I received this question:
My son trudged through Latin this year for the first time in Classical Conversations Challenge 1. As you know, they use Henle. We’re not continuing with CC, but would like him to get his second year of Latin. He definitely learned some Latin this year, but probably not enough to take a level 2 course. What do you recommend? Should we start over with level 1? How about whether he should take Visual Latin or Lingua Latina? Thanks so much for your help!
Here is my reply:
Either option would work. Visual Latin provides two years of Latin. Unfortunately, it maybe difficult to jump into level two. For this reason, I would recommend he start over. However, since he has already studied via Henle Latin, he should be able to race through the first 15 lessons or so Visual Latin 1 before things become difficult.
If you decide to go with Lingua Latina, know that this book more than satisfies the requirements. I have seen it used in high school as Latin one, two, and three. I have also seen it used in colleges as Latin one and two. But, you should also keep in mind that Lingua Latina is the toughest Latin book there is. For example, First Year Latin by Robert Henle teaches students 497 Latin words. Lingua Latina teaches the students almost 2,000 Latin words. It is easy to see why it is a more difficult book.
If your son doesn’t really care for Latin, I would go with Visual Latin. If he is loving Latin and wants more of it, I would go with Lingua Latina.
Let me know if you need more help!
Dwane Thomas
