Help With Henle Latin

For years—no exaggeration—I’ve received emails and comments from people begging for help with Henle Latin.

I’ve taught the series for years, guiding my students through First Year Latin, Second Year Latin, and parts of Third Year Latin by Robert Henle. Those classes remain available on my site 24/7.

This Fall, for the first time in years, I will be taking student (and parents, and tutors) through First Year Latin again.  Since all of the exercises are up already, we will focus on the grammar in this course. 

Who is this class for?

If you are just starting out in Latin, I do not recommend Henle Latin.  Instead, I recommend Visual Latin (naturally) and Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg. 

I only recommend the Henle Latin classes for students in Classical Conversations.  

If you know anyone struggling with Henle Latin, send them my way.  If you want to join the class, and if you are not a member of this site, click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/.   

Previous Classes

If you cannot come to the live classes, no worries.  You can watch class whenever you like.  I record every class I teach, and I only remove classes if I am updating them.  Quite a few students prefer this as they can move at their own pace.  If you are working your way through previous Henle Latin classes and you find yourself struggling, you are welcome to post your questions in the Henle Latin forums, or you are welcome to contact me.  To find the previous classes, go here: https://dwanethomas.com/previous-classes-4/

If you are already a member, you have access to the Henle Latin class, and you have access to every other class I teach.

First Year Latin by Robert Henle

First Year Latin is done.  You do not have to wait for the live class (which I am bringing back in the Fall of 2025).  My students and I spent six years working our way through the book.  We worked our way through all of the exercises.  Members are free to watch those classes anytime twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.  For example, if you are struggling with Exercise 167, you can go watch the class for Exercise 167.  You can watch the classes right here: https://dwanethomas.com/previous-classes-4/. 

First Year Latin covers almost all of the grammar of Latin.  The book is essentially the equivalent of Wheelock’s Latin, or Visual Latin 1 and 2.  People think I don’t like First Year Latin by Robert Henle, and I suppose there is some truth to that.  It’s not that I don’t like the book, it’s that I like Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg so much more.  There are better ways to learn Latin.  Lingua Latina is the better way.  But, First Year Latin gets the job done. Students who make it to the end should be able to read the New Testament in Latin, and that’s impressive.  And, by the way, I have read many books on learning Latin, and I have read many Latin textbooks.  Mr. Henle wasn’t trying to be boring.  All Latin textbooks from his time were boring.  He was just doing what everyone was doing at the time. 

Second Year Latin by Robert Henle

Second Year Latin by Robert Henle is also done.  My students and I spend four years working our way through that book and we are finished.  You can watch the classes right here: https://dwanethomas.com/previous-classes-4/.   

Sometimes, people will ask if Visual Latin 2 corresponds with Second Year Latin.  It does not.  Visual Latin 1 and 2 cover the same material found in First Year Latin.  

Second Year Latin mostly consists of Caesar’s Commentaries on the Gallic Wars.  There is a bit of grammar still to learn at the beginning of the book (Gerunds, as I recall), but most of the book is the story of Rome taking over what later became France.  

Third Year Latin by Robert Henle

Third Year Latin by Robert Henle is almost done.  And, I don’t know when I am going to finish it.  My students and I made it through about three-quarters of the book.  One by one, students dropped the class.  I don’t blame them.  I assume they dropped the class out of sheer boredom. 

Third Year Latin focuses predominantly on the writings of the Roman orator and senator, Marcus Tullius Cicero.  

C.S. Lewis once called Cicero the “great bore”.  He was not wrong.  His friend Dorothy Sayers suggested, when it came to learning Latin, we “throw that dreary man Cicero out of the window…”  

As for my students, they didn’t tell me why they quit.  I can only assume they dropped the course out of sheer boredom.  Eventually, I dropped the class, too.  I most definitely dropped the class out of sheer boredom.  I may finish the book someday, but for now… this class is postponed indefinitely.  There is virtually no interest in this class.  One person a year might ask me to pick it back up.  And, that’s during a busy year.  Still, members can watch what is available right here: https://dwanethomas.com/previous-classes-4/. 

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Almost every Saturday, I send out a Tip of the Week.  The tip of the week is usually something I have picked up along the way that may make your life a little easier.

If you would like to hear from me (almost) every Saturday, just go to the home page of my site and plug in your name and email.   You will also get a free digital copy of my book on learning Latin (and almost anything else).  Just go here: https://dwanethomas.com/ and enter your name and email.

If you want to buy the digital book instead (because you just feel like buying me a cup of coffee) go here: https://dwanethomas.gumroad.com/l/fzixlh

If you are interested in learning Latin, you can go through the classes on my site 24/7.  I recommend the book Lingua Latina by Hans Ørberg.

If you tackle the book and find yourself bogged down, you may find the classes on my site helpful.  To join, just click here: https://dwanethomas.com/join/

If you want a more professionally filmed Latin learning experience, check out the best-selling DVD series: Visual Latin.

Or, if you want to skip Latin, and just jump right into learning English words from Latin and Greek roots, you may enjoy the series Word Up!  Warning.   Word Up! is a bit wacky.  You will learn a lot… but, you may find yourself rolling your eyes, too.

I teach other languages on my site, too.  The current schedule is here: https://dwanethomas.com/schedule/

By the way, some of the links in this post are affiliate links. Not trying to pull a fast one on you. I only promote what I believe in. Not only that, but commissions from affiliate links allow me to continue offering training and books at low prices and sometimes free.