Cambridge Latin Course Unit 1 Student's book North American edition (North American Cambridge Latin Course)

Cambridge Latin Course is an old favorite among Latin texts for good reason. While the stories are written with a dry British humor that entertains both children and adults, the narratives are simple enough for younger students to handle with relative ease. Most stories lend themselves very well to reenactment. Grammar is introduced in context, with plenty of reading material for each new concept, so students can achieve an intuitive grasp of different structures. Afterwards, clear and concise grammar explanations are provided. Unit 1 is set in Pompeii, and from the meticulously executed illustrations, students can learn a great deal about archeological findings in Pompeii.Cambridge Latin Course is founded on the reading method of language acquisition. Compared with other texts, there are few exercises available. This is addressed somewhat in the fourth edition and in the supplementary workbook. However, teachers who wish to use this text to teach students to speak or write Latin will have some extra work. One obvious difficulty is that there is no English to Latin glossary included.In the fourth edition of this book, the exercises and the English cultural articles are improved. The stories themselves are almost entirely unchanged. I use the third edition (this one) because I can get them at a cheaper price.I always recommend this text for younger students. Even for those who are using another text, this is a good place to find material for light reading. Reading widely at a comparatively easy level is actually an effective and fun way to progress in Latin.

Finally a chance to learn a second language! Have tried other ways of picking up a language (except immersion into a foreign country) and never had any success. Now that my 14 year old is learning Latin from this book at school, I finally have some incentive to learn! Most amazing is how much Latin is like English. Everything is pronounced the way it is spelled (a huge improvement over many other trickier languages). There is a story line that helps you understand what the situations are and what the characters are talking about which helps you guess even the occasional word that is directly translated.

My daughter is taking Latin with a homeschool cooperative, and they are using this book. It is proving to be a fabulous resource for learning Latin, and Cambridge has a variety of resources to use in conjunction with this and their other books. I highly recommend it!Besides the resources, the book has an easy to read format-you are following the daily life of a citizen of Pompeii (prior to that fateful day in August oh so many years ago, of course!) You learn vocabulary, grammar, and culture side by side.

Great book for home schooling or learning the language on your own. The story which carries through all the books is more addicting than a soap opera. One learns by translating not by drill and memorization. The book seems to use techniques the young children use to learn their first language. By the time one finishes all 4/5 books one is able to sight read classical Latin. For the self learner who wishes still more I recommend Robert Henle but skip first book. You will not need it. I used this book and the others to teach my son Latin.

below average text - attempting to use the technique of picture and word identification for basic vocabulary - - basically kind of an insult to the serious students - the older textbooks were far more effective, and folks managed to learn Latin quite well without the folderol of Modern "Educational Theory" - through which most kids today are inept even in English.

An excellent and engaging introductory text. While this series presents grammar a bit more slowly than some texts, there is ample text for reading practice, and an engaging storyline makes for enjoyable reading.

I use this book for my students, and it is excellent. It serves as the best introduction to Latin that I have found.

The only thing you will really learn from this book is what ancient Roman life was like. This book explains little or nothing about the language, or even how to pronounce the words, which should have been the very first lesson, but was not. Don't believe all the hype you hear about the Cambridge Latin Course, because it is just a bunch of nonsense.