Henle First Year Latin

This Latin course from Loyola Press was designed for the serious student. It appears to be very thorough and fairly rigorous. The four levels were designed to use one each year of high school, for a total of four years of Latin. The digest sized books vary in length between 480 and 627 pages. The study of Latin is done systematically, starting with the basics and moving into readings and translations. The skills covered in the first books include a thorough mastery of forms, basic syntax, and simple vocabulary to prepare students for simple readings and translations. Each lesson is followed by several exercises. Because different people learn faster, the exercises vary in difficulty and students are not required to work them all, rather, they can choose ones that they are ready for. Any required exercises are marked. There is plenty of material for both class and private study. The second book is more intensive. Besides reviewing the first year's lessons, students tackle readings from Caesar's Commentaries, work extensive exercises, and complete Latin-English and English-Latin activities. There are several boxes of vocabulary for each lesson. Students who have completed the first year should be able to start right into the readings; however, the first 16 lessons provide a review and a slower start into the second year if students are not ready to jump right into Caesar. The readings also progress in difficulty, starting with simple sentences. The third book is an introduction to Cicero. The majority of the exercises are composed of readings, which the student translates from English into Latin, or from Latin into English. The exercises are all based on Cicero. When students progress to the fourth level of Henle Latin, they are translating longer readings. The text is based entirely from Cicero and Virgil. All four books are written in a very non-flowery and straightforward way, and each one includes word lists and English-Latin and Latin-English vocabulary in the back of the book. There is also an accompanying book titled Latin Grammar, for use with all four levels. This 270-page volume is split into two units. Unit I covers forms of nouns, adjectives, adverbs, numerals, pronouns, and verbs. Unit II introduces syntax, word order, main and subordinate clauses, cases, rules for place and time, prepositions, diagramming and many other essentials. Though it can and should be used for review and reference alongside the third and fourth years, the grammar book is directly used with the first two books. In the lessons, it assigns specific sections of the grammar book to go along with the exercises. The grammar book is strongly recommended for use with all of the books. Please note that this Latin course is from a Catholic publisher, and the content of the books reflects this, especially in the First Year text. - Melissa