I have been teaching Latin for almost three decades.
People often ask me, “If I want to learn Latin, how should I do it?
To quote Hades’ minions in the movie Hercules, “If. If is good.”
The truth is, you do not have to learn Latin. Do not let people bully you into believing otherwise. I know people (and so do you) who never studied Latin, and, yet, somehow, they live fulfilled lives.
That said, if you are going to learn Latin, do it as quickly as you are able. In one of his books, CS Lewis said Latin grammar should take about two years. I agree.
To learn Latin grammar rapidly, I recommend Wheelock’s Latin. There are forty chapters in the book. Read one chapter a week and you will be done in less than a year.
If you want to learn Latin via video instead, go with Visual Latin. There are sixty lessons in the course. If you watch a lesson a week, you will finish in a little more than a year.
When you are about halfway through Wheelock’s Latin, or when you are halfway through Visual Latin, start reading Lingua Latina: Familia Romana by Hans Ørberg. There are thirty five chapters. Aim for a chapter a week and you could be done in a year, or so. After chapter 15, the chapters are quite difficult. You may need to slow down.
By the time you are done with the steps above, you should be able to read the New Testament in Latin. Not many people can do that.
By the way, if you find yourself confused by the complicated Latin endings, use these free charts: https://dwanethomas.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Latin-Folder-071220.pdf.
And, if you need help understanding the charts, watch this free series I am creating: https://dwanethomas.com/visual-latin-and-the-latin-endings/
After Lingua Latina: Familia Romana, I recommend you stop learning Latin. (Just my recommendation. You do what you want.)
If you want to read the Latin classics, save yourself a ton of time. Read them in English. Long ago, highly equipped, classically trained scholars translated them into English. Some are even audiobooks read by professional readers. For example, If you have an Audible subscription here is an excellent rendition of The Commentaries by Julius Caesar.
If you want to have more fun, go learn a modern romance language like Spanish, French, or Italian. Within two, or three years, you will be able to speak the language.
Then, fly somewhere and talk to people.
Can’t do that with Latin.
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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.
