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Latinum Institute's Blog (186)

Research with implications for Language Teaching

The piece of research below has implications for language teaching. I would suggest that language learning falls into the category of an area where abstract thought about the concepts is very important - and it would be interesting to do a controlled trial of students new to Latin, one given simple texts, the other thrown in at the deep end with a hard text, and subsequently given the simple texts and rules - but only after being exposed to higher level Latin texts or conversation… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on December 2, 2008 at 5:15am — 2 Comments

The Crucial Importance of Oral Input in Language Learning

A study published today showed something quite remarkable - that voices and words leave a definite readable signature in the brain - so clear, in fact, that it is readable to the extent that it is possible to consistently determine whose voice the brain is listening to, from the neural signature alone, and, moreover, it is possible to determine what was said - although this initial research only uses very simple vocalisations.

As we evolved with language as an oral/aural phenomenon ,… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on November 11, 2008 at 4:30am — No Comments

Latinum - two and a half million

Latinum continues to provide lessons in Latin to the far reaches of the globe. This month, we passed our two and a half millionth audio file download.

Added by Latinum Institute on November 2, 2008 at 11:50am — No Comments

A Grammar of English, Written in........Latin

http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=zWETAAAAQAAJ

Added by Latinum Institute on November 1, 2008 at 1:29pm — 1 Comment

Reading Latin Aloud

Goals - oral and aural appreciation.

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One thing strikes me - so much of the very substance of a Classical Roman text - for example, Cicero, is determined by technical metrical effects - his very choice of words is driven by the metrical requirements of his prose, especially at the ends of sentences and clauses. I do not believe one can properly appreciate what Cicero, or any Classical author, or poet was doing with language, unless one appreciates the… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on October 27, 2008 at 6:22am — 3 Comments

You Tube Verb Videos

I have made some movies for learning the Latin verb, based on the concept of a verb wall (c.f. Sam Sams circa 1830) and the Method of Loci (c.f. Simonides circa 500 BCE).
These can be found here.

Added by Latinum Institute on October 14, 2008 at 5:02am — No Comments

Latin Language Nests?

I did my undergraduate studies in New Zealand. In my first year at University, a group of Maori started up a programme, calledTe Kohanga Reo - which translated loosely as "Maori Language Nests". A big political debate raged around this at the time.

Maori as a language was on the verge of extinction. The idea - a brainwave - was to set up kindergartens where the immersion language would be Maori. These kindergartens were for ages… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on October 14, 2008 at 4:30am — No Comments

The Death of a Language?

Transcript of Latinum Podcast Episode:

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In 2003, Michael Thomas Connaghton published a short thesis on the use of Latin in the Vatican State – in the hope of demonstrating that Latin was still alive. Instead, his thesis outlined the last gasp of Latin as a spoken language – across the Vatican, latin as a language of daily intercourse is now in effect confined to a single room – the so-called “Office of Letters”. The main Latinist, Reginald Foster,… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on October 5, 2008 at 6:00am — 11 Comments

Comenius Project

The Project of recording the works of John Amos Comenius has now commenced over at Latinum.
Digital texts of the Orbis Senualim Pictus are available in Latin, with parallel translations in Polish, Czech, German,French, and English.

The Orbis is an ideal text for introducing children to Latin.
The plates in the version called KLEINER LATEINER are the clearest - this is also available on Google Books.

Added by Latinum Institute on September 22, 2008 at 4:26am — 2 Comments

Latinum’s Comenius Project

As I am getting near to the end of Adler's Grammar - and my speed at marking up the text is increasing, I am looking forward to my next project, connected with providing online resources for someone wishing to become fluent in Latin. And so, with an eye on the next step in developing my Latinity, I have started to make preparations for phase II:

Latinum’s Comenius Project

Project Outline August 2008

John Amos Comenius ( March 28, 1592 – November 15,… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on September 8, 2008 at 1:00pm — No Comments

School textbooks on various subjects written in Latin

As part of my general interest in education in Latin, I have started to collate a list of textbooks on various subjects written in Latin, that could be used in a hypothetical 'Latin School'. If you have a subject with which you are familiar, reading a textbook in that subject will, of course, be much easier to assimilate. For a beginner, who is just starting to find his or her wings with Latin, reading these textbooks would be a useful way of increasing one's fluency.

