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Latin lessons improve literacy, says MSP
THE traditionalists have been going on about it ad nauseam. Now the campaign to bring back Latin into classrooms is finally gaining strength. Picture: Jane Barlow
"'The downside is that Latin is very boringly taught and it turns pupils off'"
By EDDIE BARNES
POLITICAL EDITOR
THE traditionalists have been going on about it ad nauseam. Now the campaign to bring back Latin into classrooms is finally gaining strength.
Tens of thousands of Scottish school pupils are failing to master basic English literacy skills, leading one MSP to suggest compulsory Latin lessons are the way forward.
Independent MSP Margo MacDonald, who was taught Latin at school herself, is to spearhead a campaign to highlight the benefits the classical language can have in improving basic English.
Studies in the US appear to show that, after just five months study of Latin, pupils who took the course were a full year ahead of fellow children who had not.
It is claimed that, as the root language for most western European tongues, Latin improves pupils' understanding of grammar and extends vocabulary, boosting their ability to read and write.
Latin is still on the curriculum in Scotland, but it is little taught, with around 200 state school pupils across the country taking a Latin Higher. However, headteachers also agree that, if extended, it could improve standards.
It comes as research showed recently that one in five Scots struggle with basic paperwork in their jobs.
MacDonald said: "We have got to be as imaginative as possible in terms of teaching our own language.
"The standards of grammar at the moment are dreadful. The BBC this morning said that cloud is increasing - clouds don't increase. I have been surprised by the poor standards of grammar and syntax on the BBC. I know this makes me sound like Mrs Pernickety from The Grange circa 1958, but somebody needs to tackle this."
She added: "I was lucky enough to be taught Latin and French and English at the same time, and the interlocking of the languages and grammar and the roots of words firstly improved my own grasp of grammar, but secondly gave me a facility to learn a variety of European languages."
Kirkcaldy High, a state school, has chosen to promote Latin, and now has more than 100 pupils learning the language. Teachers say it both improves their English skills and helps develop their basic understanding of European languages.
Latin is also being offered at some primary schools in England, where it is being studied for its effect on literacy.
Dr Peter Jones, a former professor of classics at Newcastle University and spokesman for the Joint Association of Classics Teachers, said: "Latin is a wonderful means of introducing children to the way languages work.
"It is a meta-language and therefore it is bound to have spin-off effects on the understanding of English and of Romance
languages like French and Italian."
Dr Jones referred to a study in Indianapolis in the 1970s which compared the standards of a group of 12-year-olds who studied Latin with those who did not.
After five months' study, the group which studied Latin were found to be one year ahead in reading and languages and eight months ahead on word knowledge. The study even found that pupils who studied Latin had improved marks in maths.
Educationalists in Scotland said they too supported the campaign, but pointed out the practical problems. Bill McGregor, of the Headteachers Association of Scotland, said: "Speaking as somebody who benefited from a classical education, I can well appreciate the benefit it has given to me. The downside is that Latin is very boringly taught and it turns pupils off."
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: "Scotland does not have a statutory curriculum."
The full article contains 587 words and appeared in Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
Monday, 31 December 2007
Latinum Links
FAQ: http://www.e.millner.btinternet.co.uk/languages/LatinFAQ.html
This FAQ tells you all about the Latinum Podcast, and what is on it.
WEBSITE: http://latinum.mypodcast.com
EMAIL: evanmillner and that is at gmail.com
FORUM: http://www.textkit.com/
There is a forum on here for discussing the podcast.
ONLINE INDEX: http://www.e.millner.btinternet.co.uk/languages/Latin.html
TEXTBOOK: http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=GJgAAAAAYAAJ
George Adler's 'A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language for Speaking and Writing Latin'
TEXTBOOK KEY: http://www.google.co.uk/books?id=jIwAAAAAYAAJ
The key to the exercises to Adler's books contains the Latin examples for the English exercises in the textbook.
узнать латинского языка
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
ラテンの言語を学ぶ
언어를 배우는 라틴어
学习拉丁语言
學習拉丁語言
Aprender lengua latina
Apprendre la langue latine
Why Learn Latin?
There are around 1000 speakers of Latin in the world, this is the people that can hold a fluent conversation in Latin. Around 10 000 are reasonably conversant with Latin.
Here we have a list of the countries that have it as the official language.
1. Vatican City.
However, the number of people that learn Latin as a second or third language is higher than it has been for decades.
Why do all the languages from Western Europe sound so similar?
The answer lies in their common Latin roots. The Roman Empire established itself over all of Europe, except for in the cold lands of the North. As centuries went by Latin evolved, creating what today we know today as the Romance languages, such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Sardinian and Spanish.
In English we find that almost all the difficult or elegant words come from Latin. Around 70% of English vocabulary comes from Latin one way or another.
Why knowing all this will help me decide to learn Latin? Why on earth would I want to learn Latin?
You will be able to read a newspaper and get the gist of any article, in any Romance language, after you have learned Latin. You will also be able to super charge your English with your Latin, enriching your vocabulary and turning your English from a Ford Fiesta version into a Ferrari. Your experience of the world will be the richer for it. Advanced language skills are directly linked to income level, so maybe you'll end up richer in other ways as well. Who knows?
Finally if you actually manage to become fluent, the wonderful and virile language and literature of the Romans will be accessible to you. As if that wasn't reason enough all by itself.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Here we have a list of the countries that have it as the official language.
1. Vatican City.
However, the number of people that learn Latin as a second or third language is higher than it has been for decades.
Why do all the languages from Western Europe sound so similar?
The answer lies in their common Latin roots. The Roman Empire established itself over all of Europe, except for in the cold lands of the North. As centuries went by Latin evolved, creating what today we know today as the Romance languages, such as French, Italian, Portuguese, Galician, Catalan, Sardinian and Spanish.
In English we find that almost all the difficult or elegant words come from Latin. Around 70% of English vocabulary comes from Latin one way or another.
Why knowing all this will help me decide to learn Latin? Why on earth would I want to learn Latin?
You will be able to read a newspaper and get the gist of any article, in any Romance language, after you have learned Latin. You will also be able to super charge your English with your Latin, enriching your vocabulary and turning your English from a Ford Fiesta version into a Ferrari. Your experience of the world will be the richer for it. Advanced language skills are directly linked to income level, so maybe you'll end up richer in other ways as well. Who knows?
Finally if you actually manage to become fluent, the wonderful and virile language and literature of the Romans will be accessible to you. As if that wasn't reason enough all by itself.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Curso de Latim Gratis
http://Latinum.mypodcast.com
O curso seguirá o método inglês A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language, G.J. Adler.
Curso : Latim
100% à distância, via Internet.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Todo o material do curso estará em angles et latim.
O curso baseia-se nos seguintes métodos ingleses:
G.J. Adler: A Practical Grammar of the Latin Language
G.J. Adler: Key to the Exercises.
Esse método distingue-se da maioria dos livros didáticos tradicionais pela abordagem moderna e inteligente do conteúdo gramatical. Na verdade desde o início já se começa com a tradução de pequenos textos em latim simples e a explicação gramatical é estudada após a experiência direta e intuitiva.
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