Getting Started with Latin
William E. Linney · Armfield Academic Press · Grades 3-12 (and adults)
The gentlest possible on-ramp to Latin: one or two words per lesson, free audio, about fifteen dollars. A nervous parent can learn alongside a kid. Secular.
~$15-22 (one-time)
Overview
Getting Started with Latin by William Linney is the gentlest possible introduction to Latin, built for homeschoolers and self-taught students of any age. It introduces just one or two new words per lesson across roughly 130 short, single-page lessons, with free MP3 audio that pronounces every word and exercise — so a parent who's never touched Latin can sit beside a third grader and learn together, or hand a confident middle schooler the book and recordings and step back. It's secular, about fifteen dollars one-time, and asks almost nothing of you to teach. It's an on-ramp by design: it covers the first noun declensions and verb conjugations, not a full Latin I, so committed classical families finish it and move up to a heavier program. The same method continues through Keep Going with Latin and into Greek, French, Spanish, German, and Russian. A Cathy Duffy Top Pick and repeat Practical Homeschooling Reader Award winner.
Strengths
- •The gentlest Latin on-ramp there is: one or two words per lesson, nothing intimidating
- •Free audio (pronunciation + per-lesson author commentary) means a non-Latin parent can teach it or hand it off
- •Genuinely cheap — about fifteen dollars, one-time, no subscription
- •Self-teaching for junior high and up; secular; both ecclesiastical and classical pronunciation provided
- •Same method continues through a whole series (Keep Going with Latin, Greek, French, Spanish, German, Russian)
- •Near-universally liked — it delivers exactly what it promises
Limitations
- •An introduction by design — covers only the first declensions and conjugations, not a full first-year Latin
- •Committed classical families finish it and need a next step (Latin for Children, Wheelock's, etc.)
- •Single subject — a supplement, not a curriculum
- •No quizzes or tests built in (author suggests re-translating earlier lessons)
Best fit for
Families wanting a painless, low-cost first taste of Latin; Latin-phobic parents who want to learn alongside their child; middle schoolers and self-directed students; anyone who wants an on-ramp before a heavier classical Latin program
The honest read
Getting Started with Latin is the gentlest possible on-ramp to Latin, and it's beloved precisely because it's honest about being a beginning. William Linney introduces one or two words at a time across roughly 130 short, single-page lessons, with free audio that pronounces everything for you — so a parent who's never touched Latin can sit beside a third grader and learn together, or hand a confident middle schooler the book and the recordings and step back. It's secular, it's about fifteen dollars, and it asks almost nothing of you to teach. Know going in that it's an introduction by design: it covers the first noun declensions and verb conjugations, not a full Latin I, so committed classical families finish it and move up to a heavier program. As the thing that makes Latin feel possible instead of intimidating, nothing does it better — and the same method continues through Keep Going with Latin and into Greek, French, Spanish, German, and Russian if it clicks.
Get Getting Started with Latin
The gentlest possible on-ramp to Latin: one or two words per lesson, free audio, about fifteen dollars. A nervous parent can learn alongside a kid. Secular.
SHOPRelated in Language Learning
Getting Started with Latin
~$15-22 (one-time)