If your daughter is an auditory learner, she will love the YouTube course I am putting together. As she has some Latin already, it will consolidate what she knows and build on it. The course uses a lot of spoken Latin, and is also grammar intensive. I have already uploaded over 250 short lessons: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 This can be supplemented by the Latinum podcast - I would recommend Comenius' Orbis Pictus bilingual from Latinum to build up a good vocabulary store, and once the bilingual audio has been studied, the monolingual version. http://latinum.mypodcast.com

re volume - i just remembered what the problem is - I have a highly directional microphone - so it does not pick up other noises - set up for recording the audio podcasts. I was facing away from it towards my camera. Once I realized, I moved it, and the volume problem goes away. The first episodes are audible, but a bit quiet. After a few episodes, I moved it, I can't recall exactly when.....so the volume problem is only in the first few episodes.

Hi, I'll see what I can do about the recording volume. That should be easy to tweak - but at least you can hear me :) Also, check the volume slider on the youtube video as well. It might be set low. checking the volume slider thing on your desktop, by clicking on the loudspeaker icon might also work, if it has readjusted automatically to a lower setting.

Remember - any questions you have while working your way through, message me via Youtube. I have already given a few lessons brief annotations in response to user queries. Also, please rate and comment on the videos - I'm more than happy for the pupils to comment as well, and tell me what they like, don't like, as the course has a Long way to go, so useful suggestions about presentation can be implemented. Just don't ask for subtitles! :)

This dichotomy between 'grammar' and immersion is ahistorical. For centuries, pretty much from Roman times through to the mid 1700's Latin was taught using immersion and intensive grammar prep, simultaneously. Grammar-translation is a very modern methodology. Before the mid 1700's, no-one taught Latin to translate out of it into the vernacular, Latin was taught to become fluent in Latin, as it was an absolute necessity for higher education in all fields. There is no reason why this cannot be done. You can see an example of this method being put into practice here: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 Incidentally, Polish has many similar structures to Latin, and a rich case system, so both these languages are hard for English speakers, for the same reason. I know one Latin prof who suggested shipping all her Latin students off to Poland for a year of Polish immersion, to help them develop the neural pathways required for studying Latin. It was only a pipe dream, but the idea is sound.

Also, if you have a question,just send me a message on youtube, and I will get back to you. A couple of the episodes have brief annotations now, in response to requests for clarification. If you are using the course, please remember to comment - or get your pupil to contribute a comment - and rate the videos as you watch them.

Thanks. The response to the course has been fantastic. I think it improves as it goes on, as I work out better ways of doing things with the camera. Remember, parents using this, you can always look into Adler, if you are confused about something, although Adler's explanations are academic, and definitely not suitable for a child or teenager to read. Adler's grammar is on google books, just google for "Adler Latin grammar for speaking and writing ". As of today, lesson 212, I am up to page 43 in Adler.

Hi If you are stuck leaf through Adler, as I am following Adler very closely - obviously I deviate a bit here and there, but 90% of the material is Adler. I am up to page 43 now (lesson 212 on the course). As with learning any language in a 'real' environment, there are moments of incomprehension. However, you are still learning grammatical patterns, comprehension or no. There is so much repitition in this course, so many subtle variations of each pattern, that eventually, the unclear material will click into place - this is 'real' language learning, ulpan style. Even if you don't get everything, it does not matter. Often, all I want you to get at a certain stage, is the gist, the filling in of detail will come later. I went to Hamleys and bought a fluffy lion glove puppet, so now I have a dinosaur, and a grumpy lion. The number of subscribers is increasing much faster than I imagined it would, getting close to 600. I am producing around 3 short lessons a day at the moment, sometimes more. I prefer to keep them short, so a user can replay a short segment over, and get just that little bit of focus. However, there will be no written commentaries, and no textual explanations. The only text I will be doing, is extensive exercises with syllable charts - I have started to intersperse these - they are boring to study, so ever few lessons, a few more syllable charts appear.

Thanks. I have around 140 lessons online now, with more to come. Enjoy!

