“Latin allows you to adore words, take them apart and find out where they came from. “
Dr. Seuss
Dr. Seuss
At Sacred Heart we believe that ‘Everyone is Sacred’ and that learning another language provides many rich opportunities to develop our children’s spiritual, moral and cultural understanding and to develop a sense of being an international citizen of God’s common home. We want to nurture a curiosity for languages and open the door to many new, exciting and fulfilling opportunities in our children’s future lives as global citizens.
Why Latin?
“At Sacred Heart, we have chosen to teach Latin because of the rich opportunities that come with learning this ancient language. As well as being a fascinating language in its own right, knowledge of Latin helps to develop literacy skills. Through Latin, children develop their knowledge of spelling and vocabulary through learning Latin roots of English words and deepen their understanding of grammar. Alongside language learning, the study of Roman and Greek civilisations aids cultural literacy, encourages cultural insights and gives opportunities for wide-ranging thinking across many linked subjects (including history, philosophy, art, maths and science).
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic
sources.
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of
communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking
questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of
grammatical structures that they have learnt.
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
At Sacred Heart we deliver on the above aims through an intensive Latin programme [Maximum Classics] across KS2. Children receive weekly Latin lessons that include both language learning and classics (study of Ancient Rome and Greece), enabling them to make substantial progress in the language. Lessons provide a balance of spoken and written language, enabling children to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing. The focus is to provide a foundation for reading comprehension and an appreciation of classical civilisation.”
In a nutshell
• It offers the opportunity to reinforce the teaching of English vocabulary and grammar
• The language lends itself to a systematic and effective style of teaching
• Latin is a logical step after phonics, reinforcing the notion of structure and pattern in
language
• It provides a paradigm for language learning in KS3 and beyond, and enables the learning of
other romance languages such as Spanish and French
• Teaching the subject allows insights into myth and other cultural aspects that form the basis
of modern Western culture
“At Sacred Heart, we have chosen to teach Latin because of the rich opportunities that come with learning this ancient language. As well as being a fascinating language in its own right, knowledge of Latin helps to develop literacy skills. Through Latin, children develop their knowledge of spelling and vocabulary through learning Latin roots of English words and deepen their understanding of grammar. Alongside language learning, the study of Roman and Greek civilisations aids cultural literacy, encourages cultural insights and gives opportunities for wide-ranging thinking across many linked subjects (including history, philosophy, art, maths and science).
The national curriculum for languages aims to ensure that all pupils:
• Understand and respond to spoken and written language from a variety of authentic
sources.
• Speak with increasing confidence, fluency and spontaneity, finding ways of
communicating what they want to say, including through discussion and asking
questions, and continually improving the accuracy of their pronunciation and intonation.
• Can write at varying length, for different purposes and audiences, using the variety of
grammatical structures that they have learnt.
• Discover and develop an appreciation of a range of writing in the language studied.
At Sacred Heart we deliver on the above aims through an intensive Latin programme [Maximum Classics] across KS2. Children receive weekly Latin lessons that include both language learning and classics (study of Ancient Rome and Greece), enabling them to make substantial progress in the language. Lessons provide a balance of spoken and written language, enabling children to understand and communicate ideas, facts and feelings in speech and writing. The focus is to provide a foundation for reading comprehension and an appreciation of classical civilisation.”
In a nutshell
• It offers the opportunity to reinforce the teaching of English vocabulary and grammar
• The language lends itself to a systematic and effective style of teaching
• Latin is a logical step after phonics, reinforcing the notion of structure and pattern in
language
• It provides a paradigm for language learning in KS3 and beyond, and enables the learning of
other romance languages such as Spanish and French
• Teaching the subject allows insights into myth and other cultural aspects that form the basis
of modern Western culture