by Dwane | Apr 4, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Resurrection: A rising again. The revival of the dead. Resurrection comes from the Latin prefix re (again) and the verb surgere (to rise). “I am the resurrection, and the life.” – Jesus Christ, John 11: 25. By the resurrection of Christ we have assurance of the...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Education, Latin, Motivation, Visual Latin
I received this question: Hello! I am a planning on teaching either Challenge 1 or 2 for Classical Conversations which would include teaching Henle 1 or 2. I am finishing up Challenge A but hired a Latin tutor to teach my portion. Now that I missed out on a year of...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Education, Latin
I received this question from a student: Hello Mr. Thomas, What is the next after the Lingua Latina advanced classes? Should I take Henle or Fables & Foundations? Here is my reply: Hmmm. I recommned Fables and Foundations (even though it is a new class) just...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Education, Latin
A adult student in Japan has been watching the Lingua Latina recordings. He sent this note: I’m really surprised at the way you teach Latin. Your magic wand makes the “dead” language so alive and approchable that I always feel as if I were learning present-day French...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Latin, Visual Latin
I received this email: I’m finding some inconsistencies in Lesson 37A. In the example sections of the present tense and present passive, it has the translations for the majority to be the translation for voco. Not much to say about this one. Here is my...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Uncategorized
Brachiopod: a marine animal, similar to a mollusk. The brachiopods has a pair of tentacled arms used to capture food. Brachiopods are hinged at the rear end. The front opens when the creature is hungry and closes when it needs protection. In extremely dangerous...
by Dwane | Apr 3, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Motivation
Impede: To hinder; to stop in progress; to obstruct. Yesterday, I blogged the word “expedite.” When you break it down, to expedite, is to un-shackle the feet. Once the feet are free, things happen faster. To impede someone is the exact opposite. The Latin verb...
by Dwane | Apr 2, 2015 | Education, Latin, Visual Latin
I received this question: I’ve see you say in various contexts that to learn Latin you need to commit about an hour a day. So far as I’ve explored Visual Latin (prior to the introduction of Linga Latina, I’ll grant you), it seems that each chapter...
by Dwane | Apr 2, 2015 | Education, Latin, Uncategorized
I received this email: Hi, I wanted to contact you to see if you had any suggestions for Classical Conversations Challenge Directors that need to be able to tutor Henle. I shared the online classes but they actually need to begin this adventure this summer. Have you...
by Dwane | Apr 2, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Antipodes: directly opposite. Once used in the United Kingdom to refer to Australia and New Zealand. After all, those countries are on the opposite sides of the globe. This means, of course, that the feet of the residents of those countries are directly opposite. ...
by Dwane | Apr 2, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Expedite: to make it happen faster; to speed up the process. Inigo Montoya wanted to expedite the death of the man in black. “I do not suppose you coulda speed things up?” – Inigo Montoya Expedite comes from the Latin verb expedio, meaning, to loose, or to set...
by Dwane | Apr 1, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
April: the fourth month. April derives from the French avril, which is from Latin Aprilis. Aprilis was the second month of the ancient Roman calendar… until it became the fourth month. No one really knows where the word comes from, but, that hasn’t stopped...
by Dwane | Mar 31, 2015 | Education, Vocabulary
If you are learning a modern language, this is a fun way to practice vocabulary. If you are in my online Greek class, play it. You will not do very well at all (at first), but it is a super helpful way to pile on the vocabulary. Best of all, you will get practice...
by Dwane | Mar 31, 2015 | Education, Latin, Motivation, ScreenCasts
This note just made me happy. Maybe I have a fragile ego. Maybe I just spent too many formative years in a very negative work environment. Who knows. Whatever the reason, I love getting emails like this one. “Your Latin teaching videos are fabulous and I...
by Dwane | Mar 31, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Vocabulary
Apodal: footless Apodal comes from Greek ἀ (a): without and ποδός (podos), the genitive of πούς, the Greek word for foot. Eels, snakes, worms, snails, and slugs are apodal.
by Dwane | Mar 31, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Biped: a two footed animal. A two footed being. The Latin adverb bis, means twice, two, or two times. The Latin word for foot is pes. The genitive of foot is pedis. Combine both and you end up with biped, a two footed creature. According to Plato, man is a featherless...
by Dwane | Mar 30, 2015 | Education, English, Greek
Arthropoda: a jointed-foot invertebrate. Insects, crustaceans, millipedes, and centipedes are arthropods. Arthropod comes from the Greek word ἄρθρον (arthron), meaning joint. No, California, not that kind of joint. Put your hand down. The “poda” of the word comes...
by Dwane | Mar 30, 2015 | Education, English, Greek, Latin, Vocabulary
I am increasingly stunned by the debt English owes to Latin and Greek. Perhaps this is simply because I never seriously studied vocabulary as a child. Perhaps this, for everyone else, is general knowledge. Perhaps everyone knows Latin and Greek dumped boatloads of...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
One of my favorite quotes comes from The Pledge, by Michael Masterson. “Words matter. They help us define meaning. We think with words. We learn with words. Words are the fundamental tools we use for communicating. If we use them well, we can cut, and shape,...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Ebook, Motivation
“I’m reading your book, Via, and I’m very impressed. It is a wonderful life-help book and not just for languages. I’ve never been a very disciplined person, so it will take lots of baby steps; however, your book gives me hope for change. I’m going to have my husband...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Education, Latin, Uncategorized, Visual Latin
I received this question: “My girls are working on Visual Latin 1 this year and enjoying it. I’m a little worried about next year and VL 2 as they are mostly following but I am noticing it getting a bit harder for them. If they enrolled in one of your...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Education, Motivation
Ready for some productivity tips from the pro? Michael Masterson is one of my favorite authors. He gets more done than both of us together. The guy is a productivity machine. In this interview, he details the method to his madness. Worth an hour of your time....
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Vocabulary
Chevalier: In the old days, a chevalier was a knight. This definition is now considered obsolete. Instead, a chevalier is now a gallant, or chivalrous man. A chevalier can also be someone who keeps their word. You can see the root meaning if you look closely. After...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Education, Tip of the Week
If you are not sure about the meaning of a word, do not use the word. People notice. Consider this example from the book, How to Sound Clever: Master the 600 English Words You Pretend to Understand When You Don’t: “A couple of years ago, I was in a meeting...
by Dwane | Mar 28, 2015 | Ebook, Education, English, Latin, Vocabulary
Obsolete: Gone into disuse; disused; neglected; as an obsolete word; or an obsolete statute. Today, I looked up obsolete in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Obsolete comes from the Latin verb, obsolescere, meaning, to fall into disuse, or to be forgotten...
