Way back in college I took 7 semesters of Latin courses. I stuck with it from the basics of the language all the way up to Catullus and Tacitus. I was always one of the best students in my classes, and I learned a lot about how the language works. But I never quite felt like I had a full grasp of it. I had a limited vocabulary, and I struggled to translate difficult texts.
More than 20 years later, I decided to learn the language again! I started by busting out my old copy of Wheelock’s – both text and workbook! – and worked through the whole book again.
After that, I decided on a different approach. I picked up a book and workbook series by Hans Ørberg on learning Latin by the natural method. In other words, I decided to learn the language by reading and speaking in Latin without trying to translate it into English.
I found it all…both more and less difficult, in a way. Getting into the first few chapters turned out easy enough, given my significant background in Latin grammar. It got more difficult from there, especially trying to retain long sentences in the original language. But I did find it an intuitive way to learn. I find that I can sight read and pronounce Latin words far better than I could the first time around.
Who knows? Maybe it will help me learn Spanish someday.
