NCLG

Why Latin in Elementary School?

English Literacy and Latin

In response to "Back to Basics" and the nationwide effort to improve the reading and vocabulary skills of students in English, a growing number of public and private schools are offering Latin as a way for students to take a new look at their own language. Lively Latin programs make sound educational sense, because over 60% of all English words are derived from Latin, as are 90% of those over two syllables. Through exposure to twenty minutes or so of Latin per day, students learn the building blocks of English, its Latin roots, prefixes and suffixes. Through practice with simple sentence patterns that contrast with English, students gain a sense of how languages work and come to recognize grammatical concepts common to all languages.

Latin for all Students

Once regarded as a subject for college-bound or gifted students, Latin has made a dramatic comeback since the mid-1970's as an aid to language arts for all students. Livelier teaching methods and improved textbooks allow average and remedial students to succeed with Latin. Some programs have been particularly successful in inner city elementary schools, notably in Philadelphia, Washington D.C., New York, Kansas City, Beloit, Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Oakland. Teaching materials offer Latin stories in authentic cultural contexts that are intrinsically interesting to young students. They learn vocabulary and sentence patterns, not by rote memorization, but by seeing key words and phrases repeated frequently in the stories and exercises and often illustrated with diagrams or pictures. They learn about such topics as Roman customs, daily life, mythology, historical and legendary figures, and life in the provinces. Moreover, they study Latin roots of English much more systematically than they would in most classrooms today.

Foundation for Language Study

Since there are no native speakers of Latin, students begin at about the same point, and learn a language and cultural heritage common to North and South Americans, Europeans, and many other nations worldwide. Some 750 million people speak the "Romance Languages," so-called since they are essentially Roman. About 80% of Spanish, French, Italian, Portuguese, and Romanian words are from Latin, so students gain a firm foundation for the study of Latin or a modern language in secondary school. Some 750 million people in 57 countries speak these tongues, Spanish being the official language of 20 nations, French of 27, and Italian, Romanian and Portuguese of 10 other nations. By starting with Latin, students also learn concepts of how inflected languages like German and Russian work, as well. Some of the innovative programs described in this packet use Latin as a first language experience for students or as part of an "introduction to languages" course. The high incidence of common vocabulary between Latin, Spanish, and English make Latin a logical choice for most students.

Ethnic Diversity

Reflecting the ethnic diversity of today's students and the range of ability levels in many classes, some highly creative and motivating Latin-based programs have developed and spread nationwide. Several programs, such as The Keepers of Alexandria and the textbook Salvete! offer Latin stories set in the far-flung provinces of the Roman Empire. Students experience life in Roman Egypt, Spain, Gaul, or Germany and learn how these cultures interacted with mainstream culture of Roman Italy. Their removal from the world of today allows students to rethink human questions and dilemmas and to consider issues and ethnic differences from a new perspective.  "Whoever is ignorant of the past remains forever a child"--Marcus Tullius Cicero.

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