Living Latin is a self-paced online course that offers a complete introduction to the Latin language. It features animated videos teaching Latin grammar, a graded reader which starts out in simple Latin and gradually increases in difficulty as students master grammar and vocabulary, and supplementary articles on the history and culture of the Latin language across the centuries. It is available for individual learners and for teachers, who can enroll their students in a class and access a reporting system, which allows them to keep track of their students' progress.
Living Latin features one hundred fun, engaging videos teaching Latin grammar. These videos start with the basics of the language, like pronunciation, and proceed all the way through the most complex topics in Latin grammar necessary to read authentic Latin texts. All grammar videos are followed by written summaries of the main topics covered, as well as quizzes that check students' comprehension.
Living Latin includes a graded reader of more than 80,000 Latin words. This reader tells the story of a group of students from around the world studying abroad in modern Rome. As the students adventure around Italy, they visit famous monuments from the past and read ancient, medieval, and Renaissance Latin texts associated with those monuments. Eventually, the story develops into a fast-paced mystery novel.
The reader's early chapters are in extremely simple Latin, designed to be easy to understand for English speakers. Over 60 chapters, the Latin becomes increasingly challenging, ultimately reaching the level of Cicero or Renaissance humanists.
Each chapter includes a short article in English expanding on aspects of Latin language history and culture, covering not only ancient Rome but also Late Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance.
Quizzes follow each lesson to check student comprehension. Every chapter includes reading comprehension assessments, and every five chapters features a larger summative assessment in both English and Latin.
All Living Latin users have access to a general Forum, an online message board where they can post questions and interact with other users. The forum is monitored by Paideia staff, who are available to answer questions.
Teachers whose students are using Living Latin gain access to the platform's customized reporting tools. These tools allow teachers to view student performance in the course, and filter by individual student or specific quiz or lesson elements.
"I've been looking for a text that would allow me to use more Latin in the classroom and build the students' comprehension with lots of repetition and colloquial phrases. I think that the Living Latin textbook will help my students acquire the language more naturally and thoroughly. Plus, the language learning videos are a great resource for the students to access on their own."
L.J. Scurfield, High School Latin Teacher
"I am an autodidact, and had a little Latin under my belt before beginning your course. I write to tell you how very impressed with the pedagogy of the course, as well as the overall design and function of the site. I'm particularly impressed with the chapters in English on Roman history; they're extremely well written and very informative. [...] I only hope a million others feel the same way, so that your excellent work may continue."
William Laws, Independent Learner