A Few Study Tips for Latin

A Few Study Tips for Latin

Study in short sessions (15-20 minutes at a time); study in multiple sessions (2-3 per day)
Use as many senses as you can when you study – read something, say it out loud so you hear it, write it down again, repeat
Draw pictures of your stories, sentences, or vocabulary to help make them make sense
Color code your notes and vocabulary
Recopy your notes when you go home in the evening
Write down any questions you have when you review your notes or work on your homework, and remember to ask them in class the next day
Work with another person from class – quiz each other on the material you have learned (text, IM, email, talk, etc)
Redo older homework and classwork assignments, without looking at your corrected answers from class – keep those as an “answer key” to check your work when you’re done
Create a Reading Card – cut a notch out of the top of an index card – and use it to practice reading and understanding Latin in word order
Reread older stories in Latin, both aloud and to yourself, and make notes when you don’t understand something – write out a summary, then a translation after you reread
Create rhymes or mnemonic devices to help you remember (e.g. the Dative uses “to” and “for”; 2 and 4 are Dates)

Devices to Help You Study

Flash Cards! They’re portable, easy-to-use, and versatile. You can use them to study endings, vocabulary, grammar, just about anything! Write the Latin on one side, the English on the other. Draw a picture of your vocabulary word on one side, and write the Latin on the other. Write an ending on one side, its case and number (for nouns) or person and number (for verbs) on the other. Write the name of a case on one side and what it does on the other. The possibilities are endless!

Dry-Erase Board! Also versatile, and environmentally friendly. Saves lots of paper. Copy out your ending charts. Write vocabulary quizzes. Do practice sentences (fill in endings, translate, label).

Reading Card! This is an index card with a rectangular notch cut out of the top left corner. Use it to cover all but the word you are looking at in a reading, and read word by word, in order, to get a sense of the sentence the way the Romans would have read it.

Online Resources! There are tons of sites to help you study Latin – do a quick search on quia.com or quizlet.com, and you will find a plethora of activities, many of them keyed to your book. Quizlet even lets you download sets of flashcards to android/iphone/ipod devices, so you can take them with you wherever you go!