how hard is latin by distance with no prior studying?

[spectroscopy]

might maybe be possibly considering doing latin via distance, always something ive been interested in, and ive been doing classical greek for 9452485 years so LOL
anyway, how hard is it to do via distance with no prior study of the language, just the units 1& 2?
is a 30+ score possible ?
any tips tricks comments about the latin course and how it was for you?
cheers

[paulsterio]

i kid you not, just do classical greek and save yourself the hassle - you'll probably do better

[pi]

If you've done that many years of Classical Greek, I'd just stick with that. I attempted Latin in yr7/8 and we didn't get along so well, I only barely passed, but I know a few who loved it and did very well in VCE with it

But again, only go for it if you are very keen.

[brenden]

I agree with those guys ^, but to address another part of your post, my English teacher picked up Latin in Year 11/12 with no prior language study and got 35. That would have been a bit ago though. It also wasn't via distance, but I'd guess 30+ was possible.

[Starlight]

The accelerated students at my school seemed to really struggle with Latin, so i'd probably advise against it based on that. You might be able to do latin in uni anyway (e.g. at melb uni), picking it up as a breadth unit (and it will be an introductory subject so you will probably find it easier to deal with).

[Somye]

I'll be quite frank. You will probably struggle.

I did latin in school in years 7 & 8 and then distance ed for 9 (accelerated yr 9&10 course), 10 & 11 (VCE). Without doubt, it was probably one of the hardest learning experiences I've had, primarily attributed to the distance ed part of the curriculum. It's so difficult to stay motivated and on top of your course work, so easy to fall 3/4/5 weeks behind (which I did on a regular basis). This is after I'd done a year 7-10 course beforehand, with much of the grammar becoming second nature to me. If you dive straight in year 11, you're going to be overwhelmed by the staggering amount of grammar that is present in the language (Over 120 forms of a single verb). I managed a 31, which I was okay with, but not extraordinarily happy, but plenty of people in my class didn't manage so well (but some of them did). My point being, is that unless you're VERY committed, and willing to catch up on quite a bit of work, a 30+ at a VCE level will be relatively tough through distance ed. (Or maybe I was just reaaly lazy )

You could just do it for the fun of it, or you could do as an elective at uni, as said above. But before you do it, realize what you're getting into, maybe have a look through a textbook or something?

[spectroscopy]

if i do it itl be as a pointless 7th subject that i put no effort into, unless i feel as if i have a chance then i will try LOL
oh well cheers guys

[binders]

I guess it'd be doable. I've done 1/2 & 3/4 latin through distance, as have some others on the forum.

If you have a good knowledge of ancient greek grammar and accidence, then with some study,
you probably won't have to struggle too hard to learn the latin word forms. Some grammar and syntax
will even carry over, such as accusative +infinitive constructions, passives, middle (deponent in latin),
there's even some similarities in the declensions.

don't get me wrong, it will still take a fair bit of study, but if you've had years and years of classical greek,
then yeah, you could realistically get a 30+ study score in latin if you started 1/2 in 2013 and used your
hols wisely.

or yeah, you could do it at uni. summer latin - 1 year of latin in 6 weeks, takes you to the end of the vce course.

[Somye]

if i do it itl be as a pointless 7th subject that i put no effort into, unless i feel as if i have a chance then i will try LOL
oh well cheers guys

If you're willing to do this, then go ahead! It's a great subject which I personally enjoyed (when i actually did it). It's great for that extra bit of random knowledge where you'll realize certain grammatical constructions in English and also for some derivatives of English words etc. You will be asked to translate random, obscure school mottos though! be warned! :p

[spectroscopy]

HAHAHS, thats the answer i wanted to hear
thanks

[binders]

oh and somye,

If you dive straight in year 11, you're going to be overwhelmed by the staggering amount of grammar that is present in the language (Over 120 forms of a single verb)

if you're remembering 120+ forms for each verb, you're doing it wrong. with pres/pass/perf endings, stems, principle parts and auxiliary verbs, you should only have to remember 40 or so bits of morphology, 50 tops
and almost all of those you can use for most verbs (-o/m, -s, -t,-mus,-tis/-nt, -ndum, -ns etc), just plugging them in. all you're really remembering for the verb is the 4 principle parts, and the odd irregularity.

[Somye]

hahaha, yeah I know, I was more trying to show my point :p good pickup though hahahha