I received this cry for help:
I really need your help and advice.
I am a tutor for Classical Conversations Challenge A. I have been taking your Henle 1 lessons and have been learning along with my students from Henle 1 with some Visual Latin that they have on the CC website.
One of my students whose mom just gave birth and has four other children has not been keeping up with her son and her son has not been keeping up with the class. This mother is going to use your Visual Latin, which she will purchase, during the summer to help her son. She is considering starting that now instead of finishing out the school year with Henle.
My question is: What is the best way for us to learn and teach our kids Latin? Is it your visual Latin or is it Henle 1 or is it lingua Latina with a subscription to your website?
Thank you for even considering answering my question. Hope all is going well with your plans to travel.
Thank you.
Here is my reply:
Well, my first bit of advice would be this: “Don’t panic.” 🙂
I didn’t start learning Latin until 23. Benjamin Franklin didn’t start until he was 40. And, then, there is my personal favorite (though it wasn’t Latin), Dr. Mary Hobson didn’t start learning Russian until she was 56. She went on to become a world-famous translator. Her story is here: http://markrwayne.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-inspirational-story-of-dr-mary.html.
The point is… there is plenty of time to learn Latin. Tell your friend it’s okay if they sputter out. I have done it many times. The trick is to keep coming back.
That said, I always recommend Visual Latin first. It’s designed to take a lot of the pain out of learning Latin. After Visual Latin, I recommend almost anything but Latin. Learn Italian, Spanish, French, or Portuguese. These languages are easier than Latin, and best of all, you can get on a plane and go visit a country where these languages are spoken every day.
However, many students want to go further in Latin. In that case, go with Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. I never recommend Henle Latin. I only teach it because there are so many people who need help getting through that book. Lingua Latina is actually tougher than Henle Latin… but is so much better that the extra struggle is worth it.
So. Here is exactly what I recommend.
1st: Visual Latin
2nd: Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, or another modern language.
3rd: If you want more Latin, Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg.
By the way, with the new subscription, families have access to all of my classes for one subscription fee. So, you would actually have access to both Lingua Latina and Henle Latin.
I hope I answered your question.
Feel free to ask for clarification.
Have a happy Sunday!
