon: http://focusbookstore.com/PartI-familiaromana.aspx

 

Just to clarify, the text that I have been calling Familia Romana is part 1 of Lingua Latina (the full title is something like Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Familia Romana Pars I). 

 

I have been very happy with I Speak Latin and Familia Romana/Lingua Latina, so I am glad to hear that I am not alone. :laugh: There seem to be very few users of ISL on these forums, but the book deserves a wider audience. Similarly, Familia Romana is not so well known, probably because it is actually intended for an older audience, but my grade-school aged daughter loves it. 

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We started out with Song School Latin and Latin for Children.  It was after that I discovered ISL.   FWIW, A friend of mine,  who is a Medieval scholar, took a cursory look at both and said that ISL teaches the grammar one encounters in actual Latin texts.  He highly recommended we do Lingua Latina  next.  I bought the books, but we haven't started yet.

 

The publisher's site has more information on Lingua Latina than you can get at Amazon: http://focusbookstore.com/PartI-familiaromana.aspx

 

Thank you for the publisher's website!  I was just perusing it earlier and trying to decide between the teacher's manual and the college companion text (or both, lol).  

 

 

Just to clarify, the text that I have been calling Familia Romana is part 1 of Lingua Latina (the full title is something like Lingua Latina per se illustrata: Familia Romana Pars I). 

 

I have been very happy with I Speak Latin and Familia Romana/Lingua Latina, so I am glad to hear that I am not alone. :laugh: There seem to be very few users of ISL on these forums, but the book deserves a wider audience. Similarly, Familia Romana is not so well known, probably because it is actually intended for an older audience, but my grade-school aged daughter loves it. 

 

Yet more questions...  First off, I'm coining a new acronym.  Henceforth, we are talking about LLpsIFR, ok?  Or maybe just LLFR.  Anyway...  This is meant as an introductory text.  Is there any big reason to do ISL beforehand?  It seems like everyone does multiple entry level Latins rather than just picking one and moving through.  In my mind, this seems like a time-waster, but so many people do this, I think I must be missing something.  

 

Can one go directly to LLFR without any other intro?  This would be a for a bright, language-strong 4th grader.  

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Thank you for the publisher's website!  I was just perusing it earlier and trying to decide between the teacher's manual and the college companion text (or both, lol).  

 

 

 

Yet more questions...  First off, I'm coining a new acronym.  Henceforth, we are talking about LLpsIFR, ok?  Or maybe just LLFR.  Anyway...  This is meant as an introductory text.  Is there any big reason to do ISL beforehand?  It seems like everyone does multiple entry level Latins rather than just picking one and moving through.  In my mind, this seems like a time-waster, but so many people do this, I think I must be missing something.  

 

Can one go directly to LLFR without any other intro?  This would be a for a bright, language-strong 4th grader.  

 

I suppose that is possible. My daughter is also very adept at languages. We raised her bilingual with German, and had also done some Spanish before starting Latin. So she was comfortable with learning languages from the very start. But she does not like the physical act of writing, so I preferred a more oral program. ISL is definitely more oral. LLFR has exercises at the end of the chapter and in the supplementary books. Sometimes we do them orally, but I think I usually did them written on a white board (which dd prefers over paper). 

 

I don;t think there is any advantage in multiple introductory books. SSL was a complete waste. Minimus was fun, but not productive. The only real question would be, might your child get overwhelmed by the pacing of LLFR without a preliminary course geared to children?

 

Because they share approaches, ISL works well as an intro to LLFR,, which does move along quickly. ISL is nice because the lessons were easily covered and geared to a child. While it is true that the LLFR repeats the grammar learned in ISL, it also throws  new things at the student. I  think it benefited my daughter to have had ISL first so that she was pretty solid on the first two declension and present tense verb endings before starting LLFR. Also, the lessons in ISL introduces some neo-Latin vocabulary, so that you can talk about things in your daily life. My daughter found ISL fun (we dressed her stuffed animals up in togas and gave them Latin names so we had more participants), and that helped keep her interested in Latin. (She also loves the story in LLFR.)

 

I also highly recommend using Anki with whatever book you choose. Anki has made a huge difference in our retention of vocabulary. 

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I suppose that is possible. My daughter is also very adept at languages. We raised her bilingual with German, and had also done some Spanish before starting Latin. So she was comfortable with learning languages from the very start. But she does not like the physical act of writing, so I preferred a more oral program. ISL is definitely more oral. LLFR has exercises at the end of the chapter and in the supplementary books. Sometimes we do them orally, but I think I usually did them written on a white board (which dd prefers over paper). 

