Latin

Why Latin?

The study of Latin offers a unique opportunity to look at the nature of language itself. A conscious study of Latin grammatical principles and accompanying traditional terminology (at appropriate maturity levels) will benefit students in their speaking and writing of English and in any further language study that they may undertake.
The study of Latin can result in the broadening and deepening of students' English vocabulary and can impart an understanding of word formation, a most useful tool in approaching unfamiliar words.
Latin is an excellent basis for the study of many modern languages, especially Romance languages.
On an elementary level, Latin can be very helpful in improving the English reading skills of students. Because it is a phonetic language, its study, especially practice in reading aloud, often brings to students the basic understanding of the phonetic principles that they may never have mastered when first learning to read English.
When students study Latin, they enter the world of an alien (and for the most part ethnically neutral) culture, in some ways quite different from ours. Studying the language, customs, and world view of society from a different time and place is a mind-expanding experience. Conversely, focusing on the similarities between our culture and that of the Romans offers the opportunity to consider the Graeco-Roman contribution to American life in the areas of government, architecture, ideals and ideas.
The classics of Latin literature have had a significant influence on European, English and American literature and are eminently worth reading for themselves.

Source: Sally Davis, Wakefield H.S., Arlington, Virginia. Teaching Latin in American Schools, Scholars Press, 1991, p.61

What do students get out of studying Latin?

Bigger English vocabularies.
Higher verbal SAT scores.
Higher English ACH scores.
Acceptance into good colleges and universities.
Sensitivity to language.
Sensitivity to people and cultures.
A sense of history.
Some students also report interest in things they had not previously considered until they studied Latin.

Latin and the SAT

Does Latin help your SAT scores? The answer once again is a definitive YES! The scores of students who took the SAT II in various languages are listed below so that one might see a correlation between language studied and verbal scores.

The mean Verbal SAT scores for 2004

All students: 508
LATIN: 674
French: 642
German: 627
Spanish: 575

Is Latin a dead language?

Although it is true that hardly anyone still speaks Classical Latin today, it is also true that virtually no one speaks Old English today. Yet both Latin and English are alive and prospering: spoken Latin became modern Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, and several other languages; and Old English became modern English, with its varied dialects.

Actually, Latin is not so "foreign" a language as modern languages are, since over sixty per cent of our English vocabulary words are derived from Latin words over two thousand years old. Also, some ancient Roman laws, institutions, and customs have survived to our days: for example, we still use the calendar devised by Julius Caesar. Other ancient Roman traditions, myths, and aspects of daily life are interesting by contrast with those of today.

Curriculum

Latina Christiana uses the Christian (ecclesiastical) Latin pronunciations.
Grammar overview, recitation schedule, tests and background information on Latin sayings and Roman history. Both Christian and classical content.
Famous Men of Rome and other heroic stories of 30 great Romans will make the study of Latin come alive.
Latin is taught in grades 5-10.