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, although not without tears and frustration and HOURS of hard work). I need help deciding on placement for him. He was sort of successful in Henle, but I’m not sure the retention has been great, so I wonder if I should start with Visual Latin this year and then purchase a subscription next year, OR should we just use one of your Henle classes since we’ve come this far (although the thought of this inspires some dread since it isn’t user friendly and I’m not very interested in floating dead bodies or in praying to Mary.) At this point, I am willing for him to learn Latin differently from the rest of his CC community, assuming that these are different paths to the same goal, so I don’t think we /have/ to use Henle. (PS: I also have a Challenge A student who would probably do Visual Latin, as well.) Please help me decide where to start!
Here is my reply:
Don’t feel bad. I hear this story all the time. It’s common. In fact, this morning, my wife literally asked me to stop teaching Henle Latin. She is convinced it is bringing me down. I agree with her.
So, to answer your question, here is what I generally recommend.
If you are just starting out in Latin, I always recommend Visual Latin. After that, Lingua Latina. Visual Latin is not included on my site, www.dwanethomas.com, but the Lingua Latina classes are.
If you have already started with Henle Latin, or are a good way through the first book, I recommend the classes on my site. The nice thing about my site is that you do not have to choose. You can keep going with Henle Latin, but can also join the Lingua Latina classes if you like.
I only charge per family… not per student, and not per class. A subscription grants access to every live class I teach. It also grants access to all of the previous class on my site.
Both Henle Latin and Lingua Latina all lead to the same goal… a reading ability in Latin. But, Lingua Latina will take you much farther.
First Year Latin by Robert Henle teaches students 497 words and most of Latin grammar.
Visual Latin teaches students over 1,200 words and most of Latin grammar.
Lingua Latina teaches students 2,000 words and all of Latin grammar. The problem with Lingua Latina is that it’s completely in Latin. This intimidates many people. That’s where my classes can help.
I hope I answered all of your questions. Let me know if you need more help!
