FAQ

If you are like me, you will never look at the questions other people have asked, but just in case you do, these are some of the things that crop up that just might be things you wondered about yourself.
Who is this course designed for?

Learners of all levels and abilities can use this course. It is designed to take students from scratch, but it's not exactly a beginners' course. Many quite advanced students have told me that they have used it from page 1 even though they have been leaning Latin for many years.

How long will it take?

The course is made up of three books, and there is no simple answer to how long it will take. It's entirely down to the learner, how long they are able to spend on Latin each week, and how committed they are to the cause! In a school setting, you might expect each book to represent a year's work, but home learners would expect to go faster than that.

Where can I buy copies of the book?

You can buy them from this website. If you would prefer, you can buy them from Amazon or in bookshops.

Do you deliver overseas?

Yes. We have customers in Australia, New Zealand, USA, India, Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Hong Kong, Singapore.... and that's just from memory. Currently we are only able to sell the PDF versions to USA - don't ask me why - but I hope that will change shortly.

Delivery times

We try to send out orders the next day, generally by 2nd class post. If you are ordering from overseas, we send them out by the most reliable/affordable/speedy method possible, but are of course then in the hands of the international postal system. It seems to work though.

Are there digital versions of the course available?

Yes. All three books, and the corresponding Answer Books, are available both in hard copy format and as PDFs. Just select the format you wish when choosing the book.

Do I need to buy the Answer Books?

For students using the course on their own to learn Latin, yes, we recommend you buy the Answer Books. If you don't, you won't know if you are getting the exercises right.

Why are the Answer Books separate from the textbooks?

We print the answers separately from the rest of the book because for those using them in school, the teachers generally don't want the pupils 'looking up the answers'!

How is this course different from other Latin courses?

Latin used to be taught in the way that it is taught here. Pupils learnt the grammar and vocabulary off by heart, and spent a great deal of time composing sentences in Latin which their teachers would mark with red pen. In the 1970s, or there abouts, there was a change of heart by many teachers, who thought that this approach was dated and off-putting. (The same thing happened in the teaching of French and other modern languages). I won't say too much about what I think about the more modern method of learning languages, but will just say that the method in this course is for those who REALLY want to learn Latin.

Why do people say Latin helps with English spelling?

Because it does! Very, very, very many English words are derived from Latin ones, and a knowledge of the Latin word helps enormously when coming to spell the English one.