Sahamamama Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 If you scroll down to #5 of this article, the author says that it is unnecessary for students of Latin to study a separate English grammar or vocabulary course. Do you agree? If not, why? If so, how do you structure your curriculum to consolidate the subjects? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chrysalis Academy Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Well, I heard SWB respond to this question by saying something along the lines of "If they were going to write in Latin, Latin grammar would be sufficient. As they are going to be writing in English, English grammar is necessary." I always think of grammar (and spelling) as aids to good writing, not as subjects to learn on their own/for their own sake. So, I tend to agree that English grammar is necessary for excellence in writing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We recently dropped formal English vocabulary, but we are sticking with English grammar. We get a lot of vocab from Henle, plus he writes any words he doesn't know from reading on the white board and he looks them up. But we no longer do Vocabulary Workshop (we were using it until last December) because it felt very workbook-y, and we needed to cut down on the busy work. Plus, he wasn't retaining very much. But grammar, we're sticking with. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We will continue to study grammar. The only reason we are studying vocabulary is that the curriculum we'll be using (MCT) includes it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sahamamama Posted January 25, 2012 Author Share Posted January 25, 2012 We plan to stick with both here, too. When I was in school, studying French, it would have been wonderful to have had a better grasp of grammar. We certainly didn't gain that understanding in French class. :glare: The more I study English grammar, the more everything else makes sense. I'm beginning to think that English grammar was the missing subject (for me). It's like a key that unlocks so many doors. KWIM? I don't remember ever diagramming a sentence. :001_huh: I have some work to do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We don't do formal vocabulary because the Latin we've done so far includes a lot of vocabulary. We still do grammar. Right now FLL and a bit of MCT. We aren't always getting to the MCT because we have a full schedule so we'll focus on it more when we finish FLL. I do think that Latin grammar reinforces what we're learning in English and makes it easier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharon37127 Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 I am eagerly awaiting a recent purchase from HomeschoolClassifieds.com- The Latin Road to English Grammar. Up until now, I have tried no less than 5 different grammar programs and my oldest is in 5th grade. Nothing has clicked. We were "playing around" with Latin through Latina Christiana for vocabulary (Latin and English). This program is supposed to combined the grammar, Latin, vocabulary/ spelling...together. The more the merrier! Until we find out if this program is "the one" or just #6 in a long list, we are using the proofreading portion of the writing process as our grammar- very application- based. But to answer your question, IF it works for us, we will only use this program- no separate grammar, vocabulary, or spelling. If anyone has experience with it, please share. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mamajag Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Latin reinforces English grammar, but it doesn't teach enough. What little I knew of grammar before I started homeschooling is from my 2 years of high school Latin. Therefore, I really think English grammar instruction is necessary. We don't do formal vocabulary study here. We will next year with the oldest because we are going to do MCT, but in general we do dictionary work with words in lessons and independent readings that we don't know. Latin stems are important, but there is a lot of vocabulary that will be missed that is one's only method. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SorrelZG Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 My most recent intent has been only doing grammar informally outside of Latin at this stage until it is introduced down the road in Classical Writing. However, DS has done some of FLL1/2 before and likes it a lot so I may at least complete FLL1/2. I don't actually know what "vocabulary" is as an individual school subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
luvnlattes Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 Latin reinforces English grammar, but it doesn't teach enough. :iagree: My oldest started Latin last year. I dropped grammar for him as I'd been told he wouldn't need a separate grammar course if he was taking Latin. I found that the Latin reinforced what he already knew but didn't necessarily teach him any new concepts. We are back to studying grammar this year which has been a good decision for us. He works with vocabulary through his spelling and history programs. We don't do a separate vocab. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 25, 2012 Share Posted January 25, 2012 We study vocabulary in preparation for college testing (ACT/SAT). While it does include some Latin roots, it also includes lots of others, such as French, Greek, etc. We study grammar because this particular son needs such study desparately in order to be able to write coherently. We study Latin because it does help with recognition of roots in science and other areas, but also because it's fun and interesting to him. I don't think studying Latin grammar is sufficient for writing in English.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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