Hi, Good questions. I am following Adler very closely indeed - all the grammar, all the forms - you might have missed it, but every major grammar point (and many minor ones) made by Adler is being explained. There is a lot of grammar there, in between the dialogue. I am not actually interested in spoken Latin per se, except I think having the ability to internally converse with an author, and question him mentally, in his own language, is invaluable. This is more about reading, than speaking. I think this oral-auditory approach is the fastest route into a language for 90% of learners. Most Latin students, taught the regular way, still end up thinking that reading Latin means translating Latin into English in their heads. Now, translating is an excellent learning tool, but it is something that should come much much later, as an assistant to developing good style and close reading habits - it should not be, I think, be a primary didactic tool at the onset of language learning. Also, few of us are mathematically minded to really progress much with a totally mathematical-theoretical approach either. Most people learn in a more chaotic manner, and cannot learn a language from charts or from chanting the endings of declensions. I intend to follow the Renaissance curriculum with this course - so after Adler, I will head into Aesop,(he was first stop for the ancient Romans as well) then the dialogues of Corderius (which are modelled on the surviving ancient Roman teaching dialogues) , a little Vives (ditto), and then on to Cicero's letters and Eutropius....by this stage, we will be looking at commentaries in Latin. Finally, poetry (Cato's distichs). All in all, a very traditional curriculum, one that was in place for millenia. Doing things in Latin has another advantage- it makes the course much shorter to produce - and I have developed a nice shorthand for parsing, with a 'parsing glove' for declensions, that really speeds things up. I have borrowed Varro's verb charts, and modified them slightly, and will be using these as well, when we get to verbs. Being only in Latin, the course will not 'date' either. It is also internationally accessible. Evan.

The rule for Latin word order in a sentence, as is found in all standard advanced grammars, is most important word first, second most second and so on, with an important concept at the end (often the verb, but not always), and things work backwards inwards from the end of the sentence as well. The same rule applies in phrases and clauses. When est is used, the verb often does not come at the end of the sentence, and the order appears almost 'English'. But basically, the Romans freely shifted words around depending on the subtle emphasis they were giving to particular words. Most of the grammatical expositions in Latin that I am using - and which you are hearing - come verbatim from Renaissance texts - I am making up none of this methodology, it is all there to find in the Renaissance and earlier texts, complete with scripted lessons. Comenius' seventeenth century course maps out a comprehensive grammar programme covering age 6 upwards, with a series of increasingly complex grammars, each building on from the previous one. So far, everything I am dealing with is in the Rudimenta Grammaticae of Comenius. Remember, as the course progresses, more verb forms are introduced, and more vocabulary, and more technical grammatical terminology, so it becomes easier and easier to talk about Latin in Latin. This is how Latin used to be taught, from Roman times right through to the late Renaissance, and the methodology and development of the lessons for teaching Latin in Latin is extremely well documented, so I do not need to make anything up. Interestingly, the earliest examples we have for this method of teaching, are the third century hermeneumata, with little Latin dialogues, word lists ( both alphabetical, and by topic) , little stories - these Roman texts are surviving examples of what historians assume were standard teaching texts in ancient Rome, based on Greek pedagogical models, using questions and answers as the primary teaching method.

Adler's textbook is 1000 pages long of very small typeface. Lesson 130 of the video course takes us up to page 27 in the textbook (and I started on page 7, not page 1). By lesson 130, all the declensions have been introduced in the singular. Some very fine points of grammar are being developed (not always at this stage explained explicitly) relating to different types of questions in Latin. Distributive numerals have been touched on. There have been examples of indirect speech. Adler's course is incredibly detailed, but it progresses in very small steps....and yes, a lot of the work is on consolidating vocabulary.........once the fundamentals have been firmly established, Adler begins to move ahead...but without those fundaments rock solid, he cannot do so........This course is aimed at teaching Latin as though it were being taught in the 1st Century - to someone who needed to be able to be fluent in it. The end result of following this course, with its very extensive - indeed, massive - range of examples - is being able to in the end read a text, and 'converse' with the author, and hear him in your head, in Latin, without having to translate. Remember, I only started recording this course on video last week. The audio only version took me two years to make, with daily labour.......the video version may be a bit quicker, as without the English, it will be a bit shorter.