The texts… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on August 30, 2008 at 11:40am — 6 Comments

Adler's Textbooks Now Available as Reprints

These two titles have been processed, here are the information pages for them:

http://www.publicdomainreprints.org/code/review.pl?req_id=665
http://www.publicdomainreprints.org/code/review.pl?req_id=704

The books are actually printed and sold by Lulu, but the ordering is through publicdomainreprints.
Both the Textbook, and the Textbook Key are now available.

Added by Latinum Institute on August 24, 2008 at 5:35am — No Comments

Cost Price Reprints of Google Books

I have just come across an amazing site for us Classicists - a company that prints cost price reprints of texts on Google Books and the Internet Archive - you tell them what text you want, they print it, and at a very low price.

I'm asking them to make Adler's textbook available, along with the Key.

There are so many amazing Latin texts out there on Google books. Now you can have them in your hands to read!
http://www.publicdomainreprints.org/

Added by Latinum Institute on August 22, 2008 at 8:29am — 1 Comment

The importance of auditory input when learning a new language

Tuning In To A New Language On The Fly: Effects Of Context And Seasonality On Songbird Brain

In this study quoted below, it appears that a new language environment - for birds and for humans, causes a physical change in aspects of the auditory system. This information gives ammunition to those who favour a more three dimensional approach to language acquisition, stressing in particular the importance of THROUGHPUT - of listening to huge amounts of the target language. Proponents of… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on August 9, 2008 at 12:44pm — No Comments

Latinum hits 2 million

Latinum has just passed its two millionth audio file download, and the number of new users finding their way to the site continues to steadily grow.

Schola is now also more busy, with a number of academic neo-latinists now members of the site.

Added by Latinum Institute on August 7, 2008 at 10:15am — No Comments

Latin-Latin (monolingual) dictionary?

Does a good Latin-Latin dictionary exist, for student use?
I know Comenius wrote one a few hundred years ago aimed at students, but I can't locate an online scan of it. Once a student passes a certain stage, they should not be using a bilingual dictionary. An all-Latin dictionary becomes another text to read.
Maybe someone out there should write and publish one, as I don't think there is a modern one available?

Added by Latinum Institute on August 2, 2008 at 8:06am — 1 Comment

Alliteration and Memory

From nursery rhymes to Shakespearian sonnets, alliterations have always been an important aspect of poetry whether as an interesting aesthetic touch or just as something fun to read. But a recent study suggests that this literary technique is useful not only for poetry but also for memory.

Some of these ideas could be adapted for language learning........

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In several experiments, researchers R. Brooke Lea of Macalester College, David N.… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on July 31, 2008 at 4:17pm — 1 Comment

Schola passes 300 members

Membership of Schola keeps increasing, at the rate of a handful of new users every day. Schola now sees more activity on a daily basis than any similar online site for communicating in Latin. The excellent work done by John Doublier, who is a translator by profession, in translating the site into Latin, has played an enormous role in its success.
http://schola.ning.com

Added by Latinum Institute on July 30, 2008 at 12:50pm — No Comments

David Maust's site

David Maust wrote to me about his Vergil site, which he put up to help his students.
Some of you might find it useful

http://www.maustlatin.mypodcast.com/

Added by Latinum Institute on July 16, 2008 at 3:50pm — No Comments

Is Passive learning actually Passive? - apparently not

Passive Learning Imprints On The Brain Just Like Active Learning

ScienceDaily (July 15, 2008) — It's conventional wisdom that practice makes perfect. But if practicing only consists of watching, rather than doing, does that advance proficiency? Yes, according to a study by Dartmouth researchers. They determined that people can acquire motor skills through the "seeing" as well as the "doing" form of learning.

This study, to my mind, may possibly have implications for… Continue

Added by Latinum Institute on July 15, 2008 at 5:00am — 1 Comment