Back in 2018, the Cambridge School Classics Project (CSCP) began its Caecilius is Listening research to inform plans for a new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course (CLC). One of the greatest concerns for teachers was the difficulty in making best use of the CLC in an educational context filled with external pressures and seemingly ever-changing measures of success. We listened carefully to the feedback we received and resolved to adapt and re-organize content to better meet the needs of our community.
The new edition still consists of four books; taking students from absolute beginners to being able to begin reading authors of their choice or follow a more advanced course of study such as the AP or IB curricula. The vast majority of core language content is covered by the end of Unit 3, with Unit 4 helping students transition to reading authentic classical Latin texts. This transition is now aided by inclusion of far more material in translation, to increase student familiarity with ancient authors and the content of their works, as well as increased ancient material that has been ‘tiered’ to enable its inclusion earlier in the course.
Refining the original language scheme required careful precision: it was highly engineered from its conception. Dr John B Wilkins, an early linguistic consultant, designed learning materials which would be built up “according to a carefully designed grammatical plan. Significant patterns are rehearsed to the point that habits are formed in the learner” (Wilkins Teaching the Classical languages in Didaskalos 1969). The overall progression of the Course was painstakingly crafted so that each stage built in manageable steps on the competence developed in previous work. Every word, phrase, and grammatical concept was precisely placed for maximum impact and maximum reinforcement through a number of encounters.
Concepts were also introduced in the order in which they were likely to be most easily understood by an English speaker, rather than based on their prevalence in classical texts. This meant that when students encountered more alien concepts or those which were more difficult for them to comprehend, they already had the confidence and the grounding in the language to support them in tackling these harder ideas. For the pedagogical geeks out there, the theoretical framework of the books is outlined in far greater detail in the new version of the Teachers Manual.
Reviewing and improving such a scheme has been a daunting task. Change a single word in Book 1 and the impact might be felt in Book 4. While early authors had only huge sheets of paper, pencils and erasers to work with, later writers have had to develop an array of digital tools to help with mapping, planning and implementing the language scheme (the original table-top sized pieces of paper are actually still kept in my office). We hope teachers and learners will benefit from these latest changes, such as the earlier explanation of the ablative (now featured with prepositions in Stage 11). Vocabulary lists have also been reviewed to prioritize common Latin words (based on the Dickinson list of the 1000 most frequently used Latin words), and words necessary for understanding the narratives.
The Practicing the Language sections of each stage have undergone the biggest redesign since the books were first written. The new versions enable teachers to point students to specific exercises and material to meet their particular needs; whether this is to review past content, consolidate what has just been taught, or begin thinking about the next step in their understanding.
In Units 1, 2 and the first half of 3, every Practicing the Language now contains another, shorter story intended to consolidate the language features introduced in the Stage. In the latter half of Unit 3, these short stories are replaced by adapted authentic texts. These stories and texts are accompanied by three types of question designed to check understanding and encourage critical engagement with the story and the language:
- Explore the story contains comprehension questions
- Explore the language targets student understanding of linguistic features and, in later books, the literary effects of language choices
- Explore further invites students to offer critical analysis of the story, building literary criticism skills.
This section also contains clear instructions directing students to pages where they can find more information or extra exercises targeting the language points.
The types of exercises previously found in Practicing the language have become Reviewing the language, which is now found in the Language information section at the back of the book. This section contains additional exercises for each Stage. These have been designed to support consolidation of language information with clearly labelled and numbered exercises for ease of navigation. There are links to the places in the textbook where students can find additional information and tips for help with their work.
As students embark on their unique journeys – whether that includes a formal examination, stretches over several years, or covers just the basics in an introductory course – we hope that this new edition provides even better support both for them and the educators who guide them. For our part, we’ll continue to listen and learn, so let us know your thoughts—Caecilius will be listening!
A version of this blog was first published on the CSCP website.
