Grammar, Translation, and Pronunciation
Students should already have a basic understanding of Latin grammar, translation, and pronunciation before they start to speak the language.
An enlightened minority of Latin teachers and students understand that the ONLY way to achieve true fluency in the language is by learning to speak it. Unfortunately, over the past hundred years or so most Latin curriculum has abandoned the actual speaking of the language in favor of a 100% grammar and translation approach. This (as many are now starting to realize) has been a huge mistake, creating several generations of Latin students unable to get past mid-level aptitude in the language. Without the assistance of regular Latin conversational practice it’s been impossible for these students to broaden their vocabulary and perfect their command of grammar and syntax.
But how exactly does a student learn to speak Latin? How does he or she get started? How does a teacher or tutor guide students toward true conversational proficiency? There’s no question that the initial stage — getting the student used to Latin as not just words on a page but also a form of effective oral communication — is by far the most challenging. Most Latin students have never learned to speak ANY other language before, so conversing in Latin may be more than a little bit scary, and (at least for a while) a real cognitive challenge. With regular practice, though, speaking the language WILL become (bit by bit) not just manageable but genuinely enjoyable for students.
But that’s enough background. Let’s get to it!
I’ve organized my approach into a series of numbered steps that should be relatively easy for Latin instructors and their students to follow:
Step 1) Grammar and Translation
Some Latin teachers will (I’m sure) disagree, but many years experience teaching Latin and experimenting with different approaches has made me believe that integrating conversation into Latin curriculum right from the beginning isn’t usually the most effective use of student time (at least for students over the age of 9 or 10). Junior-high, high-school, and adult students have already grown out of the aptitude for intuitive language learning that very young students possess. These older students HAVE to develop a conscious understanding of the language in order to compose Latin sentences effectively. And since the structure of Latin is so different from that of English, they’ll probably need a full year of grammar/translation-based instruction before they’re ready to start speaking the language. Just so you know, I HAVE experimented with having older students speak Latin right from the beginning but found it to be mostly a waste of time since at that stage students had very little idea what they were doing — they ended up repeating certain phrases over and over rather than having genuine conversations because they didn’t yet understand how Latin worked. You could certainly argue there’s value in getting students comfortable with the concept of speaking the language in that first year through very basic idiom-based conversations, but my feeling is that it makes far more sense to spend that time teaching grammar and translation, which is quite complex and challenging just on its own.
If you’re teaching students under 10 years old, on the other hand, integrating Latin conversation into the curriculum right from the beginning may be very positive. These students (especially those at the younger end) are still extremely good at intuitive language learning, and they’ll not only tend to take to conversation far more easily, but it will also be an excellent support for their learning of Latin and English grammar, which will be far more challenging for them at that age. In the end the precise approach should fit the age and language background of the students, and teachers will likely need to experiment a bit before deciding exactly WHEN to introduce Latin conversation. In general, though, students over a certain age (9 or 10 years old) will HAVE to start with grammar and translation and THEN add in conversation once they’ve reached a minimal level of grammar understanding.
What is that minimal level of grammar understanding? Well, in general a student who’s finished his/her first year of high-school-level Latin (or the equivalent) should be ready to start speaking the language. Different textbooks and courses teach Latin grammar in slightly different orders, of course, but in general I’ve found students need to have gotten to a point in the curriculum where they’ve (at the very least) covered the first three declensions of nouns, the 1st/2nd and 3rd declensions of adjectives, the indicative active of verbs (all conjugations and tenses), pronouns and reflexive pronouns, and demonstratives. Without this minimal training in Latin grammar (and the extensive translation practice that goes along with it) students will have a very hard time speaking the language. On the other hand, you also don’t want to wait TOO LONG to get them started on this since conversational practice is SO helpful for vocabulary memorization and perfecting the student’s command of grammar usage. In other words, you want to start your students speaking Latin as soon as it’s feasible since it will be key for their long-term success in the language.
Step 2) Choose a Pronunciation System and Stick with It
The two most popular pronunciations of Latin are the Reconstructed Classical and the Italian/Ecclesiastical Pronunciations (though in my experience the majority of Latin teachers do not adhere to either one absolutely, often deviating from one or the other of these standard pronunciations in subtle ways). No matter what that pronunciation is, though, the most important thing is that the teacher stick to it rigidly right from the beginning of the course (long before students are conversing in the language) and go out of his/her way to correct students’ pronunciation mistakes. Students not using a single consistent pronunciation system will have a far harder time developing the oral/aural relationship with the language that’s necessary for success in speaking the language and so learning Latin in general.
The majority of Latin teachers were taught the language with the Reconstructed Classical Pronunciation, which is the dominant pronunciation in universities. And if the teacher’s school mandates this pronunciation, then I think it’s fine to use it. There’s a problem with this pronunciation, though — since it has been “reconstructed” by scholars from Latin poetry of the Classical period, it has no actual sounds that can be replicated. (There were obviously no audio recording devices at the time!) Because of this, teachers and students using this pronunciation impose English sounds onto the Latin words, which means that the language can’t have its own sound. And this restricts students’ oral/aural understanding. I much prefer use of the Italian Pronunciation since it has its own specific sounds that students hear and imitate, which over the long term makes their Spoken Latin far more fluid and understandable.
In the end, though, the most vital thing is that the teacher choose a specific pronunciation system and be very strict in having students adhere to that system over the course of years. Without that stability of pronunciation students will have a MUCH harder time learning to converse, which will make it much harder for them to be successful in the language long term.
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