An online Latin course?

[Akela]

I know that some of you have taken online Latin courses. What do you think of them?

On one hand, it seems to me that not having an actual teacher you can go ask questions to would be a downside.

On the other hand, it is probably easier to email your questions than to find a college instructor during their infrequent office hours

 

[Nikolaos]

I started my learning through correspondence, and now I am using this forum and Adler's grammar as my primary teachers. As long as there's a community like this to practice with (and provided that the course is reasonably well-structured), I think that online courses could work.

 

[Quasus]

I took up Schola Latina Universalis a while ago. Unfortunately the teachers appeared so arrogant that pretty soon I decided to leave it in spite of all their qualification. Self-study seems the best strategy for me provided that Internet allows not to stew in my own juice. After all, Latin is just a hobby of mine.

 

[metrodorus]

As a matter of curiosity - (as this thread is about online language courses) does anyone on here use the free audio on Latinum - either as an occasional supplement, or as a primary way of studying, or as somewhere to find out about useful texts, such as Adler, or Comenius, and the various other texts from google books and archive.org that are used?

If you are using Latinum, what are you using along with it, or what did you use before it? Does having the audio resource help? How?

Is there anything on the podcast, given the limitations of the format, you would like to have, that isn't there?

 

[Nikolaos]

Metrodorus - I listen to the podcast from time to time to improve my pronunciation and listening skills. Right now, I am indebted to you for your recommendation (Adler's grammar), and after I finish the book I would like to dedicate more time to the recordings.

Along with Adler's "Practical Grammar" and Latinum, I use the word study tool on perseus.tufts.edu, Nodictionaries.com, Wiktionary (on occasion), and this forum.

Before Adler's grammar, I used a decent (but that's it) textbook in an inferior curriculum, and considered buying the second book in that series for self-study.

 

[cinefactus]

I did one of the Cambridge courses a few years ago after I had finished working through my introductory textbook. The tutor was quite helpful. It wasn't really challenging enough, but that wasn't the fault of the course.

I am now doing distance learning at the University of New England. That is certainly challenging enough! I have learned a lot more with this than with the Cambridge course, but it would certainly help to hear the texts read out.

 

[CarmentaLatin]

My online Latin couse, the Carmenta Online Latin School, is a good option for most students because the classes are taught live, with live Skype conference audio and video and live interaction between the teacher and students. Excuse me for tooting my own horn, but hopefully this information will be helpful. http://carmentalatin.com/

 

[metrodorus]

Hi Nikolaus, I didn't see your reply to my question about Adler.
The podcast is now dead, killed by the financial crisis, but my audio course based on Adler - all 191 + hours of it - is still available from http://latinum.org.uk at a very low cost - $9 US.

I think, with the audio resources I have provided, once can reach quite a good level of fluency in Latin, simply through extensive listening, without ever opening an actual book.....however, reading and writing are also very useful tools for language acquisition......oral input tends to be neglected in the Latin classroom, for a whole slew of historical reasons.

 

[Matthaeus]

I used to listen to the Corderius and Comenius and do a dictation by pausing and listening over and over and over, then checking myself. Thanks to that podcast I have gained considerable fluency.

 

[metrodorus]

There is now a lot of material at http://latinum.org.uk - the new system means that things are better organised than before. The DVDs are still available, but newer audiobooks are download only.

Unlike the podcast, it isn't free, but the prices are still very low - the lowest price of any Latin language educational material of its type.
I have grouped the audiobooks by difficulty and colour coded them.

 

[Avarus]

I actually purchased the 1-50 set of MILLNER'S SERIAL AND ORAL LATIN. I do hope that this helps me even more, but I'm finding it odd to keep repeating "the good sugar" over and over again. However, it is more organized and less obtuse than the Adler readings I've heard before.

That said, I do miss the lessons about grammar despite the question and answer thing. One crit: Give more of a pause after you ask a question. You literally have to press pause at the end of the question because you answer it immediately afterward. If you gave a slightly longer pause as does Pimsleur, it would flow much nicer.

My two cents really.

 

[metrodorus]

Hi,
I'll take note when recording the next section to leave slightly longer pauses.
I would also recommend doing the written exercises, in addition to the oral ones, as you will rapidly spot your errors.

BTW, as of Easter 2012 all downloads at http://latinum.org.uk are now only $1 each.
Many of these audio courses and audio books have from 5 up to 14 hours of audio, so this is good value.....and several orders of magnitude cheaper than competing Latin audio - although much of the material produced by Latinum is unavailable elsewhere, especially the Latin readers.
That means the complete Adler audio course is only $9 as downloads.

My new Serial and Oral course is being released in sections of 50 mini-lessons. I am now working on writing the third section, where the Nomen Verbi is introduced in some detail, and we start to examine the structure of the Latin verb.

Evan.

 

[Avarus]

That's great news, Evan. I look forward to purchasing more soon. Cheers.