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Email of the week
I received this email. Made my day. "We tried online high school classes for one year, and it was a miserable failure, and our sons now have an immediate aversion for any type of online class that requires videos. When I checked in with our son after he...
Morning classes cancelled today.
Guys, I am sorry. The webinar software I use simply will not work this morning. First, I couldn't record... now, I can't get the system to even turn on. Off to contact tech support. We will try this again tomorrow. Again, I am very sorry. Dwane
Spanish?
I received this question: For Spanish, will the class have a native speaker to listen to or is this mainly textbook teaching? Here is my reply: Textbook. We will be reading through this book: https://archive.org/details/pocopocoelementa00hallrich/page/n4 I will be...
I am teaching two First Year Latin Henle classes this year.
I received this question: I've subscribed to your classes for my son, who will be in Classical Conversations Challenge 1. I'm not certain which placement is appropriate based on your description. (I assume "Latin 1" is right, but don't know what "We will be picking up...
Henle Latin. How it’s going to work this year.
I received this question: I'm a Classical Conversations parent and am excited to see that you'll offer Henle 1 live this year. I read somewhere on your site that it will "pick up where we left off". Will the class not start at the beginning of the Henle 1 book this...
Cops in Athens, Cops in Franklin, Cops in the classroom.
This is going to get weird. Hang in there with me. Hopefully, it will all make sense. I have been studying Latin for 20 years. I still get the endings wrong. It's ridiculous. Here is part of the problem... and, I think it's a big part of the problem. Latin has...
How will we get a grade in the French course?
I received this question: My son is excited to be joining you for French this year, although probably for the recorded lectures. I do have a question on whether you will be going through the exercises that are in the book? There does not appear to be a workbook like...
You may find these questions helpful…
I received a series of questions. You may find them helpful. Her questions are followed by my bold answers. 1) The Henle I class will begin from the beginning in September. Yes. 2) You teach the Henle classes every morning. Correct. That is happening now. These...
Visual Latin and High school credit
I received this question: My son (9th grade) will be doing Visual Latin this year. I am hearing conflicting info on whether VL meets high school requirements, some are saying it is used for college. I homeschool, so I wish to ensure that my son has the high school...
What I teach my own kids If I could start over
I received this question: I have worked through Memoria Press's Prima Latina, First Form Latin, and Second Form Latin with my high school age students, and we are a few lessons into Third Form. Honestly, it's become a bit of a slog and I don't think we are doing a...
My wife asked me to stop writing tests for Henle Latin.
I received this question: If I just let my kids continue with Henle 1 (and pick up from where you all ended last year), will you continue on with Henle 2 when you finish with Henle 1? Since your Henle 2 class this year will also just pick up from where you ended, I...
What others are saying….
I am answering A LOT of emails these days. Comes with the territory. In August, people are wondering what to do about Latin. If you are unsure about signing up, this may help. I have an entire page dedicated to testimonials. Here is what a few people are saying: "I...
Henle Latin, Visual Latin, or Lingua Latina?
I received this question: Hi! I am intrigued by your online classes and your Visual Latin curriculum and am considering switching my CC Challenge I student to one of these. He will still attend Challenge I (and has already completed the Latin required in Challenge B,...
Okay. Fine. I’ll do it. Lingua Latina is back this fall.
I received this question: My son has taken Visual Latin 1 and is on lesson 49 of VL 2. He loves it! I looked @ your FAQ’s and would like to sign him up for a live Latin class. It looks like your recommendation is the Lingua Latina. Do you have any idea when you...
Grading?
I received this question: How does your grading component work? Here is my reply: Ah. Grading. That tends to be a major headache no matter where you go for help. That would be one area where my site does stand out. I have spent untold hours creating tests for my...
What books do I need for the Lingua Latina class?
This is one of the most common questions I receive. Makes sense. Though I consider the Lingua Latina series by Hans Ørberg to be the superior Latin text, it is rather confusing to determine which book to order. So, here you go. (Here come a whole bunch of affiliate...
