Learning Latin in Birmingham

[UmSusu]

I have no idea ourmam, but I hope to find out!

Thanks everyone, what an informative bunch of people you all are

[reeyah]

UmSusu, maybe I can help by teaching you a few Latin terms :

1 mane alt.die ( one in the morning, on alternate days )

1 t.d.s ( take one three times a day )

2 nocte per rectum ( insert two at night, u know where !!)

Pharmaceutical terms we use to this day

Latin is such an interesting language, I would love my children to be taught it at school!

Good luck!

[UmSusu]

Good to know Reeyah.

How do you know those? Or maybe I don't want to know

I will be looking at some early medicine manuscripts, so you never know, I might just be thanking you for those! I always wanted to be able to know what all those coats of arms read

[reeyah]

I'm a pharmacist UmSusu

[poiuyt]

I did o level Latin, got a b grade, vaguely remember pater, mater, a dog, caecilius and stuff. Don't meet too many fellow Latin speakers nowadays

[JaneEyre]

Do you offer lessons JaneEyre, or know of someone, as you seem to have an impressive grasp of languages? Thanks.

No, unfortunately, I don't teach Latin, but I have fond memories of it (and even more of Greek), that's why I wish my DS to learn it/(them?) too.

Many GS have dropped Latin ; unfortunately, BV is dropping it also this year (or last year?) .

However, you may ask at KES or KEHS if some classic teachers there could teach you privately?

Check also at Brasshouse. I have taught French there and I know that there is a bulletin board in the teacher staff room (or at least there used to be) where there are some advertisements: 'Looking for Latin teacher (female teacher) for once a week, during school hours, bla bla bla...'

Check also the books on loan at the library for a start... the time that you sort out a tutor for you...

Is the W versus V issue whether it's church Latin or not?

I am also very interested to know because in France, I have always pronounced it V, but when I saw here the Cambridge course followed by a young teenage girl at KEHS, it was pronounced W. I was very surprised...

By the way, umsusu, the Cambridge course is with sound while you can read on the computer the text. However, I have heard that it is really a lot of civilisation, but not proper Latin grammar. It seems that for a good grasp of the grammar, you should go for
So You Really Want to Learn Latin Book 1: A Textbook for Common Entrance and GCSE
by N.R.R. Oulton

I paste here the info I gathered from a lady who uses this book for her DS in year 6:
I use the Galore Park books. I bought the first one So You Really Want to Learn Latin, from Waterstones but they are available either direct from Galore Park, or from amazon. You might get free delivery from amazon, so check out the prices.
They are quite expensive, but worth every penny. I home educate my DS, and have a friend who does the same and has a classics degree. She says Galore Park are much better than Cambridge Latin.
I think I probably agree. I did Latin myself and so did my sister. I totally hated it and I'm sure it was the way it was taught.
I now find it quite fascinating, but the book does explain, right at the start, that if you want to learn Latin you have to be prepared to learn it off by heart.
There are ten very clearly explained chapters, each ending with a piece in english about Roman history and a comprehension test - sentences required! Cambridge Latin (to my amazement) seems to contain an awful lot of history and customs all studied in english, which I always thought should come under Classical Civilisation, not Latin, in that quantity.
Right from the start you learn four tenses in one go - present, imperfect, future and perfect, and right from the start you can translate short phrases and sentences each way.
It goes on to introduce several conjugations, declensions, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, all the cases etc, and at the end, the verb to be, plus the pluperfect and future perfect.
This may sound a lot, but it is so well put together, and well explained, that it seems quite easy.

I haven't had yet the time to go deeper in this research (waiting to know where DS will go for his secondary school. If it's KES, great, I won't have to sort that matter myself!), but please, let me know how you get on with your Latin studies, and then later on with your Arabic/French translations!!!

[JaneEyre]

I forgot to add that in the film 'Goodbye Mr Chips' ( I am talking about the 1939 version with Starring Robert Donat), Mr Chips, who is a Latin teacher, 'rebels' when his head asks him to change his pronunciation of the letter 'c': [k] to or to [k] (sorry, I forgot).
I really recommand you this film... A very touching one...
This is a wonderfully sentimental depiction of public school life in the Victorian and Edwardian eras and beyond.It is the story of the 60 plus year life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping (Robert Donat), from neophyte teacher to hopefully Head Master. On his way he will make several mistakes and learn from them.

[JaneEyre]

I am thinking of it now. Instead of having an advertisment posted on a bulletin board at Brasshouse, as I imagine there won't be many many Latin teachers (I make the assumption that, in the brochure, the lesson hours are far less for Latin than for some modern languages ), you could ask at the reception how many Latin teachers there are and have a letter from you posted in their pigeon hole.
Good luck!

[UmSusu]

JaneEyre, it was very kind of you write such a detailed response. Thankyou . I will look into the things you suggested - contacting a tutor through brasshouse might be a good way to find someone.

Thank you.

[um]

Of all the Grammars we visited the only one that taught Latin is KES Stratford Upon Avon.

I would imagine that KES (Edgbaston) will teach it obviously, and I understand that it is a compulsory GCSE in KEHS.

I actually remember seeing an advert on gumtree ages ago for a Latin/Classics teacher (in Northfield or thereabouts). I was looking for an Arabic teacher at the time though!