Hi, With an 8 year old, I would gloss over the grammar, and focus on the conversation. ALL of the grammar is contained in the extensive examples - so even if your 8 year old does not 'get' gender, or 'understand' the cases he or she will still be able to internalise the grammar, just by listening to a huge amount of conversation. The course is aimed at multiple levels, adults and children and there is a huge amount of repitition, but most of the learning, to repeat, takes place through exempla. Just like being plunged into a foreign country, you don't understand everything in the beginning, even with the huge amount of support material, there will be moments of incomprehension, but understanding WILL dawn. Just plough on through. Gender and case are things that take even much older students about three years to internalise, as they work so differently to English...and the brain has to re-wire...it does this through the examples. I would persevere, but focus less on the grammar the first time through.

Hello, Some for you may be familiar with my Latinum podcast. Over the summer, I have been working on an audio-visual Latin course, that is grammar intensive, yet teaches Latin through only using Latin. It is aimed at complete beginners, and would, I believe, be suitable for children, and adult students. Even quite advanced students are using it, as the course teaches through spoken Latin, doing a lot to activate the language and re-program the brain to think in Latin, using a varied sequence of little dialog sequences. Declensions and verbs etc are examined in Latin. The course has a lot of interactivity, loads of props, lots of repetition, and a fun dinosaur glove puppet. So far, I have uploaded 130 short lessons. Some lessons will need to be listened to a few times, others only once. And all this is totally free. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Hello, Some for you may be familiar with my Latinum podcast. Over the summer, I have been working on an audio-visual Latin course, that is grammar intensive, yet teaches Latin through only using Latin. It is aimed at complete beginners, and would, I believe, be suitable for children, and adult students. Even quite advanced students are using it, as the course teaches through Latin, doing a lot to activate the language and re-program the brain to think in Latin, using a varied sequence of little dialog sequences. Declensions and verbs etc are examined in Latin. The course has a lot of interactivity, loads of props, lots of repetition, and a fun dinosaur glove puppet. So far, I have uploaded 130 short lessons. Some lessons will need to be listened to a few times, others only once. And all this is totally free. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Hello, Some for you may be familiar with my Latinum podcast. Over the summer, I have been working on an audio-visual Latin course, that is grammar intensive, yet teaches Latin through only using Latin. It is aimed at complete beginners, and would, I believe, be suitable for children, and adult students. Even quite advanced students are using it, as the course teaches through Latin, doing a lot to activate the language and re-program the brain to think in Latin, using a varied sequence of little dialog sequences. Declensions and verbs etc are examined in Latin. The course has a lot of interactivity, loads of props, lots of repetition, and a fun dinosaur glove puppet. So far, I have uploaded 130 short lessons. Some lessons will need to be listened to a few times, others only once. And all this is totally free. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Hi I have moved on a step, and I suspect this method will work even better: I have decided to do something no-one has done before, and make an audio visual Latin course, in Latin only. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 I would be very interested in what you think of it - if you leave comments on the youtube pages, I will get them in my inbox. Over 80 episodes are available, each one is around 3 minutes long. The course is sequential. It follows Adler, so if you have been using the podcast, this will be a 'step up'. Evan.