How I am teaching myself French
Most people come to this site looking with one question. "Can you help us get through the Henle Latin series?" The answer is, "Yes. I can. I think it may destroy my sanity in the end, but, yes. I can help you get through the Henle Latin series." I am not kidding...
What the Henle Latin classes will be like next year.
I received this question: Could you send me a copy of the Henle 2 syllabus, please? I am unable to find it anywhere on your website. Here is my reply: I removed it from my site some time ago, because the class is now set up more along a self-study pace. Each year,...
Second Year Latin, Test 5
Second Year Latin by Robert Henle, Test 5 is now up. Here it is: https://dwanethomas.com/module-1/lesson-5-test/ As always, please let me know if you spot any mistakes. Thanks! On to test 6. And, if you are curious, yes. I do think writing tests for the Henle Latin...
Second Year Latin, Test 4
For those interested, Test 4 of Second Year Latin by Robert Henle is now up. If you decide to check it out, please let me know if you spot any mistakes. Here it is: https://dwanethomas.com/module-1/lesson-4-test/ Live classes start again on September 3rd, right after...
Does Henle two meet twice a week?
I received this question: Hello Mr. Thomas, My students are moving on to Henle 2 in the fall. Your schedule for next year states T and Th 11am-12noon EST. They prefer the live classes and would like to know if the schedule means that they're attending 2 live classes...
Could I see an example class?
Visual Latin is a professionally filmed series. I do not personally sell it. It is available here from Compass Classroom. Once they have completed Visual Latin many of my students want to further their Latin studies. That's where this site comes in. Every year I...
Early morning Henle Latin, anyone?
I've been on the road for a while. Weddings in New York, and stuff like that. But, I am home now and intend to go no where for a long time. To force myself out of bed early every morning (I love to sleep in) I am considering an early morning Henle Latin class. At...
Does Henle Latin work well with Lingua Latina?
I received this question: My son is enrolled in Classical Conversations and heading into Challenge II this fall. He has done Henle I for the past 3 years and this past year, the second semester really got away on him... all those verb tenses. He scheduled his hour of...
Should I start with Henle Latin, or Lingua Latina?
I received this question: Hi, confused over the statement for Lingua Latina, where it says 'postponed til we finish Henle Latin'. Why on earth would finishing Henle Latin be a precursor to starting Lingua Latina? I thought Lingua Latina stood on its own as the...
Who wants to be a millionaire? Not me.
In his book, The Four-Hour Work Week, Tim Ferris asks a question we should all ask ourselves as we work. The question goes something like this. "Would you rather earn $50,000 a year, but set your own hours, and have plenty of free time? Or. would you rather work 80...
Lingua Latina survived
While searching for information on the long defunct Nature Method Language Institute, I ran across an old advertisement. At one time there were French, Spanish, English, Russian and Latin books in the series. Only the Latin book, Lingua Latina, survived. I have...
Henle Latin and transcripts
I'll get to Henle Latin and transcripts in just a moment. First, I need to let you know that I have been up to something this summer. This summer I have decided to go a different direction. I was going to teach some summer courses. Like a republicrat, I...
Snort.
Hopefully not in your house. Certainly not in mine. Still... this made me laugh out loud. And, these days, little does. Saw it on Twitter.
Don’t wait.
I'm back. Jet lag is still messing with me, but I am catching up. Working on emails for the next few days. I've followed Simon Black at Sovereign Man for some time. While answering emails, I found this message from him in my inbox. For some reason, since the...
Can you learn a language by watching TV?
Several years ago, my wife was talking a young woman from the French speaking section of Switzerland. The Swiss woman spoke with impeccable English. My wife asked her... "Where did you learn English?" She smiled. "I like the show Friends. For years, I watched it in...
Standing ovation for Kristina.
