First Form Latin or something else

[teamturner]

I am just about ready to purchase First Form Latin but for some reason I'm still unsure. We have done all three levels of Latin For Children but feel like we need a better foundation and have not retained as much as I think we should have. I like how First Form goes back to the beginning and I think it will be a good review.

 

It seems like there is very little translating, which to some extent is a welcome idea to me. (please correct me if I'm wrong) LFC had a lot of translation that was pretty challenging and discouraged 2 of my 3 older kids. We had to use the answer key a lot!

 

A bit of background, all three of my older kids study Latin together. The younger one hates it and hasn't retained very much. One of ds loves Latin and the other tolerates it.

 

I'm a bit discouraged that with First Form we won't finish it until 10th grade and would need an upper level Latin after that, isnt' that correct? I would very much like to be done w/Latin studies by that time so we could move on to a modern language.

 

I really don't want a Latin program with too much fluff, although I wonder if First Form is too dry.

 

Any thoughts? Thanks for any help!

[SophiaH]

I would say FF might give your dc that boost of confidence they need to keep going with Latin, maybe even like it! :) My dd has appreciated the predictability and hasn't seemed bored by it at all. But I do throw in a lesson of Visual Latin sometimes just for variety and for more translation.

 

With all that said, though, you might want to start a thread over on the Memoria Press forums and ask them. Tanya and some of the other staff members are always quick to answer and will likely have some good thoughts for you.

[Mom0012]

I have FF, but haven't used it yet. That being said, I did notice in the TM that they give you a schedule to supplement Lingua Angelica alongside FF. It is supposed to "provide enrichment and translation exercises in real Latin".

 

Lisa

[wapiti]

It seems like there is very little translating, which to some extent is a welcome idea to me. (please correct me if I'm wrong)

 

I like the format of FF for younger students, and think you should go ahead with it, but honestly the lack of translating is THE big negative of FF, IMO; i.e., I wouldn't be happy about that.

 

I have FF, but haven't used it yet. That being said, I did notice in the TM that they give you a schedule to supplement Lingua Angelica alongside FF. It is supposed to "provide enrichment and translation exercises in real Latin".

 

Lisa

 

This sounds like a great idea.

[LNC]

There is some translation - english to latin and latin to english.

 

I am not sure how it compares to other programs - but my children did very well with first form. Latin is their favorite subject.

[Mom0012]

There is some translation - english to latin and latin to english.

 

I am not sure how it compares to other programs - but my children did very well with first form. Latin is their favorite subject.

 

This is good to hear because I'm really on the fence about whether I want to add in Lingua Angelica on top of FFL and a Spanish program. I had never heard anyone say that there wasn't enough translation in FFL prior to this thread (not that I'm the expert), but I had started a thread of my own a few days ago asking whether people were using Lingua Angelica and didn't get any responses to that. Maybe I'll bump it up.

 

Lisa

Edited July 12, 2012 by LisaTheresa

[wapiti]

This is good to hear because I'm really on the fence about whether I want to add in Lingua Angelica on top of FFL and a Spanish program. I had never heard anyone say that there wasn't enough translation in FFL prior to this thread (not that I'm the expert), but I had started a thread of my own a few days ago asking whether people were using Lingua Angelica and didn't get any responses to that. Maybe I'll bump it up.

 

Lisa

 

I remember at least one poster who added in translation exercises from Henle I. I don't know how she did it, because the sequence is quite different, but she did. I haven't seen her post in a while though.

 

When I first read your post above, I skimmed and thought I saw Lingua Latina (Oerberg), lol. That's another reading/immersion style program, and that might be another option for adding translation. For many kids, translation is the key ingredient to really learning in a way that is different from learning the forms by rote. For memorization, I had my dd fill in ending charts, one per day (when she was using Henle). It just took a few minutes but was a better method than chanting, for her learning style. I think a bit of both is best, but with at least as much, or more, translating than memorizing. Translation is the reason that GSWL works so well, for example.

Edited July 12, 2012 by wapiti

[teamturner]

What I mean by shying away from the translation was the History Readers that LFC uses for translating. We enjoyed the sentence translation w/in each lesson, but when it came time to translate 3 paragraphs in the history reader we struggled. It stretched us for sure.

 

Can some others share how you add in translation to FF? I'm interested in trying that.

[highfamily]

My 11-year-old is about half way through Second Form, and I will be starting First Form with my 9-year-old in the fall. My oldest had also learned most of Latin grammar previously, but without a lot of actual practice. The advice from Memoria was to go through quicker if it was really review for him.

 

About translation...I've seen Cheryl Lowe explain that translation is a higher level skill, so she brings more of than in later in the forms series. I initially felt like you did though about the lack of translation work, so after First Form, we went to Minimus and Cambridge Book 1. My son didn't seem to enjoy it any more, so we're back to the forms series. Also, Visual Latin does have some translation work for each lesson...you could incorporate that element along with First Form, if your kids enjoyed it.

 

I love that First Form is so well-organized and systematic. The DVD's are really helpful, I think, to take some pressure off the teacher.

 

Jana

[Amy Jo]

Have you thought about using FF as your main program, then maybe buying a book like Lingua Latina to use as a reader? Especially for your older child who loves Latin? I'm hoping to start using the early chapters of LL when my son gets to Second Form.

[RootAnn]

I wonder if since they've had previous Latin, you could have them use Henle?

 

There are several guides out there (Memoria Press has some & so does Mother of Divine Grace) to go at different speeds. It will "go back to the beginning," but it also will allow you get where you want to go quicker than the Forms series.

 

(We'll be doing the Form series, but I'm just throwing another option out there for you!)

 

And, maybe have the third kid (the one that doesn't like it & hasn't retained it) study roots this year instead of joining in. Cut that one some slack. :tongue_smilie:

[SophiaH]

Honestly, I feel like the translation in FF is enough for the ages that the program is intended for. There is quite a bit of English to Latin and Latin to English translating in the workbooks; it's just not whole paragraphs like Lingua or Lively or Visual Latin.

 

But again, my dd really enjoys Visual Latin as a supplement. You can try some lessons free on the website. Each lesson consists of three short videos, each video to be followed by completing a go-along worksheet. After the third video, there is a translation page, but my dd has never found it to be overwhelming.

 

But IMO, FF needs no supplementation.