 

I don;t think there is any advantage in multiple introductory books. SSL was a complete waste. Minimus was fun, but not productive. The only real question would be, might your child get overwhelmed by the pacing of LLFR without a preliminary course geared to children?

 

Because they share approaches, ISL works well as an intro to LLFR,, which does move along quickly. ISL is nice because the lessons were easily covered and geared to a child. While it is true that the LLFR repeats the grammar learned in ISL, it also throws  new things at the student. I  think it benefited my daughter to have had ISL first so that she was pretty solid on the first two declension and present tense verb endings before starting LLFR. Also, the lessons in ISL introduces some neo-Latin vocabulary, so that you can talk about things in your daily life. My daughter found ISL fun (we dressed her stuffed animals up in togas and gave them Latin names so we had more participants), and that helped keep her interested in Latin. (She also loves the story in LLFR.)

 

I also highly recommend using Anki with whatever book you choose. Anki has made a huge difference in our retention of vocabulary. 

 

You've convinced me! I'm ordering I Speak Latin today. I was wondering, though, if you would be willing to share your Anki cards? We use Anki already and it would be awesome not to have to make them myself.

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Because they share approaches, ISL works well as an intro to LLFR,, which does move along quickly. ISL is nice because the lessons were easily covered and geared to a child. While it is true that the LLFR repeats the grammar learned in ISL, it also throws  new things at the student. I  think it benefited my daughter to have had ISL first so that she was pretty solid on the first two declension and present tense verb endings before starting LLFR. Also, the lessons in ISL introduces some neo-Latin vocabulary, so that you can talk about things in your daily life. My daughter found ISL fun (we dressed her stuffed animals up in togas and gave them Latin names so we had more participants), and that helped keep her interested in Latin. (She also loves the story in LLFR.)

 

I also highly recommend using Anki with whatever book you choose. Anki has made a huge difference in our retention of vocabulary. 

 

While exploring the ISL website, I came across this in the FAQs:

 

 

What do you recommend for Latin study after I Speak Latin?

I Speak Latin was originally developed to prepare students for Hans Oerberg's Lingua Latina Per Se Illustrata. It also provides a good foundation for popular reading-method programs such as Cambridge Latin and Ecce Romani, and for grammar-translation programs such as Wheelock, Henle Latin or the Memoria Press Form series.

 

 

So between your recommendations and this, I think we'll also do ISL followed by LLFR.  Thanks for your help!

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You've convinced me! I'm ordering I Speak Latin today. I was wondering, though, if you would be willing to share your Anki cards? We use Anki already and it would be awesome not to have to make them myself.

 

Unfortunately, we did not discover Anki until we had finished ISL. Indeed, we were most of the way through our first year of LLFR. 

 

We started out trying to make hand-drawn flash cards for ISL, then shifted to taking pictures that I had printed cheaply at Costco. I never got around to entering all of our ISL vocabulary into Anki. 

 

I do have cards for LLFR from chapter 1 to 21. I am currently making the cards for chapter 22. We based our deck on a couple of shared decks that seem not to be available any more. Neither deck was complete when I imported them. I converted the cards to forward and backwards, and added pictures (some of our own, but also ones off the Internet). There were some inconsistencies between the two original decks, which I have not completely cleaned up. Also, neither of the original decks went beyond chapter 20. I also created some grammar cards using the cloze feature. If you want this deck, I don't mind e-mailing it to you, but send me an e-mail so I can mention some of the issues/inconsistencies. 

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I also disliked SSL and Minimus was for fun, but there was very little retention.  I tried to use ISL, but it was a no-go after a few weeks.  I found that certain lessons would ask that I had a picture of a family ready or something small like that.  However, I am a planner and if I don't have things at hand for the lesson then it doesn't seem to get done.  My daughter was also not super excited with the lessons.  She felt confused at times, which I thought was odd since we are a somewhat bilingual spanish/english family.  The failure to plan was definitely my fault, but my daughter being unhappy with the program sealed its fate in my house.

 

We are currently using Latina Christiana...certainly boring compared to ISL, but it is getting done and it is so methodical that my daughter enjoys it.  And Anki has been wonderful for us.  I can't remember who on this board first suggested that program to me, but it has been so helpful.

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