Kudos to Fully Raw Kristina for being willing, and bold enough, to take a public stand where few are willing to take a public stand. Though this conversation may feel a bit awkward, I recommend all of my high school students watch this. In our culture, this is a...
All we need is a little patience.
Tomorrow, my daughter and I leave Ireland. She and I have been here exploring for several weeks. Here for work, and for play. Long story short, she has a friend over here who invited her to come for a few weeks. So, here we are. I come to Europe every chance I...
What I am not missing about Tennessee.
Should we continue on in Henle Latin?
I received this question (a variation on one of the most common questions on my site): I am considering using your program for my family next year and would like guidance on which class to use. My son is a rising 7th grader and this year took Latin from an excellent...
Letter of the week. 🙂
“I would like to thank you for providing a wonderful resource for homeschool students studying Latin. Prior to finding out about your website, my son, who was a ninth grader in Classical Conversations, struggled daily with getting through his Latin, both with...
Spanish?
I received this question: Are you still planning to go through a Spanish version of Lingua Latina next year? Brent has expressed an interest in learning it after he finishes this book. If we can stick with your instruction, that would be great because it works for...
Travel tip: What to do after you land.
As I get older, jet lag takes more and more out of me. There are several ways to fight it. First of all, and this is probably obvious, try to stay awake until bedtime. In other words, if you generally go to bed around 10 pm, try to stay awake until 10 pm in the new...
Brexit explained.
Heh. https://youtu.be/yGL-XJPuCuo
Jet lag and emails.
I haven't blogged in a few days. Nor have I responded to many emails. Last Saturday, one of my daughters and I flew to Dublin, Ireland. She is visiting with friends an hour, or so, north of the city, and I am locked up in the cheapest, most Spartan room I could...
Cancelling for the summer? Read this first…
Most of my students stay with me for three years. Students will typically take Latin 1, 2 and 3 before moving on. At $25 a month, that's $300 a year. Remember, That's access to every class I teach for $300. That's $300 for the entire family. This is not a per...
Henle Latin during the summer?
I received this question: My kids are doing Classical Conversations and I am very interested in this program. Will this program follow the Henley along with the CC program? Also, is there a summer program or a way to start the program in the summer? Here is my...
Pretty cool
If you are tired of the boring textbook, and you need a break, this might help: https://youtu.be/LMytsRFwa_Y
Allergies win.
Guys, I am closing down the rest of the morning classes. I will teach the etymology class until Friday of this week, then I am shutting it down as well. I am heading overseas on Saturday for work. I may attempt to teach from over there, but we will see. Allergies in...
I just keep trying
Even though I know better, I just keep trying to teach during allergy season. For me, the month of May. Tried again this morning. Can barely breath. Cancelling Greek and First Year Latin this morning. I am sorry, guys. Ugh. THIS is why I usually move to Greece...
Could I see an example class?
Visual Latin is a professionally filmed series. I do not personally sell it. It is available here from Compass Classroom. Once they have completed Visual Latin many of my students want to further their Latin studies. That's where this site comes in. Every year I...
Should I study Henle Latin, Lingua Latina, or something else?
I received this question: I wasn't sure where to ask this question, but I am intrigued to hear what you would have to say is the "take away" from your most recent blog post on "Still Can't Read Latin after Years of Study?" Is this the case only for using the Henle...
Letter of the week. 🙂
A student sent this to me at the end of the school year. Made me very happy. "Thank you Dwane for a wonderful year of Orberg Latin! A first for me. Even though there were a couple of days I had to miss, the online access will be of great help to rewatch. As well the...
Where can I listen to Latin?
I received this question: I read you suggestion to listen to 10 minutes of Latin a day. Suggestions on where to get some audio? Here is my reply: When it comes to Latin pronunciation, scholars will talk your ears off. And, they will get pretty frustrated when you get...
Still sick
No reason for you guys to log in this morning just to listen to me cough. Will try again tomorrow. I apologize, my friends.