The Classical Mind Newsletter for May 19, 2023

A Latin Journal, Forever – is Composed of Nows, Seeing Mrs. Riddle, and Course Offerings

Housekeeping
-We will consider the final intellectual virtue, Wisdom, in the next newsletter.
-The next June episode will feature Karen Swallow Prior and our discussion will be on Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe.

Keeping A Latin Journal

Undergraduate student Lee Lanzillotta writes about how keeping a diary in Latin helps him acquire important language skills. In writing his entries, he was able to integrate newly learned vocabulary and phrases and maintain basic grammar skills. Usus est magister optimus!

As a Latin teacher, I have gravitated towards a language learning approach that emphasizes immersion more than the acquisition of grammar rules. Certainly, students should learn what an accusative case is and what it means for a sentence to contain a direct object. Still, an approach that privileges grammar-based learning tends to cut against the grain of human language acquisition. When you were three, were you learning systematic rules and memorizing paradigms? No, you were speaking, hearing, and slowly putting it all together.