Lingua Latina: Part I: Latin-English Vocabulary I

My mother gave me this book when I expressed interest in learning Latin. She also gave me a Latin-English dictionary and a copy of Wheelocks. She found this book did not stand alone to learn Latin, although the author claims it should. I thought I was getting some type of grasp when another package arrived, including the Student Manual and the Vocabulary list. Now I am getting somewhere.

I am moving slowly, but also utilizing Wheelock's Readings CD which has a pronunciation guide. This has been very helpful for me considering Lingua Latina recommends one read the chapters out loud. Prior to the Wheelock's CD I was butchering the Latin words in Lingua Latina. I have since ordered the CD for this text, but it only includes the first 10 of the 30 chapters. There is no audio CD for the other 20 chapters. I have also ordered the College Manual.

Clearly, for me this book does not stand alone to learn Latin as it says it will. However, once I had the tools I am learning the language at a decent pace. The lack of any English can make it an uphill curve at first, but once I was able to climb the mountain of the first few chapters I seem to be doing fine.

I am giving this three stars because I had to purchase or receive as gifts so many other products in the series just to start out. I know several foreign languages including ASL, so I know it is not that I have a problem learning languages. I think this book should come with the Student Manual and English-Latin Vocabulary as a set.

I have studied many Latin books and Hans Orberg has done a great job with his Lingua Latina program. His books are published and used in Denmark but specially prepared for use in North America. This little vocabulary book is just part of a whole program for learning Latin on your own or teaching it to your kids. It is such a good program that I am actually a little freaked out at how much Latin I can understand and read just by following this course. It is something I can really stick to and finish!

In college Latin there is really only two choices for texts. A Majority of teachers use the old reliable Wheelok's Latin, while a growing minority use Orberg. My school used Orberg. Orberg is helpful for learning the "Natural Method" and he really does get one to think, however, sometimes it is hard to understand what is going on. the lack of english definitions makes it hard sometimes to learn what he wants you to learn. Also, forget about the Grammatica Latina. unless you are fairly fluent, it is hard to figure out what it says. Hopefully you have a great teacher, because if you have to rely mostly on the book, you won't go far.

This book pulled me into the study of Latin. I read the
first two pages at the author's lingua-latina website in
Denmark, and was lured by the way it allowed me to read a
purely Latin text. It's addictive. The Latine Disco and
Exercitia Latina were great additions, as was the
CD with MP3s of the chapters being read.

Once in a while, the book would subtly pre-introduce
something. These made sense in context but it was a little
unnerving to see them but not have them explained. The
Latine Disco, though sufficient, is terse and could probably
benefit from expansion.

I lost my routine after Chapter 16, and have yet to get
back. I have since discovered the LatinStudy mailing list
and joined a beginning Wheelock group. For a new student on
his own, the community of an online group is fantastic, and
the translation and real quotes in Wheelock are missing from
LL. But Familia Romana is fun, and there is something
simply beautiful about the book. Try the first few pages
and see if you don't have to read it.

The Natural Approach has a lot to say for it. But it makes a fatal assumption: adults learn the same way as children.

Fact: Adults already have a lifetime of experiences children do not have.

Fact: Anybody learning a second or third language as an adult will initially associate the new language with those languages already known.

When I used this method in a university class, the first thing all of the students did was to go out to the bookstores and buy grammar texts and a Latin-English dictionary.

This is not a textbook that makes a good primary text. However, this book would be an excellent second book for a Latin language class.