In the early 1900s an elementary grammar text came out which was really a precursor to Henle's Latin. In this text on elementary Latin, the author Franklin Potter stated an important truth about the study of language. Form and function are inseparable in language. For a student to truly master a language such as Latin, it is imperative that the student grasps both the form and function simultaneously. In fact, as I have delved deeper and deeper into Latin, I have realized this is an absolute truth. Latin forms do not make sense — they are random lists of meaningless terms — unless one understands how the endings function in the sentence. Once one can associate a form with a particular usage or type of usage, the form has meaning.

Thus, in this series, form and function are taught side by side. The challenge in developing this material was to make sure the function or syntax of Latin was taught at a level appropriate to the beginner. I have striven to be true to the reality of function while also keeping the distinctions basic. I have found that young students in the analytic stage (doing Fundamentals) are perfectly capable of understanding some more complex ideas, such as a division of the ablative and the many uses of the dative. They can identify the more complex uses of datives and ablatives in sentences as well, both Latin to English and English to Latin with great success. Understanding that these cases are broader in function than the narrow uses they learn in many beginning courses is helpful in understanding the true nature of the case.

A young student does needs to do regular drills with vocabulary and forms to help develop good habits, but this must not be the entirety of a course. When one is beginning Latin with a young student, the goal is to set the student up for success both by teaching forms and by learning how language functions. I remember so clearly as a young student myself doing the text Basic Language Principles through Latin Background and being thrilled to understand the connections between Latin and English. It was the first course I personally experienced that did not neglect function and it was, for that very reason, the most foundational material I ever did in Latin. Our Fundamentals program takes the same principles but adds "how to learn" directions. Beginning Latin starts at a more basic level, but sets the student up for a good understanding of language by teaching the student to identify the different uses of words in a sentence and their corresponding Latin forms.

That one needs to keep form and function together in Latin makes sense. In fact, the whole modern push towards conversational Latin is an attempt to reintroduce function, although often at the expense of form. Perhaps a good parallel to what we are trying to achieve in this area is the Wordly Wise vocabulary series. It is successful because it teaches words in context. Out of context, the meaning of words would be misunderstood quite regularly. A good example is the words "childish" and "childlike." They convey different ideas, yet are similar in meaning.

Further, it is clear that function in Latin is intimately tied to the study of philosophy. The Romans made their words work according to principles. They took into consideration the goal of language: to communicate a particular idea. For example, "to fear, "timor" is a deponent verb — that is, its forms are passive, while its meaning remains active: "I fear, you fear". This gives us some insight into the meaning of "to fear": fearing is an inherently passive verb — something is causing you to fear. Latin takes this meaning into consideration when determining the grammatical rules for "timor." Thus, a consideration of what is done grammatically leads to a reflection on the nature of the world around us. Latin, done rightly, truly leads to good thinking skills, precision, as well as wonder and understanding.

It is my hope that this course will lead students to eventually excel in advanced Latin studies. Over my many years teaching, I had observed quite regularly that my advanced Latin students struggled with certain common issues. Thus, I decided to teach, early on, the concepts that later seemed to be troublesome, so that I could circumvent their difficulties. Simply making the third declension and third conjugation the most familiar was a huge breakthrough for most students. Also, making the rules for the changes in form clear to the students prevented many misapplications of rules. Knowing that in Latin "short e" changes to "i" before "r" or "n" is like learning in English that "i" comes before "e" except after "c" or when sounded as "a" as in "neighbor" or "weigh". It makes the language complex but systematic instead of chaotic. That's much better. At the end of this program, students can translate difficult Latin sentences by using their understanding of the underlying rules which govern language in general (parts of speech, mood, tense, etc.) and Latin in particular (conjugations, declension, agreement of words, etc.). They are ready for a challenging high school course.

Highlights

My Latin Program is built with three long term goals in mind: 1) reading Latin; 2) improving critical thinking; and 3) developing precision in language. Some of the unique elements of this program are:

• It is designed by a teacher with 20 years teaching experience in Latin in many different settings. Each lesson is the length of effective attention a student can give to Latin on a daily basis.
• It is gentle and teaches by regular repetition so it allows the student time to solidify new concepts. No major new concepts or vocabulary are presented after Week 16 in each of the first three years (Beginning Latin series). Key new material and vocabulary ends between 24 and 26 weeks in the last two years (Fundamentals series).
• Forms that are studied are those that are more common and more important, such as the third declension and third conjugation. The majority of important Latin words needed in advanced Latin come from the third declension or conjugation.
• Memorization is gained through practice as well as drill. Further, memorization is not the total method; rather observation and decoding assume equal importance to memorization. The approach to Latin throughout our grade school books has students learn forms first formally, then in paradigm form. (Example: first form, second form, stem + i, stem + em, stem + e. Then paradigm: rex, regis, regi, regem, rege). In the Fundamentals series, students are expected to analyze at an increasingly complex level. Analysis assumes the major importance in all exercises.
• Translation habits are built through a step by step process in this program.
• Throughout the program, students see the connections between English and Latin grammar as they are taught side by side. Students also focus on the meanings of words and the full use of cases in the last year.
• Students translate complex sentences, especially noun-adjective combinations in the last three years (Beginning Latin III, Fundamentals I, and Fundamentals II).
• Concepts are taught by providing reasons behind rules: short "e" changes to "i" except before "r" or "n". This explains many seemingly random things such as some forms with "e" when all others in a paradigm have "i".
• Verbs are taught using language that will help the student understand complex ideas later and help them see connections now: future possible = subjunctive, copycat i-lovers, complete and incomplete systems with past, present, and future. Traditional terms are introduced once concepts are mastered.
• Synopsis, which is the tool (file folders) that organizes Latin verb forms, is practiced regularly.