Customer Reviews

Workbook for Wheelock's Latin

5 star:		(20)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

While Comeau, LaFleur, and HarperCollins emphasize the usefulness of Wheelock's Latin for those learning the language independently, this Workbook does not make it easy for the independent learner. Although the book states that the answer key is available for free not only to educators but to those who verify independent study status, HarperCollins has continually refused my requests, as an independent student of Latin, for the answer key. Therefore, I am left with a book that seems to contain excellent excercises in Latin, but with no way of checking my work. I have had so much trouble obtaining the answer key that I am even considering returning the book. Buyer beware!

Unlike some other reviewers, I had no trouble getting the answer key. I emailed the site as explained in the book, and within 12 hours, got a response with login and password.

The book is great. The only problem I have with the Wheelock text is I cannot check my sententiae antinquae (but the extra exercises in the back come with an answer key).

This workbook is a great supplement to the main text, especially since you can check your own work.

Wheelock is one of the better books to use for learning Latin, both in classroom and private study settings. One of the disadvantages of Wheelock is that more practice assignments are generally needed than come with the standard chapter questions and sentences. This book by Comeau and LaFleur is of assistance here. LaFleur has 'inherited' the Wheelock text, and is responsible for updated editions.

Comeau and LaFleur follow the same sequence of chapters as does Wheelock, and draw much of the material from the supplementary exercises given by Wheelock in the back of his book. Each chapter's exercises are arranged in four headings - objectives, grammar, drill, and practice sentences. It is in the grammar and drill sections that the real value of this text comes through, given that the practice sentences are already in Wheelock (and the key to them is there).

This is a real workbook -- fill-in-the-blank-type of formatting make it useful for the student to write directly in the book. These could be scored in class, or (where the key is available) by the student himself or herself. There are no supplemental materials here -- no index, no glossary, no key -- as all of these are in Wheelock, and the book assumes ownership of the Wheelock book already.

A useful supplement, this book is worth getting for those who wish to master the material in Wheelock more quickly and more completely. There is an online key to the exercises for those who wish the material (registering at the publisher was required for this when I did it).

This is a good workbook, but if you have "Wheelock's 6th edition, revised", you don't need this. Most of the exercises here are repetitions of the "Optional Self-Tutorial Exercises" in the back of the main book. Sometimes they repeat the *exact* same sentence to be translated! I felt a little deceived. But, I got the answer key easily, despite some complains about it here. They sent me the key in the same day.

Here's a comment I found on Barnes & Noble's website from a person named Camille at HarperCollins. People seem to get an
answer back withing 24 hours from this person, so things are
looking up for all of us studying independantly!

Camille DeAngelis, A reviewer, June 2, 2003,
To access the key, just email wheelocks@harpercollins.com
salvete! I'm very sorry for any less-than-positive experiences you may have had in obtaining the answer key for the Workbook for Wheelock's Latin. I assure you that we are very happy to assist independent students in gaining access to the key--all you have to do is email wheelocks@harpercollins.com and let me know that you're an independent study student, or a homeschool teacher, or whatever you are. I'll give you the username and password for the key, which is accessible on www.harperacademic.com. The only reason the key is password-protected is to keep lazy high school students (such as myself, six years ago!) from peeking at the answers when they haven't done their homework. :)) gratias, Camilla

I have to disagree about the comment made about the Answer Key.
I was able to receive access to the protected section as an independent learner of Latin and that within one business day.

This is a very helpful supplement to Wheelock's Latin! Be sure to send away for the answer key if you are using it for independent study. I did my initial study two years ago and am now using this book again to help me review and brush up on what I have forgotten.

This workbook provides useful additional practice in tandem with Wheelock's Latin, because the grammar and vocabulary for all chapters coincide exactly. Be aware, however, if you purchase this as a supplement to your studies when it is not required by your class, that the ANSWERS to the questions ARE NOT IN THE WORKBOOK but may only be obtained by a school's request. You might check with your teacher to see whether he/she would be willing to grade the work for you, or do as I did and use it as an open-book practice tool.

This workbook is a great for drilling/mastering the Latin concepts in the corresponding chapters in Wheelock's Latin. I'm working through it now myself. I really like extra drill for mastering/internalizing a new language, even though I don't have trouble with grammatical concepts in general (I studied Spanish and French in college, and German after college. I love languages--I was also a computer software consultant before I began homeschooling my children).

I'll also be using this workbook with my kids when they're ready for it (perhaps in 7th or 8th grade). They're currently working through Martha Wilson's Latin Primer series.

Also, thank you very much to the reader who posted the 800 number for the publisher. I called it to request the answer key after I ordered the workbook here on Amazon. They sent it at no charge via UPS, and it arrived in just 6 days (and it beat the workbook to my house).

I find I am about to echo the disappointment of another reviewer who found the publisher unresponsive to his request for a key to the workbook, although the publisher offers such a key. Like that reviewer, the workbook is useless to me without correct answers, as I don't want to practise unknown errors. I have gotten to chapter 5 of the excellent Wheelock textbook, using a key found on the internet which is for a previous edition but usable. However, I will probably return the workbook which is valuless if the exercises can't be corrected. I would surely advise other aspiring independent students to find any "teach-yourself" Latin book for extra practise, despite Wheeelock's brilliant textbook. If a key to translation weren't needed, one could make up for oneself any number of sentences to translate!