Hi everyone!

It is unfortunate, but I will have to pre-maturely end the current course of “Latin through the Gospel of St. Mark”. In fact, I will not be able to conduct any lessons until around May (or maybe perhaps until the end of next year).

In the past few months, I have been struggling with trying to cope with both studies and work. Now that the semester holidays have come, I will need to devote more time in ensuring that the projects which I have been tasked with are completed. I foresee that my workload in the next semester (which will be starting in a few weeks time) will be much heavier as well.

It has been really enjoyable teaching Latin with you all, and I do hope that you have enjoyed the course as much as I have.

In the meantime, you may wish to visit my blog (http://contemplatio.tumblr.com/). It is filled with inspiring quotes, reflections, and little snippets of day-to-day happenings. If you would like to keep in touch, feel free to send me an e-mail at johnpaulsim@gmail.com. If you would like to add me on Facebook, please send me an e-mail and I will add you, as I have made my profile unsearchable.

So, thank you for your support over this one and a half years. It has been a very fruitful experience, and I hope to be able to continue learning Latin with you again!

God bless!
Jonathan

If you haven’t noticed, there’s a link just above this post that will direct you to a page that provides you with information on upcoming Masses in Latin, here in the sunny (and currently, heavily rainy) island of Singapore.

Hello!

Here are the long-awaited notes for Session 6.

Session 06 Slides

Session 06 Slides (Printable)

Session 06 Word List

Session 06 Vocab List

Session 06 Crossword

Session 06 Crossword Answers

If you’re wondering where to find the texts for the Gospel of St. Mark, please refer to the Notes for Session 1.

Note: In the slides, I have put English words above the Latin as a guide for translation. It is NOT an accurate translation.

Hello!

During the class, I wanted to share a really funny song from the Mr. Brown Show. Very appropriate for us who are now suffering from the haze. It’s not Latin, but it’s really funny!

Enjoy!

For the non-Singaporeans: The English may seem weird to you. It’s not really in English. Rather, it’s in Singlish (a hybrid mix of several languages).

Hello everyone!

I’m really sorry but I’ve to cancel today’s class again because I’ve been very overwhelmed by work.

I promise you that there will be Latin class next week!

Really sorry about this.

Hello everyone!

Here are the notes for Session 5:

Session 05 Slides

Session 05 Slides (Printable)

Session 05 Word List

Session 05 Vocab List (Errata corrected. I apologise for the confusion caused during class. The undo button can sometimes be very dangerous. I have put all the correct words and their root forms here.)

Session 05 Crossword

Session 05 Crossword Answers

If you’re wondering where to find the texts for the Gospel of St. Mark, please refer to the Notes for Session 1.

Note: In the slides, I have put English words above the Latin as a guide for translation. It is NOT an accurate translation.

Someone asked me what books are really good for the learning of the Latin language.

Well, here are my recommendations:

Getting Started with Latin: Beginning Latin for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age
by William E. Linney
(http://www.amazon.com/Getting-Started-Latin-Homeschoolers-Self-Taught/dp/0979505100/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1)

I strongly recommend this book for ALL who have not been exposed to Latin before.

The problem with many Latin textbooks out there is that they use the grammatical terms throughout the entire book with little or no explanation as to what they mean. Many who start out learning Latin tend to get very confused by the technicalities.

Linney does a great job in overcoming this problem. He ensures that you be familiar with those technicalities by slowly introducing you to them. And with the use of constant and repeated exercises on the same things, you slowly develop a firm understanding and foundation of basic Latin grammar. This will allow you to pick up other Latin textbooks and not be so confused by the grammatical concepts that are regularly referred to.

Teach Yourself Beginner’s Latin
by G. D. A. Sharpley
(http://www.amazon.com/Teach-Yourself-Beginners-Latin-Sharpley/dp/0071424512/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_2)

This is a really amazing book to use after you have completed Linney’s book.

With the aid of stories and other fun and exciting methods, Sharpley introduces new Latin words and grammatical concepts to you in a very slow and progressive way.

Having used this book before in teaching the Latin Appreciation Workshop, I can say that participants do really enjoy the stories. It’s a whole lot of fun going through them and learning Latin.

It’s definitely a must-have after Linney’s book!

A Primer of Ecclesiastical Latin
by John F. Collins
(http://www.amazon.com/Primer-Ecclesiastical-Latin-John-Collins/dp/0813206677/ref=ntt_at_ep_dpt_1)

This is a marvellous textbook in learning Latin. However, I do recommend that you use this book after you have completed the first two books recommended earlier.

I am aware that several seminaries around the world use this for the teaching of Latin.

Anyway, this book is wonderful because the grammatical concepts are explained in a way that is much clearer than other textbooks that I’ve come across. And the best part is that this book makes it a point to equip you with the knowledge of ecclesiastical Latin words.

By the time you are done with this book, words found in the Bible, Divine Office, and the Mass, will not seem so alien to you anymore.

I’m really sorry for posting this really really late. I’ve been very bogged down by work.

But anyway, here are the slides and notes for Session 4:

Session 04 Slides

Session 04 Slides (Printable)

For those who didn’t attend: If you’re wondering what the stories are, they are not meant to be grammatically accurate, but to act as a means for the participants to remember the meaning of the words (in both the formulation of the story, and in guessing what the word means).

Session 04 Word List

Session 04 Vocab List

Session 04 Crossword (Erratum: No. 18 Down, I did not put enough boxes. So you’ll just have to squeeze the word in it)

Session 04 Crossword Answers (Erratum: No. 18 Down, I did not put enough boxes as I spelt the word wrongly.)

