When I was in junior high school (grades 7 and 8, for those who grew up in a middle school mindset), everyone was expected to study a foreign language. My choices were French, Latin, or Spanish, and my struggle was between French and Spanish. I went with French, the language of my ancestors on my dad's side. I never even considered studying Latin. Why would I? Latin is a dead language, right? No one speaks it anymore, and anything important in Latin has been translated into English anyway.
Now, years later, I am homeschooling my children classically and we are all learning Latin, including me! Why? What is the big deal in classical circles about learning Latin? Our reasons for teaching our children Latin fall into these five categories.
Now, years later, I am homeschooling my children classically and we are all learning Latin, including me! Why? What is the big deal in classical circles about learning Latin? Our reasons for teaching our children Latin fall into these five categories.
To help them learn grammar
I'm a big believer in understanding and using correct grammar for the sake of clear communication. When I was an ESOL teacher, I made a point of teaching my students grammar, even if the prevailing educational opinion was not strongly in favor of it. I realized back then that English grammar is not the easiest to grasp. For every rule, we have dozens of exceptions, it seems. We often use the same word for different verb tenses, which can be confusing, and some words change parts of speech depending on how you pronounce them (think how present changes meaning depending on which syllable gets accented).
Latin, however, while it also has exceptions, is quite regular, and it is inflected, meaning it changes the ending of words according to their use in a sentence. These two aspects of Latin make it more concrete and visible than English, and ideal for teaching about grammar and the purpose and usage of words, knowledge and understanding which can then be applied to English. Some classical grammar programs teach English grammar first, with the expectation that it will make it easier to learn Latin later. The program we chose does the opposite - it starts Latin in the early elementary school years with the expectation that it can be applied to the study of English grammar and make it more understandable.
Latin, however, while it also has exceptions, is quite regular, and it is inflected, meaning it changes the ending of words according to their use in a sentence. These two aspects of Latin make it more concrete and visible than English, and ideal for teaching about grammar and the purpose and usage of words, knowledge and understanding which can then be applied to English. Some classical grammar programs teach English grammar first, with the expectation that it will make it easier to learn Latin later. The program we chose does the opposite - it starts Latin in the early elementary school years with the expectation that it can be applied to the study of English grammar and make it more understandable.
To expand their English vocabulary
English is a Germanic language, with our grammar and core vocabulary coming from that family of tongues, but a good bit of our vocabulary has roots in other languages, especially Latin. Along with that, many scientific words and legal terms come from Latin, and I am already seeing the benefit of my children learning Latin roots in the context of studying Latin as a whole language rather than giving them lists of Latin roots to memorize as part of a vocabulary class - it is so much easier and more fun!
To train them to think
Because Latin has such strict rules about its structure and inflections, it takes systematic thinking to put those pieces together. It is amazing to watch both my third grader and my seventh grader going through the steps of conjugating a Latin verb or declining a Latin noun as they consider the rules they have learned and then apply them to a new vocabulary word and then go one more step in translating them in a sentence. Years before we will study logic as a discipline, I see their minds becoming more logical because of Latin. Plus, it is fun! My daughter thinks of it like reading and writing in a code.
To connect them to the past
Latin was the language of the civilized world for a long time. It was the language of the Roman Empire, before and during the time of Christ. It remained an important language for academia through the Middle Ages and beyond. Many documents important to Western Civilization were written in Latin. Many great works of literature contain references to Latin phrases and writings. To be able to read and understand these things will enrich my children's understanding of the past.
To prepare them for the future
As Latin strengthens their grammar, it will help them to be better writers in English. It will also prepare them to study other languages by helping them understand grammar and language in general. As they expand their vocabulary, other advanced studies in areas like science and literature will be more accessible. As they train their minds to think logically, those same skills will be put to use in math and science. In these and so many other ways, we feel that learning Latin now, in elementary and middle school, will prepare them to be even stronger learners in high school and beyond.
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