artes latinae

[Sharon]

Any opinions for artes latinae for my 10th grade private school son who has never had latin (hebrew only foreign language up till now but is now taking french instead) He seems to have a pretty good grasp of the english language grammar rules etc , and is pretty self-motivated.

[clwcain]

There was a discussion of Artes Latinae a few weeks or months ago, but I can't find the link right now.

IIRC, the consensus was that it didn't do what many people hoped it would, and was very expensive.

I have no direct experience.

Try here (http://www.welltrainedmind.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40854&highlight=artes+latinae).

HTH

[Alyce]

It looked easy to use and sounded interesting but it wasn't. There are no lesson plans. Each item is taught in a "frame". One lesson may have 100 frames while one may have 400 frames in it. The information in a frame maybe just a couple of sentences or can be several paragraphs. Both my son and I had a hard time figuring out how to use it. The company was no help they just said it was a self paced program. I don't think it is. We tried it for a year and only got half way through. My son also had a hard time because he said it was boring and redundant. It was extremely expensive and obviously it didn't meet my expectations. To the point that I'm not sure I could sell it to anyone unless they really wanted it and was willing to take a chance. I've never felt that way about any other program we've used.

[Mom to Many]

The owners of this forum (SWB) once posted:

"We won't be recommending AL in future editions of TWTM, not because it isn't a good program (I have it and like it very much) but because in four years of travelling to conferences, I have heard only two parents say that theyused it successfully without having prior Latin knowledge."

I remember other posts in the past that shared that students who have used it (regardless of if they completed both levels) have had to start at the beginning of a Latin text when they entered college (it didn't teach them enough to test out of anything, or be able to function in a class that wasn't introductory level).

There's a great review of it at a Latin Curriculum review website, but from what I understand, the moms who originally wrote the review have since regretted it. They said that they initially liked it, but then found it very lacking, but they couldn't take the review down for some reason or another (I can't remember why).

We considered using this, but it got such negative reviews once we looked below the surface that we decided against it.

Mom to Many

[Midwest Momma]

I am on my third go round. We are using the old cassette program. My two eldest used it completely independently. Dd went through much of level 2 and got a perfect grammar score on the ACT, which she attributed to her Latin studies.

The lesson book tells the student how to use the program. We aimed for a set # of pages or minutes per day... not lessons or frames. The pace is supposed to be set by the student... according to what they can handle.

Dc#3 needs more accountability, so we are doing it together. He (11yo) thinks it is fun to see Latin in everyday English.

There is a Yahoo group that has some helpful files and interaction.

[Laurel-in-CA]

We're using it this year with a 9th gr. who has done Latina Christiana and some Cambridge Latin. He's on Unit 4 and frustrated with the slow pace and the fact that they require macrons (which he hasn't paid attention to before). The tests have required dictating sentences for him to write (including macrons)--so I had to know how to say some things, but at least they tell me how to score it!! I can't give you a full review, but I bought the program 1/2 price during a sale, and I think we'll be using it for next year, too.

We've had to call the company 3 times. My computer's drive won't run their programs (it must run movies), but ds's computer will. And I've made ds call about installation on his computer (runs easily) and about how to type macrons (which he'd missed in the instructional stuff). There are *lot* of frames, so ds feels they should put more in one frame and be more efficient.

[latinteach]

Most formal Latin courses include macrons: Jenney's Latin, Galore Park, Cambridge, Oxford, Ecce, Wheelock, Latin for Children, Lingua Latina, Latin for the New Millennium, Artes Latinae. Many classicists and Latin teachers would agree that learning the macrons is extremely helpful. The macrons assist greatly in ensuring proper pronunciation and will be invaluable to students who plan to read authentic Latin classics like Vergil's Aeneid or Ovid's Metamorphoses.

Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Latin begins and ends his textbooks with a discussion of vowel quantity and macrons.

[latinteach]

Any opinions for artes latinae for my 10th grade private school son who has never had latin (hebrew only foreign language up till now but is now taking french instead) He seems to have a pretty good grasp of the english language grammar rules etc , and is pretty self-motivated.

Artes Latinae is actually a very well-thought out Latin program. It has its foundation in structural linguistics -- there's a lot of emphasis on the structure of Latin syntax.

Perhaps one of the the problems that some people have with regard to working through the program is that they are trying to get through as many frames as possible, without committing the material to memory. While it is a self-teaching and self-paced program, it's important to go back and do review and to be sure that one is expending effort in learning and not just "getting through the frames."

[djkapp]

My daughter used this program last year in 10th grade, and while she thought it was quite thorough, it was extremely time-consuming. She felt as though the amount of time required to complete all the frames, the workbook pages, tests, and additional readings did not equal the value of what she actually learned. She was very diligent in her approach. Another daughter tried this program is 9th grade and hated every minute of it--she found it tedious.

As I have not studied Latin, I can not truly speak to the quality of content in the instruction.

Good luck-- Yvonne

[Sharon]

Seems there was more of a negative response to artes latinae than positive. I appreciate everyone's input. Any suggestions for a program for my 10th grade private school son who has 2 study periods a day? Never has had latin, great english grammar knowledge etc., has only had hebrew and now takes french. I just started latin for children with my almost 10yo newly hsing son and we are enjoying it, so I'm hoping I can help my 10th grader a bit if necessary. Just need an accredited self-tutorial program that others have had success with. Thanks in advance:001_smile:

[latinteach]

Just need an accredited self-tutorial program that others have had success with. Thanks in advance:001_smile:

AL might actually work well for him since he's a highly motivated 10th grader with previous experience with a difficult language (Hebrew).

Would you consider distance learning instead of self-tutorial? The University of Georgia has distance learning courses (http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/idl/courses/offerings/latin/index.phtml), using Wheelock's Latin.