Tips when studying for Latin?

Question

I am studying for Latin next year. What are some of the tips when studying for that language. What should I pay attention to? What should I look out for? What aspects of the language are used again and again? and etc. (other tips)

Answer 1

You really do have to learn your noun declensions and verb conjugations. It is also very important to learn prepositions (to, from, for, with, by etc.). Learn a system for translating into English: look for verb first, then subject, then object. This is very basic, but if you stick to this simple rule, it avoids confusion. I found it useful to keep a little notebook in which I put Latin vocabulary and alongside it English words which derived from the Latin. This not only helped with remembering the Latin, but it improved my English vocabulary. Be prepared to have to work hard at Latin: there are no real short cuts, although modern text books do their best to make it as easy and entertaining as possible to absorb the information. Make up your mind that you're going to enjoy it and you'll find you will.

Answer 2

Well I guess the correct use of cases (and tenses) will be the most challanging for someone speaking English as a first language. Latin has six destinct cases and three genders (masc., fem, neut.) and genders rarely go with the "natural" gender - meaning that things are not neutral gender as in English.
I have no idea how Latin will be taught with you methodically but however as with every language you will start simple and go into more complex grammar later.
My advice is the following: Make sure to stay up-to-date with learning - doing a little every day is much better than let it run and try to catch up buy learning lots of stuff in very short time.
That way you can build up a basic knowledge which you will never forget.
In my old school Latin was the second language we had to learn (first one was English) - not counting German which is my native language. Although my last Latin lesson is back more than 25 years and I did have to use it very little since then the basics are still there.
Although it will start really simple with sentences like
Sicilia est insula - Sicily is an island
make sure you stay current - it's maybe a little bit like eating: Regular small portions are better than one big portion once a day.
I hope you will enjoy Latin although you will have to work for it but it can open a world for you that lies back more than 2000 years but is the basis of European culture (and languages)
Sorry - I guess that was a little bit longwound.

Answer 3

I would say the most important thing, is to listen to lots of Latin. Then speak as much as you can. Speak and speak and speak. Pretend that people are speaking back to you.
I would spend the whole summer just listening to Latin as much as you can. You'll be way ahead of your class when you begin the year, but that won't be a bad thing at all, as your class will probably focus on formal grammar, and you will have picked up a more intuitive understanding of the language - you'll have something in your head already to work with.

Latin is not especially difficult, if you go about learning it as a language, and not as a mathematical puzzle - after all, all those Romans, the clever ones and the dumb ones, could all speak it.

Just as a successful learner would do with any other language, try to surround yourself with the sounds of it, even if you don't understand what you're hearing. Your brain will pick up patterns and bits and start to fit the puzzle together all by itself. But it needs help - it needs to hear a LOT of the language. Four hours a day, minimum.
You can download hours of spoken Latin from the Latinum Podcast. If you dont have an mp3 player, invest in one.

You can download lessons, readings, etc from the Latinum Podcast.
http://latinum.mypodcast.com

Answer 4

Make sure you know your declensions and conjutations really well. Keep practising and practising orally and in writing. Since cases are an integral part of Latin, understand what the cases stand for. This is usually difficult for an English speaker, but much easier for a French speaker and a German Speaker who understand the significance of cases. Go over your lessons every day so that everything becomes automatic. The motto: practice makes perfect: is probably the best maxim there is for any foreign language learning.
Good luck!

Answer 5

Based on the use of English in your question, I believe that you will have a very difficult time with any language. But go ahead and give it a try. When you are so frustrated that you want to kill your teacher and fellow classmates, revert to studying English. At least know a little about communicating in your own language before you study another.