Latin course in Latin only. Hi, I have been designing an audio visual Latin course, that uses no Engish ( well, a tiny bit in the first two lessons, but it isn't 'needed'). I suspect children will respond to these lessons very well. http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

If you are finding the grammar is not sticking, try working your way through the audio visual lessons of the Cursum Latinum - an all Latin course that is free, and starts from zero, but is taught totally in Latin. It is not as hard as it sounds, and even a young child can make progress using a course like this. http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

If your kid is having trouble declining, start to listen to the episodes of the Latin course by Latinum onYouTube http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965'>http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965'>http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965'>http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 This uses Comenius' methods, and I suspect a child will cotton on quickly to what is going on - especially as the course is taught entirely in Latin - even though it requires no knowledge of Latin at all. The student slowly pulls themselves up by their own bootstraps, and by the end, is reading Cicero. Although ti uses conversation, it is grammar intensive. The course is suitable for children, even for children who cannot read yet will gain a lot from using this course. I know adults who are also using it, quite profitably. It has only been online for a week,so you will not have heard of it yet. http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Hi You might find this new audio visual course useful - it is grammar intensive, but, unlike any other course for children, it is totally in Latin. Even the grammar is taught in Latin. The course uses pictures, actions, and objects, and a sleepy dinosaur. It is a very new course, and engages the listener is producing Latin, as well as listening. There are frequent declension 'tests' and so on, scattered through the lessons. The course is free. Although not designed specifically for children, because it uses no English, only Latin, children should have no trouble with it. Parents who have no Latin can easily listen along with the course, and ask the questions (in Latin) from the lessons to their children, and vice versa, or just use the recorded lessons as prompts. 'Grammar' lessons are short, and are interspersed with dialogue with the dinosaur. http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Hi there there is a new (free) resource you may find useful - so far there are 80 short lessons available - this is an oral audio-visual course. It is suitable for absolute beginners, and a parent can learn along with their child. The course is interactive, there is a lot of repetition. Vocabulary is introduced through objects, pictures, and actions. The course uses no English, so your native language is not important. It starts from the ground up - you will need to keep a record of what lessons you have studied, as they are numbered. There is no index of contents. The course uses the 'natural method', but is also grammar intensive. http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965

Thanks. Although the course is totally in Latin, it follows a very traditional programme - intensive drilling on declensions, verbs etc ( but in Latin). I use the human body as much as possible, and props, pictures,and slide shows with voice over. The silly antics of my dinosaur puppet ( he appears a bit later in the course) help make things a bit more entertaining - like this lesson: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965#p/u/2/dO3pHQT8QqU Despite the antics, this is a rigorous course,and follows the methodology of the Renaissance curriculum. Luckily, many teachers in the Renaissance left examples of scripted Latin lessons, so we know how they went about teaching Latin in Latin. There are many examples of such scripted lessons. For a pretty good example see here: http://books.google.com/books?id=yG4TAAAAQAAJ So far, after a week online, over 300 people have viewed the first episode, and I already seem to have around 30 students working their way through the course from the beginning, as I can track the gradual progress of increasing uploads of the following lessons. Even if you are using a textbook like Minimus, or some other course for children, these videos will be helpful,in making the language seem to come alive.

Hi, I have put the first 50 lessons on my new audiovisual Latin course online. This starts off as a totally oral course, as I don't automatically assume my students are old enough to write. The course is, except for the first 2 lessons, totally in Latin. After a few lessons, a glove puppet finds its way in, to help with the dialogue. This course is suitable for older kids and adults, but even very young children will be able to learn quite a lot from it, I think. A parent with no Latin will be able to use this course with a child, and practice the techniques taught in the course at home. Feedback, comments and crit would be most welcome - please post your comments on the youtube pages, I don't log in here too often. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 Latinum Latin Course. Simply searching youtube for 'latinum' or 'latin course' will also bring it up.

Hi, I have put the first 50 lessons on my new audiovisual Latin course online. This starts off as a totally oral course, as I don't assume my students are old enough to write. The course is, except for the first 2 lessons, totally in Latin. After a few lessons, a glove puppet finds its way in, to help with the dialogue. This course is suitable for older kids and adults, but even very young children will be able to learn quite a lot from it, I think. A parent with no Latin will be able to use this course with a child, and practice the techniques taught in the course at home. Feedback, comments and crit would be most welcome - please post your comments on the youtube page, I don't log in here too often. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/user/evan1965 Latinum Latin Course. Simply searching youtube for 'latinum' or 'latin course' will also bring it up.