Latin Textbook Reviews: How to Choose

Is a Latin Textbook Necessary?

There is no perfect textbook, in any subject.  Many Language teachers, including some teachers of Latin, would just as soon use no textbook at all.  I know some folks, for instance, who learned Latin in Rome from the late great Reggie Foster, who used no instructional books and even forbade his students to memorize vocabulary lists or grammar paradigms. Many of his former students swear by his freewheeling approach.  

Reggie Foster, however, was one of a kind.  Look up sui generis in the dictionary and you’ll see his picture. Virtually all his students were adults, largely seminarians. His method also relied on his own dynamic personality, and his prodigious compiling of literary sources. He was his own textbook.

Most students, especially adolescent and younger, need something concrete. They benefit from a guide and resource, a touchstone that they can go back to for reassurance.  A good textbook can help order and direct their efforts, and the best ones point beyond their own pages to the vast literary and cultural treasury that is the heritage of the Latin language.

Aeterna Latina Podcast:

So, yes, I believe in using a textbook, at least for the first two years of learning Latin (I often have gone textless for third year classes and beyond).  I’ve used quite a few textbook series over close to half a century, both as a student and as a teacher of Latin. Naturally, I have some thoughts about what works, and what doesn’t.  I’ll be sharing my thoughts in these textbook reviews.

The Perfect Textbook

Before I begin looking at specific books or programs, I think it will be helpful to lay out my Latin Textbook Philosophy®. The primary thing, of course, is that a given program should adequately (at least) prepare students to read authentic literary Latin early in their third year.  There are quite a few textbook series that can do that.  

Latin has far more importance, however, than simply being the language of ancient Rome.  The Latin language, its literary influence, and the historical and cultural connections that come with it have been an intrinsic part of western culture for the past two millennia.  Given all the above, I’ve long thought that the ideal introduction to Latin would do the five following things:

-1. Include a clear, rigorous presentation of Latin grammar.  With emphasis on clear.

-2. Provide students with ample opportunities for reading Latin prose (and occasional poetry) that is as authentic as possible for their stage in the learning process.

-3. Present the Latin Language as an ongoing,  living literary medium over the past two thousand years.

-4. Provide a reasonably comprehensive view of the literary and historical context that produced and has continued to nourish the Latin language. That historical context would include the entire two thousand plus years of Latin as agent in the development of culture.

-5. Last but certainly not least, the ideal introductory Latin textbook would be an inviting and lively invitation to the study of the Latin language.  It would appeal to the sensibilities of adolescent students in particular, but without dumbing down.

How Do They Match Up?

That’s a long and formidable list of particulars.  I have yet to find a book that really meets all five.  Some, however, come closer than others.  In my reviews I’ll look at how well each program meets the criteria above. I’ll also assess how suitable (or not) it is for classroom teaching, homeschool instruction, and self-instruction.

Keep your eyes on this space!  I’ll be posting my first review soon (within the week, I hope).  I’m starting with one of the better series on offer, the Oxford Latin Course.

Feel free to use the comment box to share your thoughts. I also invite you to request reviews of particular books.

See you there!

Feature image top of page: Funerary relief found in Neumagen near Trier, a teacher with three discipuli, around 180-185 AD, Rheinisches Landesmuseum Trier, Germany. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic license.