Latin is alive and kicking!

A new class of 23 students from the Archbishop's Seminary third form started their study of Latin on October 1.

This group inaugurated the new computer labaratory that was set up with the aim of integrating further ICT with the learning activities taking place in the classroom.

The Minor Seminary never stopped offering Latin to its students, but of late only a few have chosen it as an area of study. This year, following a drive to promote Latin, almost half the students opted for a Latin session after school hours.

Rev. Dr Nicholas Aquilina, BA, Lic.D., D.Litt., Dip. Educ. (Adm. & Mgt) teaches the class. In fact he accepted the task enthusiastically. We chose Wheelock's Latin Grammar (sixth edition), complete with workbook and Internet site.

This grammar is used extensively, in particular for beginner's courses, at universities in America. It integrates ancient Latin authors with grammar lessons and has an excellent graphic presentation.

As a complement to this we introduced a "Teach yourself Latin" kit complete with audiocassettes that include news in Latin broadcast daily from Finland. We even subscribed to contemporary youth magazines in Latin called Iuvenis and Adulescens.

The multimedia approach entices the students to learn while it facilitates the process. It also purports to show that, apart from Malta, Latin is still a much-taught subject with plenty of teaching resources available.

We hope that our students will widen their culture, enhance their linguistic ability, and improve upon their reasoning skills. We also augur that this will be a valid contribution to Maltese academia.

Fr Cilia is the headmaster of the Archbishop's Seminary.