Vocabulary Difference
Latin vocabulary words in the LivelyLatin BigBooks are chosen from the list of 1400 Latin words scholars say are the most commonly used by the ancients. It is claimed that 80% of any Latin text is made up of these vocabulary words.
In BigBook 1, a new list of 12-20 vocabulary words appears in every other lesson, totaling about 175 Latin words in all. While this may not seem like an abundance of vocabulary, I have found through my teaching experience, that it is better to start with fewer words while the student is also learning the mechanics of the language.
Latin is an inflected language; that is to say the endings of words change to define their precise meaning and use in a sentence. Because of this, young scholars must spend more time learning the various ending forms, how to attach them to make new words, and what they mean.
Until this process gets fairly cemented in a student’s mind, I find it best to introduce fewer new vocabulary words, as in BigBook 1. BigBook 2, however, has a new vocabulary list of 20-24 words in every lesson, amounting to about 320 additional Latin vocabulary words.
LivelyLatin helps for learning vocabulary include:
In addition to the vocabulary list, flashcard pages are also provided so that students can cut them out and make their own flashcards to practice with.
Vocabulary study exercises also follow each new vocabulary list that help students analyze and become more familiar with the new Latin words.
All vocabulary words introduced are used abundantly throughout the grammar and English derivative exercises so that students are not merely memorizing forms from a list, but are learning meanings but by continually using the new Latin words.
Audio files of the pronunciation for each vocabulary list are available in the BigBook online classrooms or on the CDs so students can listen and practice how to say the words. The choice of Classical or Ecclesiastical pronunciation is offered.
In the BigBook online classrooms, there are interactive internet-based vocabulary games like Hangman, Memory, Concentration, and Word Search for each set of vocabulary words. These are a fun break from flashcard drills.
Free Latin Mini-Course
An Introduction to the Latin Language. It’s a great way to give the BigBooks of LivelyLatin curriculum a test run. Print out the PDF lessons, maps, and artwork, view the videos, listen to the audio files, and play the online games for free!
Also, thank you for making ecclesiastical audio recordings. I prefer them simply for their beauty.
One more…I prefer e-books.
Questions?
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