Rating: 
Summary: seductive curriculum, beautifully organized
Review: I had never had any interest in learning Latin, although languages and grammar come easily to me and are enjoyable. I picked up the first part of the Oxford First Latin Course and flipped through it only because its design was so appealing. I found the curriculum so well organized and accessible that it seduced me into learning Latin, a hobby I'm continuing to pursue through the whole excellent series. It's so well designed that one can slide through it almost effortlessly. Wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: It really depends on your enjoyment of the subject
Review: I have been learning Latin in school for 2 years and i bought part 2 and 3 today allready they have helped me with some complicated homework. These books are ideal for someone learning from an outside source as a refrence guide, it will help you along and raise interesting questions to ask you tutor.
Rating: 
Summary: Choose Another Book!
Review: I have learned a half dozen languages and used many different books to do so...this one is by far the most irritating! The book does not give very clear explanations for the cases & grammar in Latin and I was halfway through chapter 5 when I realized that the majority of my questions could be answered at the back of the book, where all the grammar excersises are. This book isn't terrible, just confusing. It has strangely drawn cartoons (like Sunday comic strips) to help you understand the dialogue, and some excellent history stories about what life was probably like in ancient Rome. If you really want to learn Latin, though, I am told that Wheelock's is a much better book. I recommend taking a chance with that book instead of this one.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad Latin course, but there are better ones out there.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Not a bad Latin course, but there are better ones out there.
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but difficult to understand without help
Review: I have this book, and it helped me realize that I enjoy Latin. However, the grammar is not explained very well, and I find that I cannot learn a new chapter without guidance from a teacher. Since I live in an area without many Latin teachers, I had difficulty utilizing this book with independent study. However, with a teacher to explain the grammar, this book would be all right. Another problem is that the cartoons at the beginning of each chapter are poorly drawn. Even though this might seem trivial to some, it really does bother me. Personally, I would look for a better text, but this one is OK if you have a teacher.
Rating:
Summary: Good Start
Review: I just completed primus annus Latin at a local university. We used the first 2 books of this Oxford 4-book series by Balme and Morwood. They were a good start. I was quite impressed at the way the authors moved from one concept to the next, generally speaking. I have a few nits, however. The exercises are at the end of the book, whereas each chapter contains vocabulary and readings. I was compelled to be flipping back and forth perpetually. If there needed to be any separation at all, the ideal would be to have the vocab and exercises (learning development) in the chapter, and the readings at the end. The way to tackle each chapter, therefore, is to do the vocab, read the lessons, write the exercises, and then do the readings; the book design should reflect this. Secondly, without an answer key of some sort, students often plunged ahead on the homework without knowing if they were on the right track until their next class. Thirdly, the authors had a tendency to sneak in bits and pieces of new material every now and then which have not been covered, and wouldn't be for another chapter or two. So you get occasionally confused. Unlike others, I don't mind the art-work! On a grand scale, I think these books overall were good because they moved logically through the tenses and forms, building upon each concept. Book 1 dealt primarily with nouns and declensions; Book 2 with verb conjugations and tenses. Next fall I tackle Books 3-4. VALE.
Rating:
Summary: Good...yet slightly dull
Review: I took a latin course for both Part one and two of this book. It was extremely chalenging and the book would've been almost useless without a teacher. Also, the cartoons (which are not drawn very well) get a tad dry with the never-ending "Cena Parata est!"
Rating: 
Summary: Not the way to go, IMHO
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Ok, but difficult to understand without help
Review: I would have to agree that reviews written by students and autodidacts are pretty much useless. Having taught Latin from about a dozen textbooks, I have this much to say to Latin teachers who are looking for a good textbook: do NOT, for mercy's sake, use the Oxford series until they finally publish complementary materials. The stories and arrangement in the Oxford series aren't all that bad, but all their merits are more than nullified by the mere fact that complementary materials virtually do not exist. I'm starting at a new school where the previous teacher used Oxford, so I'm stuck with it for at least one more year. What that means is I'll have to spend at least 10 hours a week writing worksheets, exercises, and stories for tests (and if you've ever taught Latin you would know how hard it is to write or revise stories for tests--you'd have to make sure they know all the vocab, all the grammar.) All my work to make up for what the lazy Oxford editors didn't do. The drills at the back of the book and on the Internet Workbook are simply foolish. No self-respecting Latin teacher would find them useful. I personally prefer Ecce Romani series because they come with workbooks and testbooks...which make my job oh so much easier. The Oxford Series also makes a sorry attempt at 'balancing' the traditional (grammar) approach and the new (living language) approach; the result is it fails miserably at both. If you prefer the traditional, use Jenny. If you prefer the extreme of the new, use Cambridge. If you prefer one that does the best job at both, use Ecce Romani.
Somebody was wondering who drew all the terrible pictures: the editor's wife, who obviously has no skills whatsoever, did. I'd chalk that one up to one of Oxford's good points, though. Since the book is so bad, the teacher might as well spend their class time making fun of the drawings instead.
|
