Classical Conversations Practicum visitors, welcome!
Thanks for visiting! Classical Conversations invited us to introduce The Great Latin Adventure to you in the 2012 Practicum Guide. GLA is a proven, user-friendly Latin program with unique features, for Latin beginners. We wrote this page of our site especially for you. We'd like to be of help to your family, whether you're in CC now . . . or will be someday . . . or will pursue Latin on your own outside of CC. Author Katharine Birkett will help you find your Latin wings.
"I love the way you teach—so logically, thoroughly, and engagingly!"
Kimberly P., pleased homeschooler
Catch on | take off
Latin is valuable, Latin is challenging, and you may not have studied it yourself.
If you pursue Latin outside of Classical Conversations,
you want a proven, user-friendly program for beginning Latin students, with plenty of support for beginning or experienced Latin parent/teachers. That's GLA!
"Thank you for GLA! I recommend it to everyone with whom I talk about Latin."
Gail P., homeschooling Mom of several
If you plan to enroll in Classical Conversations, your child will one day face challenging studies in the Henle Latin program. Want to lay a solid foundation now? Want to give your child a running start? The Great Latin Adventure and Henle mesh very well pedagogically, yet GLA offers a child-friendly pace. Get ready, get set, go! with GLA.
If you're already in CC, but not yet in Henle, your child has been learning paradigms and rules. That's valuable, but is your child itching to translate now? GLA puts forms to use right away in enjoyable translation. Plus, popular derivative worksheets! Use Latin now! For a deeper Latin foundation, Classical Conversations gives you the flexibility to supplement with your choice of Latin program at home during the Foundations and Essentials years. (That's why they invited us to introduce ourselves to you!)
Learning Henle with just one class session a week is a challenging task. Let GLA prepare your child and help your child succeed.
You and your child will be able to take off in all these ways because with GLA, you'll catch on.
"Doing GLA has been accomplishing everything I was hoping it would."
Amy C., teaching Latin to herself before her children
Our standards in your service
The Great Latin Adventure went through years of pre-publication testing in multiple venues, plus rigorous proof-reading so that you would receive a tested and proven product. That's a commitment of ours: to "sweat the details" ourselves so that you can focus on learning and teaching.
Katharine Birkett has studied Latin, French, and Russian in intensive settings. Latin ignited her love for language; she went on to master A.P. French; finally she majored in Russian at Princeton. She knows what's ahead in language study! Katharine breaks down hard ideas into bite-sized pieces in simple, friendly language. You and your child are the winners. Let Katharine serve your child with her love for language in
The Great Latin Adventure.
"You have the gift of clear explanations."
Elizabeth H., multilingual student and homeschool Mom
GLA is a good fit with Henle . . . but unique
Classical Conversations' Latin program features Henle—a solid traditional high school program—in its upper years. GLA makes a wonderful foundation for Henle. Yet GLA has its own voice and style.
GLA is a good fit with Henle . . .
Warning: Two solid programs don't always make a solid sequence! But GLA and Henle are very compatible in their teaching approach.
- both are grammar-translation programs
- both make use of long signs ("macrons")
- both give complete vocabulary information for nouns and verbs from the beginning
- both feature translation from Latin and into Latin—not all programs do!
- both include support drills
- CC uses classical pronunciation for Henle; GLA uses classical pronunciation
Want a smooth transition? GLA is a Latin foundation that Henle students won't have to unlearn!
. . . Very compatible, but unique!
The Great Latin Adventure isn't a copy of Henle. It very much has its own voice and style, and offers unique benefits for younger learners and for you—whether or not Henle is your endpoint:
- friendly, informal grammar lessons
- lively translation
- derivative worksheets—
- child-friendly pace with plenty of practice
- review chapters to consolidate mastery
- built-in vocabulary quizzes and tests—
- unique support for English-to-Latin translation
- worksheet format,
- fully-featured Teacher's Manual—
"The teaching notes are like having your own private Latin tutor alongside you as you teach!"
Amy O., co-op instructor
GLA provides an excellent Latin foundation, and significant English vocabulary enrichment and English grammar study, as well! All in a child-friendly, teacher-friendly package that helps you learn to teach—even if you've never taught or even studied Latin before.
"The derivative worksheets are simply unparalleled."
