I received this question:
Here’s a question that you might not have time to address, although I would say you are qualified. Which Latin curriculum do you prefer? Although we have been doing Henle for three years, I find it does not offer enough instruction for either me or my son to fully grasp the material. I saw you offer Lingua Latina and Roma Aeterna (so?)courses, and wonder how those stack up to Henle Latin.
Here is my reply:
I was actually writing an e-book/e-report on this last month but was derailed by Thanksgiving. Not sure when I will get back to it.
There is nothing like Lingua Latina and Roma Aeterna. I have never encountered a language series so thorough. For example, First Year Latin by Robert Henle teaches students 497 words. Much of them gruesome. Lingua Latina teaches students almost 2,000 words.
As best I can tell, once you know about 3,000 words, you are approaching fluency in a language.
Lingua Latina comes close. First Year Latin by Robert Henle falls far short.
It’s simply a numbers game.
Unfortunately, Lingua Latina contains no English instruction. It is designed to be used worldwide, not just by English speakers. In fact, my Greek tutor in Athens, who spoke broken English, was able to explain grammatical concepts to me in Latin. He had learned Latin from Lingua Latina. Common ground for us both.
The fact that the book contains no English instruction deters many students, I am afraid. Fortunately, the two books can easily be used together. Learn Latin grammar from First Year Latin by Robert Henle, any other Latin grammar book, or, Visual Latin and then use Lingua Latina as a reader. This is a powerful combination.
