<p>I was considering self-learning Latin over the summer primarily through Rosetta stone but I'm not sure I would be able to demonstrate this to colleges bc I would not be at an AP level. Of course it would be interesting but I had just wanted some feedback from people who learned a language themselves and whether or not it was worth it. Thanks!</p>
<p>The AP exams are not the only way to demonstrate your proficiency in Latin. The National Latin exam might be a good idea for you. Here is a link [The</a> National Latin Exam](<a href=“http://www.nle.org/]The”>http://www.nle.org/) The College Board also offers an SAT II for Latin [Latin</a> SAT Subject Test - SAT Latin Practice Questions](<a href=“The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board”>The SAT – SAT Suite | College Board) You also may be able to find a local college/university that offers its own placement exam in Latin where the professors are willing to evaluate your language skills.</p>
<p>Good luck!</p>
<p>Thank you 
I will def look into that! Any other suggestions?</p>
<p>Rosetta Stone spends heavily on advertising, that’s why you’ve heard of it. However it may not be the best way to learn. I suggest you spend some time on the web looking into self-study techniques for learning foreign languages. There is a nice forum at [Language</a> Learning Forum](<a href=“http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp]Language”>http://how-to-learn-any-language.com/forum/default.asp) and also some articles there. </p>
<p>I also suggest considering interlinear Latin books; this is actually the way languages were taught in the 1700s and is kinda fun. You read the Latin (or whatever language) and it has the English translation right below the Latin, line by line. The idea is that you absorb the Latin thru sheer repitition of seeing words again and again, but meanwhile you’re entertaining yourself with the translated story or speech. Many people learned Latin, Hebrew, Greek, etc. thru this method but it fell out of favor for modern languages.</p>
<p>However I doubt you’re going to “learn it over the summer”, at least not to any reasonable degree of proficiency. For related Romance Languages you can find an estimate of how long it would take here: <a href=“http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers[/url]”>http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Language_Learning_Difficulty_for_English_Speakers</a></p>
<p>If you’re truly interested in learning Latin then almost any formal approach is better than none. It gets you started and it helps keeps you going. A formal class is infinitely better.</p>
<p>But if your goal is to somehow impress colleges through self study of a language for a summer through CDs and the web. That I think is pointless. If anything it would cheapen your application.</p>
<p>Is there a particular reason you want to study Latin? The grammar can be very difficult and sometimes might require a teacher, unlike other “easier” languages. I’ve never self-studied, but do you know what a gerund is? How about a gerundive? What about the future perfect? I mean, I’m sure you could struggle through it and come to understand these but without a solid backing in English grammar it would be much harder than some other languages.</p>
<p>Thanks for everyone’s comments!</p>
<p>Well, @ quomodo, the grammar is one of the reasons I want to learn Latin bc our school does not have a strong English department and I would like to learn some grammar myself (and yes I do know what those things are…thanks to spanish :)). But why would it “cheapen” my application. I would think that taking the initiative to study another language would be great…correct me if I am wrong on that. Oh also I want to learn latin in order to help with science (naming and such).</p>
<p>@ fogcity, I would love that but unfourtunately that would not be an option for me considering my school does not offer it and my unversity only allows students to take 2 courses per semester over the summer which I have already filled :(</p>
<p>Latin is very heavy in grammar…
so if you hope to cram enough in a summer–move on…
save yourself the time.
Its been 5 yrs of National (international actually) exams, etc etc,
Our student (Honors and AP) has just taken the AP Latin Vergil…
it is not a self study kind of thing…
To master it for the AP required a 50 line per night translation all school yr.
…on top of 4 previous years
just my 2 cents</p>
<p>Not to be harsh, but if you want to learn grammar get a grammar book. And if you know what that is from Spanish… seems you already have a pretty good grasp of grammar. I think it’s great you want to self-study a language, and that you appreciate the value of Latin. But you’re kidding yourself if you think you can master it in the summer, and when school starts up are you really going to be able to keep up with it? Probably not. I’d choose an easier language, and wait until college.</p>
<p>Linguistically speaking, Latin is no more heavy in grammar than any other language. Unfortunately, it is often taught with methodology that is highly dependent on the over-use of descriptive grammar, which is why people get the notion that it is so hard to learn.</p>
<p>One of the most useful things to be learned from the study of Latin, is that many languages express noun case through word endings, rather than through word order (as English tends to do) or with a complex system of prepositions (also a feature of English). Granted, English is not completely devoid of case endings, and Latin is not devoid of prepositions, but they are pretty far apart on that scale. Also, if you do like descriptive grammar, mastering the vocabulary for talking about what is going on in that long complex Latin sentence will set you up well for future discussions about grammar structures in other languages (including English).</p>
<p>Everyone keeps mentioning “easier” languages. What precisely are these “easy” languages?</p>
<p>^An easy language is one that’s closely related to ones in which you are already fluent.</p>
<p>Formally speaking, there is no such thing as an “easier” language because all languages are equally easy for babies to learn. However when it comes to acquiring a second language, generally speaking the more similarities a language has to your own the easier it will be for you to master it. For native monolingual English speakers, French, German, Spanish, and Italian would be among those that usually are easiest to master, while Chinese and Japanese would be among those that usually are the most difficult to master. It also is important to remember that a great deal depends on the student’s level of motivation and the specific instructional methodology used. If you want to learn Latin, and you have come across a self-study methodology that you think will work for you, go for it. You have nothing to lose and much to gain.</p>