When I mentioned that LLPSI is easily the best resource for the autodidact wishing to learn about Latin but that the vocabulary introduced was too much too soon when it comes to acquisition, he said “well that’s the problem with learning languages, right?” My reply was “yeah, so don’t do it. I was reading LLPSI at a coffee shop recently, and a random person began talking to me about language pedagogy.
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That’s what we call a vocabulary problem. So, by the time students reach chapter 4, they will have been exposed to 113 words, 8 of which they’ve seen most. est, nōn, sed, in, quid?, et, ubi?, parva) and 4 from chapter 2 ( māter, pater, puella, puer). This time, only 8 words from the first chapter are recycled (i.e. Rōmānus, est, quoque, et, sunt, nōn, sed, in, parvus, duo, trēs, magnus, multī, ūnus, fluvius, īnsula, prīmus, secundus, tertius, capitulum, vocābulum), and many of those are recycled just once or twice aside from the function words. Chapter 2 has 35 new words, but only repeats 21 from the first chapter (i.e.
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Since the rest of the book uses many (but not all) of those first 42 words to define and provide context for new words, understanding must be quite high (like 98% high). Personally, I find it unethical *with testing that’s involved.* Vocabulary is also a major problem… Why isn’t it suitable for my students? First and foremost, I don’t teach according to a grammatical syllabus. The success of LLPSI relies on its AMAZING (don’t get me wrong) methodical design, but it tends to only reach a small few, at least in public high school with students of average to high interest in Latin (not absurdly off the scale like most Latin teachers). LLPSI certainly has its moments, but reading a narrative designed to teach over 30 forms of the pronouns quis, quī, is, ille, and hic all in Capitulum VIII gets old real fast. Even then, it’s clear that the narrative is part of a textbook designed to teach Latin grammar-not necessarily a compelling story-which is the kind of thing most people don’t read for fun.
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The majority of its users hold the series in such high esteem that it’s often the only resource used, and very few teachers use LLPSI along with other materials, probably because its so well self-contained, though I do know some teachers who keep it on hand for Free Voluntary Reading (FVR). Again, I understand, but LLPSI is still a textbook, and comes with every downside of using a textbook to teach communicatively.
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Still, I’m wary whenever people suggest LLPSI as the panacea to common pedagogical problems, or assume it’s the most appropriate resource to use when teaching Latin communicatively. Personally, I love it, and am currently rereading it for the nth time. Lingua Latīna per sē Illustrāta (LLPSI), the Latin textbook entirely in Latin, has a cult following.