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When ‘comprehensible input’ is not enough
I’ve been on Latin reddit discussions for years and one single educational theory comes up again and again as if it were the only way to learn a language: Krashen and his comprehensible input hypothesis. Put simply, a learner should be introduced to the each feature of the language incrementally, by receiving input that contains…
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Getting better at teaching scansion
Previously, I had taught the scansion of dactylic hexameter by giving a lecture of the whole system then getting students to have a crack at it with a copy of Latin text – and with no macrons printed either. (I quickly learned not to use the opening of Aeneid 1 as the starter material, because…
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‘Palatina Medea’ or ‘Medea Palatina’? A preference for adjective-noun word order in Latin
We’ve been told that adjectives in Latin ‘tend to’ or ‘prefer to’ follow the nouns they describe. But on the contrary, the statistical evidence shows that Caesar and Cicero actually preferred putting adjectives before nouns. We didn’t learn that ‘noun then adjective’ rule from reading unadapted Latin. We didn’t discover it from real usage. We…
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Speed-running putting on a toga
What can you do stuck at home inside? See how fast you can get yourself dressed for the Senate of course. I started this challenge when someone said, “You need slaves or helpers to get yourself dressed in a toga – it’s so long and difficult to drape.” I understand that in practice, a wealthy…
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Tabula: a strategic 2-player Roman board and dice game
Picture yourself planning for a Year 8 class in the final period of the day. It’s the second last week of term and everyone has finished their exams and have mentally started their holidays already. The class includes several (loud, influential) students who are not continuing Latin next year. They’ve probably been watching videos all…
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The accent of words ending in -que
TL;DR: Latin words ending in -que should be accented on the syllable before -que only if that syllable is (or has become) heavy; otherwise, the word should retain its original accent. If this sounds new to you, that’s probably because you’ve been following Allen & Greenough and other nineteenth century scholarship. The rules of accent…
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Latin tutoring: Practice literary and context questions for Aeneid VI
I’ve been captivated once again by the wonderful style and substance of Vergil’s Aeneid. But this year I’ve been particularly nerding out because my three Year 12 Latin tutoring students are all studying book VI, the journey to the Underworld, which was the book I studied when I was in Year 12.
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Twelve tenses: When English outdoes Ancient Greek in precision
I have sometimes heard people say, “Ancient Greek is the most precise language in the world.” This usually comes from people who have not studied Greek for themselves and haven’t really seen its quirks first-hand. I don’t know how best to respond. True, there are distinctions which Greek makes that English doesn’t make, but in…
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A Latin counting song and thoughts on Primary Latin
I’m sorry that I missed an update in April, but there has been at least one reason for that. I’ve been involved in a pilot program to introduce Latin to a public primary school, and so far it has been a blast. Here’s a song I sung to the children yesterday on my guitar. First…
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Latin and Greek for your pets
Your dog can learn Latin and Ancient Greek! And everyone in the family can pick up a bit of Latin or Ancient Greek along with you and your four-legged pal. The internet may be chocked full of cat and dog videos, but did you know there aren’t any videos of dogs responding to (grammatically correct)…
Found in Antiquity:
Learner-friendly Latin and Ancient Greek
The Lover’s Curse: A Tiered Reader of Aeneid 4
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The Beasts of Rome: A Tiered Reader of Phaedrus Fables I
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Found in Antiquity 