If you have ever taken Latin, what method did you find was good when you were learning it?

Answer 1

Memorize your paradigms (tables of declensions, conjugations, etc.) really well. Because Latin is such a highly inflected language, you have no hope of being able to decipher anything if you can't figure out the case/number/gender (for nouns) or person/tense/mood (for verbs) of a given word immediately. It's tedious in the beginning, but will pay off. Also, although it's a somewhat artificial practice, lots of English->Latin composition will help you form a firm foundation in grammar, which you absolutely need.

Answer 2

A friend and I took Elementary Latin I, II and III together in college. I also took Advanced Latin I; I dont' remember whether she took it as well. In our senior year, we took a Shakespeare class together. I answered some question about the context of the play we were studying, which was militaristic. Someone made a wisecrack about how I should know that because my last name is militaristic. I snapped back, "You should talk, Miss Sword Waver!" (this was one possible translation of her Italian last name; in explaining what I had said, I realized the name probably meant sword maker or ironsmith).

Later, the friend who had taken Elementary Latin I, II and III (and maybe Advanced Latin I) with me asked me how I had remembered that much Latin. I asked her:

1. Why did you take Latin? I took Latin because I'd always wanted to learn Latin.

2. Do you ever use it?

3. Did you keep the book?

I had (may still have) a book called _Winnie Ille Pu_ (the Latin translation of Winnie-the-Pooh). Playing with language is also a good way to keep it relevant in your mind, which aids in retention.

Answer 3

As my classics professor in college told me, "Repetitio est mater studiorum." Repeat, repeat, repeat. You just have to keep memorizing the declensions and conjugations until they are second nature to you, and you can repeat them from memory over and over with no errors. It is difficult at first, but the payoff is worth it - everything is so much easier and goes so much faster when you don't have to look up any of the verb tenses, when you can just recite them from memory. Same goes for the noun declensions, although the verbs are a lot more work. But being able to identify the correct forms without having to look them up is such a time-saver; then all you have to worry about is the vocabulary. Looking up definitions is time consuming enough, without having to look up everything else on top of it.

It also helps to have an excellent grasp of grammar - it makes understanding the cases and various conjugations a lot easier. If your grammar skills are weak, your Latin translations will be also. The use of the subjunctive in Latin is a veritable nightmare, with all the different types of clauses, and requires a thorough comprehension of grammar.

Answer 4

I took Latin from 8th grade through my senior year of high school--five years. I wasn't able to distinguish different methods for learning it at the time, so I have no advice there. You just have to be good at memorizing tons of things.

Answer 5

Repetition! Plus my teacher brought in children's books that had been translated into Latin like Peter Rabbit and Winnie the Pooh. Those were alot of fun.

Answer 6

Memorization and practice. After a while once you learn all of the declensions, it gets easier and starts to make sense. Try writing the words down repetitively. Keep plugging.

Answer 7

My boyfriend knows Latin I should ask him

Answer 8

Memorize seven words at a time.

Answer 9

a lot of work and study