Oxford Latin Course, Part I [Paperback]

Maurice Balme (Author), James Morwood (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0195212037 | ISBN-13: 978-0195212037 | Publication Date: June 27, 1996 | Edition: 2nd

Designed for North American students, this special version of the Oxford Latin Course combines the best features of both modern and traditional methods of Latin teaching, providing an exciting, stimulating introduction and approach to Latin based on the reading of original texts.
In this four-volume North American edition, the order of declensions corresponds to customary U.S. usage and the spelling is Americanized. In addition, it offers full-color illustrations and photographs throughout Parts I and II and an expanded Teacher's Book with translations for each part. Parts I -III are built around a narrative detailing the life of Horace, based closely on historical sources, which helps students to get to know real Romans--with their daily activities, concerns, and habits--and to develop an understanding of Roman civilization during the time of Cicero and Augustus. Part IV is a reader consisting of extracts from Caesar, Cicero, Catullus, Virgil, Livy, and Ovid.
The Oxford Latin Course, 2/e has been carefully designed to maximize student interest, understanding, and competence. It features a clearer presentation of grammar, revised narrative passages, new background sections, more emphasis on daily life and on the role of women, a greater number and variety of exercises, and review chapters and tests. Each chapter opens with a set of cartoons with Latin captions that illustrate new grammar points. A Latin reading follows, with new vocabulary highlighted in the margins and follow-up exercises that focus on reading comprehension and grammatical analysis. A background essay in English concludes each chapter. Covering a variety of topics--from history to food, from slavery to travel, these engaging essays present a well-rounded picture of Augustan Rome.
The Oxford Latin Course, Second Edition offers today's students and teachers an exceptionally engaging and attractive introduction to the language, literature, and culture of Rome--one that builds skills effectively and is exciting to use.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Outstanding! Students enjoy the material, progress at an encouraging rate, and have good retention. By far the best text available."--Christina Horst Roseman, Seattle Pacific University

"A very sound and concise work, well organized. The reference grammar and vocabulary sections are excellent tools for the student."--Jeff Begeal, Northern Nash Senior High School

"This text is very attractive and inviting. The illustrations are terrific. Critical thinking skills are encouraged. Humor is effectively interspersed."--Claudia Colvin, St. Anselm's Abbey School

"I find this to be a fine text--good graphics--and I like emphasis on Virgil."--E. T. Egrn, Ben Franklin High School

"This textbook has a fresh approach to Latin texts through the comic book story of the various authors. The English history is given with an understanding of Roman history."--Prof. Dominic J. Guarino, Alvernia College

About the Author

Maurice Balme is now retired, formerly Head of Classics at Harrow School (1962-72)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 2nd edition (June 27, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0195212037
• ISBN-13: 978-0195212037
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #48,844 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Education & Reference > Foreign Languages > Instruction > Latin

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars self-taught latin student, January 25, 2005

By 

John H. Whicker - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Oxford Latin Course, Part I (Paperback)

I can understand why most professors who teach latin in a formal school setting find this course (Three books and a reader, ISBN #s 0195212037, 0195212053,019521207x,0195212096, there are teacher's books available with all four) inadequate. This course is for students looking for a text that presents latin in a progressive and understandable format, which focuses on immersion in reading latin rather than consumption of immense volumes of grammatical information. The grammar is introduced slowly as it is needed (The grammar excercises in the second half of the book need to be done concurrantly with the chapter). The editors obviously are attempting to make learning latin easier by building vocabulary functionally and simply. This is essential for anyone that doesn't have the time to spend memorizing endless charts, or who struggles to understand grammar when it is abstracted from practical use in reading the language. It is much more useful to gain a working knowledge of vocabulary and grammar and then to memorize all the principle parts, conjugations, declensions, etc. I recommend using the oxford course first then moving to wheelock's for mastery of latin grammar.

In the end, this course is excellent for students because it is presented in a way that allows for a simple, progressive, and functional introduction to Latin. They lack answers ( though I haven't seen the teacher's text) but taking the time to check your work using the vocabulary lists and glossary is good review. The comics are terribly drawn and somewhat annoying, but are trivial. If the editors forgot some principles, any student that will miss them will study more advanced courses anyway. These books are the answer for anyone like me who found it impossible to learn the language from endless and voluminous sections on grammar, and I was one of the top students in my college course (I didn't have the time to take anything beyond the introduction and have had to teach my self since).

43 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not the way to go, IMHO, November 26, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Oxford Latin Course, Part I (Paperback)

I worked my way through parts I and II of this Oxford Latin before stumbling upon Henle's latin course. I did honestly enjoy the Oxford course, but it's certainly no way to really acquire lingua latinae-- at least not in any great depth. The Oxford course also focuses strictly on classical latin, without any reference to ecclesiastical latin-- a major, major drawback, IMO.I wasted over $40 on parts I and II of this Oxford course, good money for mere superficial pamphlets! If your goal is to really learn latin, go with the four volume Henle course (each volume is around 400 pages!-- 300% more pages and 30% cheaper than Oxford! ). There is also an additional _Latin Grammar_ volume that is to be used in conjunction with the four volumes. Henle is a Jesuit philosopher and latinist, and his presentation is solid. And unlike the Oxford course, you will learn both classical and ecclesiastical-- the latter being VERY important in academic research/scholarship.

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not a bad Latin course, but there are better ones out there., April 21, 2002

By 

Geoff Guth (Denver, CO United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Oxford Latin Course, Part I (Paperback)

I have now completed the three books of this course over three semesters at the university level. First of all, there are several things the books do well. As long as students practice translating all the text in a given chapter, and work through the exercises, they should have a solid grasp of Latin vocabulary. The passages are fairly interesting; they are a combination of fiction and biography of the great poet Q. Horatius Flaccus. There is also a good deal of historical and cultural material introduced with each chapter. Students will get a basic understanding of what life in Roman times was like and what the main historical events were in the first century B.C.

The main problem I have with these books is that they attempt to "hide" grammar from the student. Grammar introduced in the chapter is put in a separate section in the back of the book, which is very inconvenient. Grammatical explanations tend to be very short; someone trying to learn Latin from these books alone would have a good deal of trouble, particularly when things get a little more complicated (e.g. with the subjunctive mood).

I may be a bit old-fashioned when it comes to learning languages. I think this course has more than a little bit of the whole language philosophy to it. Students are encouraged to learn by reading, and, unless the instructer is careful, "minor" errors in translation can easily occur, especially in passages where the student is encouraged to read for comprehension, not to produce a literal translation.

Having gone through courses in Greek using a more traditional grammar-oriented approach, I have to say I prefer the latter. Although it is more challenging for the student at first, I believe they will get a deeper understanding in the long run. As an added benefit, people who carefully study the grammar of a foreign language often find that their understanding of their native tongue improves. This is certainly the case with Latin.

If you are in a Latin course where this text is used, don't despair, especially if you have a good teacher. This series is perfectly serviceable. For teachers trying to decide which text to use, however, I would recommend a more grammar-oriented textbook like Wheelock or Moreland and Fleischer.