Oxford Latin Course: Part I

I can understand why most professors who teach latin in a formal school setting find this course (Three books and a reader, ISBN #s 0195212037, 0195212053,019521207x,0195212096, there are teacher's books available with all four) inadequate. This course is for students looking for a text that presents latin in a progressive and understandable format, which focuses on immersion in reading latin rather than consumption of immense volumes of grammatical information. The grammar is introduced slowly as it is needed (The grammar excercises in the second half of the book need to be done concurrantly with the chapter). The editors obviously are attempting to make learning latin easier by building vocabulary functionally and simply. This is essential for anyone that doesn't have the time to spend memorizing endless charts, or who struggles to understand grammar when it is abstracted from practical use in reading the language. It is much more useful to gain a working knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and then to memorize all the principle parts, conjugations, declensions, etc. I recommend using the oxford course first then moving to wheelock's for mastery of latin grammar. In the end, this course is excellent for students because it is presented in a way that allows for a simple, progressive, and functional introduction to Latin. They lack answers ( though I haven't seen the teacher's text) but taking the time to check your work using the vocabulary lists and glossary is good review. The comics are terribly drawn and somewhat annoying, but are trivial. If the editors forgot some principles, any student that will miss them will study more advanced courses anyway. These books are the answer for anyone like me who found it impossible to learn the language from endless and voluminous sections on grammar, and I was one of the top students in my college course (I didn't have the time to take anything beyond the introduction and have had to teach my self since).

I am a historian who uses Latin on a daily basis -- I learned it the old-fashioned way -- with Wheelock. My son is learning Latin at the sixth-grade level and has made great progress using this series -- which seems to me to be the age level they are best for. If I were teaching high school or college Latin this would NOT be my series of choice. But my son has just finished the first book (I'm buying the second one today for summer study) and has a pretty good knowledge of nouns, adjectives, all four conjugations in the present, future and imperfect tense, some present tense irregular verbs, and knows to be careful with prepositions. He's also got a pretty good understanding of Roman mythology, and domestic life thanks to this series.

As a teacher, I have found this book to be the best for educating the students who disagree with current suggestive rote learning methods. Instead of memorization routines and excessive lists, this book utilizes a "remember by example" method which allows many of my students to easily pick up latin words. If some words are listed, they are listed logicaly (by grammatical refence insted of just alphabetical order), which also provides a easier way to remember grammar by grouping similar words together. To use this book effectively, one must use the excercies in the back of the book concordantly with the chapter itself. Some reviews above suggest that the editors are lazy, but I can not see why a teacher would use such a "canned" teaching method. Students are not a single group, every person is an invdividual, and tests, worksheets, and other supplemental material should be tailored by the teacher, not the editors.

I had never had any interest in learning Latin, although languages and grammar come easily to me and are enjoyable. I picked up the first part of the Oxford First Latin Course and flipped through it only because its design was so appealing. I found the curriculum so well organized and accessible that it seduced me into learning Latin, a hobby I'm continuing to pursue through the whole excellent series. It's so well designed that one can slide through it almost effortlessly. Wonderful.

As a high school student in a Latin course using this text, I can say that it is of excellent quality. It starts out simply, with the very basics, then gradually moves into the more complex areas of the language. The book provides plenty of passages to apply the knowledge gained in each chapter, which are a great help in mastering the material. A possible drawback for some may lie in the fact that the concepts of tense and voice are not touched upon until well into the second volume.