Customer Reviews

Latin for Americans: First Book

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Latin for Americans I belongs to those traditional Latin textbooks such as Jenney's First Year Latin and Hines' Our Latin Heritage I. The approach of Latin for Americans is basically a deductive, grammar-translation technique. There are 54 lessons which include all declensions, the entire indicative mood in active and passive voice as well as indirect statement and the ablative absolute. This fairly ambitious coverage of morphology and associated syntax within the first year of school study is offset by the concise lesson format. Each lesson has a reading incorporating new morphology and syntax, color-coded morphology charts to assist visual learning, illustrations of new syntax, form and grammar drills, and a short vocabulary. The emphasis throughout all lessons, in which stories are thematically grouped ( i.e., Roman gods, Roman history, social life, myths and legends, etc.) and linked to lavish color pictures, is reading comprehension in Latin. Each lesson does have a short writing exercise, usually of about five short sentences to be rendered from Latin into English.

Latin for Americans I is an ideal text for 8th or 9th-grade beginners of limited experience in language learning because it moves from very easy to somewhat more difficult on a slow curve. Basic grammatical terms are not fully assumed as background knowledge and Latin sentences are kept short and unambiguous. "Bite-size" lessons work well initially to instill confidence in inexperienced learners. As a Latin instructor, I would express only one reservation about the Latin for Americans series ( on which I learned in school): Latin composition is definitely underplayed. I find myself creating writing exercises which the book lacks, a reminder that any textbook is only a map and not the territory. On the other hand, one of the finest features of the book is its lush pictures and illustrations, a powerful invitation to ancient art and archaeology. After touring ancient sites in Latin for Americans, any student will want to visit Italy and Greece for a first-hand look.

Overall, Latin for Americans I is a realistic option for the traditional Latin teacher who wishes to save the direct presentation of grammar but within an attractive, learner-friendly context which presents the learning of Latin as more than mere verbal drill.

I have always wanted to take latin, but have been told by family members who had taken latin that it was a waste and dead language. My high school and colleges I attended unfortunately did not offer latin. I found this book in the attic, its my dad's old 1st year high school Latin book. I find the book very easy to read, the pace is slow, and this book makes Latin easy to learn. This book has colorful illustrations to complement the lessons. There are also lessons covering Roman history in this book which I enjoyed. I tackled the first 20 lessons in this book over the weekend, and found the language fairly easy to pick up on, it is almost like reading english. Already I have seen a benefit in my vocabulary. This year I will tackle latin, next year I will tackle greek. Hopefully this will help me out on my GRE, GMAT, and LSAT I plan on taking next spring.

I am a Latin teacher, using Latin for Americans because it is what my school has. It uses the Grammar-translation approach. It is an attractive book, but leaves much to be desired. Because the grammar and vocabulary are introduced slowly, the stories are stilted and inane, on the order of "See Spot Run." The kids just groan when an awkward phrase comes up. It does not present the example of good CLassical Latin until the second book. It is not until the second half of the first book that the kids can begin to know what Latin is about, and they are held back by the grammar, and conversely, the lack of grammar keeps the book from saying much interesting. The vocabulary is not on the page where it is introduced, necessitating much flipping back and forth. There are an insufficient number of drills and practice exercises to absorb the lessons. The accessory matierials, the workbook exercises are helpful, but too long and the kids tire of them. The tests are totally incompetant. They are hard to grade, too involved and too long. I had to create all my own tests.
Another fault I find with this text is that there is no continuity in the stories. Unlike other books where the students get an emotional investment in the characters, and want to find out what happens next, most of these stories are not connected.
While it is possible to teach using this textbook, there are many others far superior both in method (reading method is preferred today) and in cultural content.

I've been taking Latin for two years now in school using Latin for Americans, and I have to say it is one of the best Latin textbooks around! It has easy-to-use, comprehensive tables, etc., fun facts about the Romans interspersed throughout the chapters, and the funniest pictures!

I don't really know the difference between "good" textbooks and "bad" textbooks, because this is the only one I've ever taught myself out of (I'm homeschooled and work mainly out of the classics). I've managed to begin working with classic texts in the original(I don't have the vocab yet, but can identify stems and endings and such) and am enjoying myself tremendously. I would recommend this for anyone who simply wants to learn Latin.
I was using this for an online language course. I didn't work on it much, and the course expired. Recently, I ordered Principia Mathematica by Newton, and, to my surprise (I shouldn't have been: the name was in Latin) it came in Latin. I REALLY want to read this (amongst other things, foremost of them Cicero's De Officiis) so I picked the book back up. It's teaching me!

SocraT

Note: Maybe I'm a freak: my grandmother was fluent in Latin in school and says that it's a dull, inexpressive language and if you want to learn something interesting, learn Ancient Greek. Personally, I like Latin just fine.

This was my Latin book in high school. I have very fond memories of the class (my first foreign language class), and learned quite a bit about grammar. I still remember some of the lessons.

The book is good. It is not always clear, and tries to explain things on the level of a high-school student. There are times that a linguistic explanation would be much simpler, but it's a school text book. It seems a bit slow at first, and I would order some things a bit differently. However, Latin is a *highly* inflected language, so there really isn't a simple place to start. The book does its job quite well, and I'm very happy I found it again to re-learn some of what I once knew.

Latin For Americans written by Ulman BL et. al is the best Latin book i have ever worked with i am a four year latin student at California high school and our teacher Mr. Panezich has a way of teaching with this book that made me want to buy it myself and recomend it to everyone trying to learn Latin. it is also the most used Latin book there is... Latin is not dead over 97% of all english words derive from latin. If you plan on succeding in life i highly recomend this book.

Looks like a fine book, for a textbook. Interesting enough first few lessons, lots of history with this language.

This introductory Latin text is one that has been around awhile and is a tried and true method of learning. While not a text that lends itself to the independent learning if working in a group or with a teacher is an excellant book.

The book arrived on schedule and in excellent condition. What more can you ask of a textbook purchased online?