I received this question:
My son is a rising sophomore in Classical Conversations. He has gone through Henle First Year and is about to start Henle Second Year. We are pretty sure we want to get a membership to your sight. My question is: do you offer any grading help? And, if I’m pretty sure my son has “holes” in his Latin understanding, how do you recommend we fill those in?
Here is my reply:
Just so you know, I no longer teach Henle 2 live. I am slowly trying to finish that series once and for all.
However, I did teach Second Year Latin by Robert Henle for years, and those classes remain on my site 24/7.
There are also forums students can use to ask questions, or interact with other students.
There are tests for every chapter of Second Year Latin on my site. My site will track their grades. You don’t have to grade anything. This is something I provide for families. I spend about four hours a day writing tests. I do this so that home-school moms don’t have to.
The awful truth about the Henle series is that most students have holes in their understanding. It’s not the most effective way to learn Latin. I find that almost all of the Second Year Latin students are not ready for the book after reading First Year Latin.
The reason is simple. First Year Latin is the basic grammar of the language. Second Year Latin takes students through the war journals of Julius Caesar. Imagine teaching kids how to read in English, and immediately afterward, handing them the Pentagon war reports covering Afganistan. It’s truly absurd.
So, what is the best way to fill the holes? Read Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. Just treat it like a novel. Just start reading. After reading First Year Latin by Robert Henle a student is more than prepared to read the book. Should be easy.
I’d have your son read it over the summer. That’d be my advice.
Let me know if you need more help.
