Oh, I agree that the reading cards can be a crutch like anything. I feel, though, that they help to develop an ability to read in word order, to develop an appreciation for EXACTLY what you see so far in a sentence (focusing on morphology), and to develop a sense of EXSPECTANCY.
I see too many students guess at the meaning of a story because they know the context and vocabulary, NOT THE MORPHOLOGY.
I want to develop a more fluent style, one that is more oral Latin. But I think there will be days where you have to get the students to develop their Latin "head".
This summer when I was at Cicero Camp (as I put it), I didn't have time for reading cards or metaphrasing--I had to read it all straight through. There wasn't enough time. But if I found I got really lost, instead of reaching for a translation like I did in college, I went back to the beginning and made myself work it through as if I did have a reading card, as if I were metaphrasing. And it would help me to see those connections that I somehow missed when reading through it.
I have this idea that I'd like to teach a Latin class to juniors or seniors who have 2-3 years of French or Spanish under their belts. I could make it an accelerated course, moving much faster because they already know about conjugating and whatnot, right?! And they'd make a connection with derivatives in Spanish and French. Best of all, I could probably really push an all Latin day, all commands, instructions, discussions in Latin without fear of totally losing anyone, because they should be used to it. I'm going to try to do a survey...maybe make an announcement, if no one minds.
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rosecarmine
Re: Translation v. Just Reading
Date: 2006-10-30 10:24 pm (UTC)I see too many students guess at the meaning of a story because they know the context and vocabulary, NOT THE MORPHOLOGY.
I want to develop a more fluent style, one that is more oral Latin. But I think there will be days where you have to get the students to develop their Latin "head".
This summer when I was at Cicero Camp (as I put it), I didn't have time for reading cards or metaphrasing--I had to read it all straight through. There wasn't enough time. But if I found I got really lost, instead of reaching for a translation like I did in college, I went back to the beginning and made myself work it through as if I did have a reading card, as if I were metaphrasing. And it would help me to see those connections that I somehow missed when reading through it.
I have this idea that I'd like to teach a Latin class to juniors or seniors who have 2-3 years of French or Spanish under their belts. I could make it an accelerated course, moving much faster because they already know about conjugating and whatnot, right?! And they'd make a connection with derivatives in Spanish and French. Best of all, I could probably really push an all Latin day, all commands, instructions, discussions in Latin without fear of totally losing anyone, because they should be used to it. I'm going to try to do a survey...maybe make an announcement, if no one minds.