Karen K.-C., co-op founder
If I don't go all the way, what do I take away?
Are you interested in Latin, but not actually sure yet that you want your child to study it for many years? You are not alone! Latin is a great language and mastering it carries many benefits. But there are other subjects to study, too, other priorities. Not everyone who begins Latin finishes it, or needs to.
But if you only study Latin for a few years, what will you and your children get out of it?
That depends on what program you pick!
Not to get too geeky right here—other pages at our site do that—but The Great Latin Adventure takes a path through Latin grammar that maximizes the value of your Latin study time, even if you decide to only study Latin for a few years.
GLA majors on the central features of Latin as an inflected language. (In an inflected language, words change their form—usually their endings—to convey meaning.)
GLA graduates know how an inflected language works. They've learned more than just vocabulary, forms and chants unique to Latin, which are of limited value in studying the next inflected language.
GLA graduates go on to Greek or other inflected languages and have a great advantage: they recognize familiar territory in the grammar of that inflected language, and they know how to tackle translation in that language, because in GLA they learned what inflected languages have in common.
Whatever amount of Latin you plan to study . . .
choose a program that gives you a takeaway if you don't go all the way.
Why study Latin, anyway?
- English vocabulary enrichment
- a jump start on Romance languages,
- learning how an inflected language works,
- biting your child with the language bug,
- a much better grasp on what grammar is for,
- learning orderly thinking,
- access to valuable literature in Latin,
When are these benefits realized? The last—access to great literature—takes the longest. As for the rest, you can begin to realize these benefits within a few years of study, if you choose a program that supports your goals.
Read more about these benefits of Latin study.
Learn more
Take a chapter tour to see how it all works! Visit the
Latin curriculum page and the Latin FAQ page for lots more information. Read about us. Read reviews—see sidebar—or extended testimonials.
To order, click a cover thumbnail on this page, or visit our product list.
We offer logic, too
The 2012 Practicum is about teaching Latin—so this page is about GLA—but don't miss our Logic program, Logic I: Tools for Thinking, by Norman M. Birkett!
"Many told me the changes they saw in their children. They learned more than just logic!"
Becky G., co-op teacher
Our relationship with Classical Conversations
Classical Conversations and Classical Legacy Press are both committed to helping others realize the benefits of Latin study. We both believe that grammar-translation programs offer proven benefits.
Classical Conversations teaches Latin memory facts in its early program years, but does not embark on more extensive translation until the Henle years. More and more CC families are expressing a desire to pursue in-depth Latin study sooner.
CC welcomes this desire, and invited us to introduce
The Great Latin Adventure to Practicum attendees in 2012 as a solid choice for CC families.
We thank Classical Conversations for helping us to meet you.
Your relationship with Classical Conversations
You may be just learning about CC—not yet settled on your final direction—or you may be a long-term CC member. GLA can help you either way.
And, life happens! Your situation is unique, and you're guiding a unique group of children. Not all your children are the same type of student; you may have a move ahead of you; you may move in and out of a co-op setting, or you may have one child in co-op while you teach others exclusively at home. Maybe you'd like to learn Latin yourself, so you can teach it! Maybe you respect and value a strong fact foundation, but your child does better learning facts with context, and you'd like to provide that mix of context and translation sooner than Henle.
We'd like to help you on your Latin journey. You can be as satisfied as the users on this page!
Your relationship with us
Please feel free to contact us with your questions or comments. We'd like to know how we can help.
Your satisfaction is guaranteed with our 90-day unconditional guarantee. Hardly anyone returns GLA—but you have that assurance.
We look forward to hearing from you!
Your discount code
As a Practicum visitor, please use the one-time discount code from your Practicum guide to receive a ten dollar discount on your next purchase in 2012.
To get your discount, please contact us after you place your order, start your message with the discount code, and let us know which Practicum you visited. We will refund ten dollars
to you via PayPal once we fulfill your order.
Thank you for your trust; our checkout does not currently support automated discount processing. We will conscientiously implement this discount to be sure you receive what you are due.
Place your order
To order, click a cover thumbnail on this page, or visit the product list. And save today—send us your discount code!
You can pay by credit card through PayPal even if you do not have a PayPal account. Or you can order by mail. Details are available on our policies page.
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