If you’re wondering where to find the texts for the Gospel of St. Mark, please refer to the Notes for Session 1.

Note: In the slides, I have put English words above the Latin as a guide for translation. It is NOT an accurate translation.

Date: Saturday,  25 September 2010
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue: Church of the Risen Christ, Auditorium (Level 3)

Hello!

Stay tuned for an improved version of the game that we played last lesson. This upcoming one promises to be REALLY REALLY FUN!

For your convenience, here are the dates of the upcoming sessions:

• Session 4: 25 September 2010
• Session 5: 2 October 2010
• Session 6: 9 October 2010
• Session 7: 16 October 2010
• Session 8: 23 October 2010
• Session 9: 30 October 2010
• Session 10: 6 November 2010
• Session 11: 13 November 2010

Hello!

Here are the notes and slides for Session 3:

Session 03 Slides

Session 03 Slides (Printable)

Session 03 Word List (This is for those who do not attend the class, so that you can still participate in the lessons from using the materials available on this website. You can find the missing words from the slides. I will provide the complete list in the next session)

Session 03 Vocab List

Session 03 Crossword

Session 03 Crossword Answers

If you’re wondering where to find the texts for the Gospel of St. Mark, please refer to the Notes for Session 1.

Note: In the slides, I have put English words above the Latin as a guide for translation. It is NOT an accurate translation.

I accidentally deleted one file which is a re-cap of important words from the first two sessions. I’ll try to redo it and have it uploaded soon.

Date: Saturday,  18 September 2010
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue: Church of the Risen Christ, Auditorium (Level 3)

Please note that there will be no class on 11 Sep.

For your convenience, here are the dates of the upcoming sessions:

• NO CLASS 11 September 2010 (All rooms in the Church have been booked for a parish-level activity)
  
• Session 3: 18 September 2010
• Session 4: 25 September 2010
• Session 5: 2 October 2010
• Session 6: 9 October 2010
• Session 7: 16 October 2010
• Session 8: 23 October 2010
• Session 9: 30 October 2010
• Session 10: 6 November 2010
• Session 11: 13 November 2010

Hello!

Here are the notes for Session 2:

Session 02 Slides (Errata corrected on 5 Sep 2010)

Session 02 Slides (Printable) (Errata corrected on 5 Sep 2010)

Session 02 Vocab List

Session 02 Crossword

Session 02 Crossword Answers

If you’re wondering where to find the texts for the Gospel of St. Mark, please refer to the Notes for Session 1.

Hello!

For a change, we are singing the Dominican Rite Salve Regina instead of the Simple Tone at the end of every Latin class. Why? Well, I hope that we will be familiar with the other tunes for the Salve Regina. Personally, I think that amongst the other Solemn Tones out there, the Dominican one is the easiest to learn.

So here’s the youtube video which you can listen to:

And here’s the chant score for the Dominican Rite Salve Regina:

Hello everyone!

Please note the changes in the dates for Session 2. It will be on Saturday, 4 September 2010.

Date: Saturday,  4 September 2010
Time: 7.30pm – 9.30pm
Venue: Church of the Risen Christ, Auditorium (Level 3)

It was originally scheduled to be on 28 Aug, but it turns out that almost everyone cannot make it on that date. So we shall resume on 4 September.

For your convenience, here are the dates of the upcoming sessions:

• Session 2: 4 September 2010
• NO CLASS 11 September 2010 (All rooms in the Church have been booked for a parish-level activity)
  
• Session 3: 18 September 2010
• Session 4: 25 September 2010
• Session 5: 2 October 2010
• Session 6: 9 October 2010
• Session 7: 16 October 2010
• Session 8: 23 October 2010
• Session 9: 30 October 2010
• Session 10: 6 November 2010
• Session 11: 13 November 2010

So, what will we be doing in Session 2? Apart from the usual fun and games, we will go through the Latin pronunciations. I think I have just found a good way for us to remember the pronunciation easily.

So, see you soon!

God bless!

Hello everyone!

Thank you so much for coming to the first session of Latin through the Gospel of St. Mark! I hope that you had a wonderful time!

Here are the materials that will be used throughout the entire duration of the course:

The Gospel According to St. Mark (The workbook. Highly recommended for self-study and for prayer as well, since it’s the Gospel.)

The Booklet of Quotes (For choosing the favourite quote of the day.)

Here are the notes and slides for the first session:

Session 01 Slides

Session 01 Slides (Printable)

Session 01 Vocab List

Session 01 Crossword Puzzle

Session 01 Crossword Puzzle Answers

Hi everyone!

Please note that there will be an additional Latin Mass this coming Friday. For more information, please see the “Upcoming Masses in Latin” page.

An exciting brand new course in Latin will be starting soon, on Saturday, 21 August 2010.

Click here for more information.

Hello everyone!

Thank you for coming to the Encore Session. I’m glad you all had a great time with the new teaching method.

Here are the notes for the Session. I will be posting the answers in a few days time, as some of you might want to do the remaining verses that we didn’t get to cover.

So, here are the notes:

Notes for Session 09 of 09 (Part I)

Notes for Session 09 of 09 (Part II)

Notes for Session 09 of 09 (Part III)

Here are the notes for Session 8:

Notes for Session 08 of 09

Slides for Session 08 of 09

Slides (Printable) for Session 08 of 09

Hello!

The long-awaited notes for Session 7 are here!

Notes for Session 07 of 09

There are no power-point slides for this session as I was too sick back then to do it.