Misunderstanding Greek and Latin in eighteenth-century Britain
&gt; To commit the very Accidence and Grammar to memory, requires three or four years, sometimes more, (as many can witness by woful experience) and when all is done, besides declining Nouns, and forming Verbs, and getting a few words, there is very little advantage to the Child.<p>[I know the article is about understanding the cultural level of Latin and Greek understanding in 18 century Britain, but as a Latin teacher I feel obligated to comment about Latin teaching methodologies]<p>This is a common complaint and is encountered many times in modern contexts.
I contend that this is due to the method of teaching; namely in language courses that lack sufficient amounts of comprehensible input (i.e. simple text that one can read quickly without needing to pause to consult a glossary).<p>Using a Comprehensible Input method, one can acquire a language much better and faster. For example I was able to read books in the Vulgate comfortably after only 200-300 hours of language learning. There are also people who have learned to speak Latin fluently, for example SaturaLanx or ScorpioMartianus on Youtube.