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Original poster

Latin for beginners

26 replies

truthisalie · 16/02/2021 11:25

DC( 12) is interested in Latin. Are there any excellent online workbooks, apps or maybe workbooks on Amazon or other online shops worth purchasing?
I have checked Minimus free online workbook which is quite interesting.
I am looking for a workbook which has a good structure. Some books are too messy and I think would be difficult for a child with little patience to understand.
Thank you in advance!

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ThatIsNotMyUsername · 16/02/2021 11:29

This series of books was good when ds was little.

amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/0865165416?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title]]

Theses also an Usborne (?) Latin word book that has stickers and vocab. There is also an Oxford Latin course and they used this series for GCSE.

amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/1780934408?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title]]

You can get a few books in Latin these days (Winnie the Pooh, Harry Potter...)

Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 11:32

Thank you ThatIsNotMyUsername! I will check the links.

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ThatIsNotMyUsername · 16/02/2021 11:32

Did my links not work? Duh...
Marie Carducci Bolchazy (Kids reading books)

Latin to GCSE - Cullen & Taylor...

Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 11:34

ThatIsNotMyUsername, I am very sorry but the links don't work for me😞.

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Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 11:35

Did my links not work? Duh...
Marie Carducci Bolchazy (Kids reading books)

Latin to GCSE - Cullen & Taylor...

Thank you!Flowers

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ThatIsNotMyUsername · 16/02/2021 11:36

There was also a magazine... I’ll have a poke about..

Twizbe · 16/02/2021 11:36

I did Cambridge Latin course, Mattella est in horto type thing.

I had to do it at uni and I'll say it got quite hard around the time grammar got involved. I did really well at french in school but I just couldn't get my head around some of the grammar. I dropped Latin as soon as I could lol.

ThatIsNotMyUsername · 16/02/2021 11:37

Also

Angela Wilkes and 1 more
Latin for Beginners

SallyOMalley · 16/02/2021 11:38

The Duolingo app has a Latin option. Might work best alongside other resources, though.

cirrusminor · 16/02/2021 11:39

(Too) many years ago now for me but I also did the Cambridge Latin Course and ended up teaching myself the GCSE back when I was at school. Agree with @Twizbe though, the grammar does take some persistence to learn, but I'm one of those people who quite enjoys things like that and I found it helped my understanding of other modern languages.

Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 13:16

Thank you so much everyone! DC is bit lazy although wants to learn it and that's one of the reasons why we don't want to pay for any courses as it would be a waste of money for us. Free resources or not expensive workbooks would be best.
I'll go through all your links and suggestions later today. Thank you again.

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itssquidstella · 16/02/2021 13:20

Nicholas Oulton's "So You Really Want To Learn Latin" are good.

The CLC doesn't have enough rigorous grammatical explanation or examples for self learners (I'm a Latin teacher, by the way, so speak with some authority!).

Fozzleyplum · 16/02/2021 13:22

Both my DSs did Latin to A Level and DS2 is applying to read Classics at university. They both started with Minimus at 10, then moved on to the Cambridge Latin course.

Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 14:02

itssquidstella, the books also have answer books. Does it mean I'd have to purchase book 1 and the answer book?

They say that Latin is a dead language but the books are quite pricey 😂

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Original poster
truthisalie · 16/02/2021 14:21

I've found Minimus workbook 1, free download, 24 pages. Will try this one and Duolingo first before we decide which book to buy.

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MissEliza · 16/02/2021 19:33

I've started Duolingo as a bit of fun. I learned Latin at school and I want to get back into it. Duolingo is bit too simple for me but I think it would be good to give your son a taster.

TheAugusta · 16/02/2021 19:46

I think for self-teaching I’d go with something like Latin to GCSE - CLC is good but the inductive grammar approach is hard without a teacher and supplementary resources. There are answer keys to Latin to GCSE (they are in the Bloomsbury website but you might have to have a teacher log-in; I have read independent learners saying they have emailed John Taylor and he has sent the file to them). Minimus is good but won’t advance that far - but nice as a taster. I am another Latin teacher - it’s a brilliant language to learn Smile

Premiumcatty · 16/02/2021 22:57

I've been doing Duolingo Latin as well. I did it for a couple of years at school but didn't opt for gcse . This is a way more fun way of learning it! My kids are doing french on Duo and I give them pocket money for any crowns they get. Currently 25p a crown and it's keeping them incentivised

Chihuahuacat · 16/02/2021 23:04

I did CLC at school and loved it. I got overly invested and was traumatised by the Vesuvius chapter (even though I obviously knew what was coming!).

No idea if it still exists but there was a website to go alongside the textbook where you could do quizzes etc.

Filmbuffmum · 16/02/2021 23:09

Oak Açademy has some lessons for Year 7 upwards
classroom.thenational.academy/subjects-by-year/year-7/subjects/latin

Original poster
truthisalie · 17/02/2021 09:38

Very good suggestions, thank you! I'll look into CLC and the Oak Academy.
Duolingo could have been very good.

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itssquidstella · 18/02/2021 10:14

@truthisalie if you PM me I could send you the pdfs to Latin to GCSE and the answer key.

modgepodge · 19/02/2021 15:03

Hello, I am teaching Latin this term to a primary class, I did a little at school but no GCSE or anything so I’m not much better than them. We are using minimus and it’s working well. Just using the pupil book you can pick up a lot, the teacher guide gives extra translations, tips on pronunciation and extra activity suggestions. I hadn’t seen the minimus website so that’s a useful addition for me!

Original poster
truthisalie · 20/02/2021 09:04

itssquidstella, thank you. That's very kind of you but I think we will go with the easiest first.

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