anyone's children doing latin in state primary

[samanthar]

is so is it a club and what age and what book do they do? many thanks

[Ellbell]

My children don't, samanthar, but I think there are a series of (very successful) books about a mouse called Minimus. You could try Google. (Someone on here knows about it, I'm sure. I remember a previous thread. Keep this bumped. Might be roisin...????)

[kookaburra]

Yes, Minimus ( Mini mus, geddit?) very good, can't remember whcih website i got it from, probably used www.bookbrain.co.uk to find the cheapest, availability etc

[lilolilmanchester]

Hi, not a teacher, but a linguist. Just wondering (genuinely out of interest) why you would want a primary child to learn a classical, rather than modern foreign language? Really, not having a go, just intrigued!

[FillydoraTonks]

gosh latin in primary? why? (genuinely interested, btw)

did it for gcse, very interesting (and went on to do dead languages at uni) but it is more a puzzle thing than a linguistic thing, I found. Am rubbish at modern languages but pretty good at dead ones, oddly.

[roisin]

Not me Ellbell; I know nothing about Latin.

DS1 (10) is desperate to learn Latin for a whole variety of reasons. But won't get to do so until he's 13 I think. It will be interesting how he gets on with it when he does have the opportunity.

[Ellbell]

Sorry roisin... I have you down in my mental MNer index as an authority on 'all things clever'!

There is someone I've spoken to about this before on here, though... [racks brains]

lilolil, maybe someone is offering to teach Latin and is enthusiastic, whereas there is no-one out there to teach an MFL in this particular school. Better to learn s'thing than nothing. And Latin will help with any of the modern Romance languages (and the grammar helps with German, as long as this new scheme calls the cases 'cases' and not 'Form A' and 'Form B' like when I did it!). FWIW my dd1 will start learning a bit of Spanish in Year 3 next year (the head is Spanish, so seems an obvious choice). I'd rather she learnt French or Italian or even Latin, as I'd be better placed to help with those (and we go to those countries rather than to Spain... well, not to ancient Rome, but ykwim), but I'm just happy that she's learning something really.

[moondog]

Lil what a strange question.If you are a linguist (as you claim to be) you should know that Latin is the basis for so many Romance languages and what it traches you about syntax and morpholgy and word derivation is hugely useful.I am a linguist and a salt and my Latin 'o' level is one of my most useful tools.

[Marina]

lilolil, I studied Latin and three MFLs at secondary school and I found Latin essential for grasping what on earth my Russian and French teachers were on about with regard to grammar and sentence construction. Latin had taught me about tenses, the subjunctive, passive and active verbs, subjects and objects - all OFF the English teaching syllabus at that time (70s). Apart from French, which I still use regularly, Latin has been a lot more useful to me than Spanish or Russian
I'd be happy to have ds and dd start Latin - on the Minimus sort of level - at primary level. With the Romans and Greeks part of the national curriculum, plus Caroline Lawrence, I know lots of Yr 3 and 4 children extremely interested in Latin as a language.
If I didn't have to WOTH full-time I'd seriously consider training as a Minimus teacher.

[Roseylea]

I learnt Latin at my state comp (which was just a bit of good timing really as there was a teacher there who was able to offer it as an optional extra).

I think it's hugely useful, but probably only from the age of about 10 upwards. It is really handy for when you start learning modern langs, and also for things like understanding the abbervaitions in the periodic table, and it is hugely (and probably most) useful for expanding your English vocab by making sense of why many words are spelt as they are.

I went on to read Greek at university and the grammar was no problem having already covered very similar structures in Latin (and German, which I did at 'A' level).

And yes, learning any language is a very useful exercise in logic as you learn to piece together a sentence - helps with maths and other logic-sequencing type skills too.

I am very keen for my 2 dc to learn Latin (and Greek - learning the Greek alphabet and learning to write your name in Greek is good fun!)

[Marina]

Moondog sums it up in two lines!

[moondog]

Yes Marina,but your input was wonderful!

Rosey,Greek at degree level! How cool is that?

I'd love to do a Latin A level.

[moondog]

And agree,Latin helped me sooo much when i went to live in Russia and had daily Russian lessons for a year.

[Ellbell]

[shyly] Have just finished translating some Latin letters for publication. Medieval Latin, though, which is a lot easier!

[moondog]

Oooh Ell!
Am looking at you admiringly in whole new light.

[moondog]

Why easier?
Less finicky about syntax?

[Marina]

I know I'd have failed Russian A level without my Latin moondog. Only those of us who had done Latin, taught by an old-fashioned grammar nut, were on top of the language syllabus. Our Russian teacher was long on the glories of Turgenev, Nekrassov and Tolstoy and very short on explaining the difference between the perfective and the imperfective...

[moondog]

And that is a bugger to grasp eh?

[Marina]

It was at 17

[Ellbell]

Word order tends to be more 'normal' in Medieval Latin, unlike Classical Latin where you really have to know what is agreeing with what! My thing is of a tedium as yet unknown to humanity, though. Am trying to write a conclusion to my intoduction, but have so far got something that sounds a bit like... 'Well. There you go then.' Must go work on it some more..

[moondog]

What's all this for then Ell?

[Ellbell]

site is wonderful for anyone working with Latin (and Greek, but that is a closed book to me). As well as doing a normal dictionary search, you can also search for specific word forms, and it will tell you that what you're looking at is a gerundive or a feminine plural dative or an imperfect subjunctive or whatever. Fab!

[Ellbell]

Oops, don't know what happened there. Cut off half the link. Trying again!

[Ellbell]

It's a translation of Dante's letters, moony. Or rather it will be, if I ever finish the damn thing!! Grrr.... why do my conclusions always come out so lame?

[moondog]

Am surprised they weren't done before or are you working on new version

That dictionary thing is useful.Welsh learners (I am a Welsh speaker) find dictionaries taxing as words mutate at the beginning according to syntactic context.

Thus 'trwyn' = 'nose' but there are also 'nhrwyn' 'drwyn' and 'thrwyn' depending on context.


I wouldn't be surprised if someone isn't already working on it...

[samanthar]

help thanks for all replies, am new on here and have enjoyed reading various threads but wanted to participate and want to get to know ppl a bit. am linguist and was a teacher and feeling very hope/hap/helpless about twins starting reception particurarly as want to help out a bit but feel less than confident about the sewing and cooking and computer activiites currently requiring parent helpers.was idly looking at secondary forum on here re.class.civ v. latin and reminded myself i just about managed an a level and then whether when my two are in yr two whether i shd be barve an offer latin club...have got a level. you can tell from ludicrous long sentences that i actually did much more german than latin and also have to type standing up as have chronic spine pain. thanks for all the replies to a newcomer and any help with french/german hw just shout