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July 2, 2008

Lingua Latina/Henle Latin

I thought I'd take this out of the comments and post it where it might be more generally useful.

I've been asked about Lingua Latina and Henle Latin: when to start, what to buy.

For Henle, you need the First Year Latin book, the grammar, and an answer key. That's it. You will probably also find it helpful to join the Henle Latin Yahoo Group. This group has been around for ages, and is full of people who will help you, every step of the way.

Lingua Latina has more options, but here is what I like and use: The main text, the CD-ROM, Colloquia Personarum, Latine Disco, and the College Companion. If you have the CD-ROM, the Exercitia book is not necessary. (Please note: the link to the CD-ROM is for the Mac OS-X version. I do not know what is or is not included in the non-Mac CDs. Be careful - I do know that some available CDs are audio-only, and some are of the first ten chapters only.)

Now, you'll have to bear with me, as my books are packed and I'm relying on memory.

• The CD will provide you with the audio of the complete text, plus all the exercises in an immediate self-correcting format. I find this to be an essential tool for our studies.

• Colloquia Personarum will provide you with extra reading, keyed to each chapter - not essential, but a good extra.

• Latine Disco has helpful pointers and explanations for each chapter - I find it useful. I don't think it's essential, but it is useful.

• The College Companion will lay out all the grammar for you. You need this.

The one other item I don't have and think would be useful is Latine Doceo, as it gives tips for teaching LL.

Lingua Latina is difficult to teach if you don't know Latin. With my current knowledge (I would guess that I'm at high school Latin I level) I can teach up to Cap. X, maybe XV, of Lingua Latina (in contrast, I'm comfortable with nearly all of Henle I). You can teach yourself with LL, but it will help if you're very motivated.

Lingua Latina teaches through a reading method - if you had the right teacher, it would be an immersion method. The text of Lingua Latina contains no English at all. You learn vocabulary through context and picture clues. You learn to read and understand Latin very well this way; however if you are not being led by a good teacher, you are going to have to find a way to learn the grammar yourself. That's where the College Companion comes in.

However, since I first started Latin with Henle, which is a direct, grammar-intensive approach, I like to use Henle for grammar. I prefer to go through Henle first, learning as much grammar as I can absorb. Then I turn to Lingua Latina and learn to use that grammar, and to read fluently.

If you learn a language best through reading and inductive grammar, you may find Lingua Latina and the College Companion to be all you need. If you are like me and need more explicit grammar instruction, my advice is to spend some time with Henle, or Wheelock's first. I found Wheelock's to be overwhelming as a beginner; Henle is much more approachable. However, Henle is thoroughly Catholic, so take that into account. With Henle, you will learn how to fight the Gauls, and understand the Mass - each useful, in its own way.

Edited to add: John from Memoria Press commented to remind me about MP's Henle Study Guides. They had completely slipped my mind. We used one with Connor and found it to be very beneficial. I do recommend them, especially if you are beginning Henle in the middle school years.

Posted by lynx at July 2, 2008 12:05 AM

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Posted by: John at July 3, 2008 8:52 AM

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