Education: February 2021 Archives

Every February, the National Latin Exam gives students of the language the opportunity to show what they know, with the potential of earning prizes and scholarships. One of the challenges for doing well in the exam is that the exam syllabus does not align well with many popular Latin curricula. For example: Henle Latin doesn't introduce numbers until near the end of the First Year textbook and doesn't deal systematically with Roman geography and history, or the sort of terms from daily life (food, family members, parts of the body, common animals, conversation) that are learned early in the study of living languages. Every curriculum has its own vocabulary, and words learned by first-year students in one course aren't learned in others. So Latin students must seek additional resources to prepare for the exam.

Official resources from the National Latin Exam website:

• NLE Syllabus: Detailed list of topics for each category of the test
• NLE online quiz: Select a number of questions, the test level, and a topic area, and see how much you know
• NLE 2020 Exams: All levels, plus answer key
• NLE Exams 2012-2020: All levels, plus answer key, for the past 9 years
• NLE Practice Questions
• NLE Exams 1999-2018, plus a database of questions from 1978-2010: Still available, for now, via the Internet Archive, some of these resources have been taken off of the main site for ideological correction

Unofficial resources:

• NLE Quizlet card sets by Amy Bernard Mason
• NLE Study Guide: Includes lists of terms by category and level
• Memoria Press NLE Study Guides: Vocabulary lists and grammar summaries for the Introductory, Beginning (Latin I), and Intermediate (Latin II) levels. The intermediate book ($19.95) is comprehensive of all three levels.
• Family Style Schooling: How to Prepare for the National Latin Exam: A student's perspective from 2018
• Classical Conversations: What Your Child Needs to Study Before the National Latin Exam Next Month: Perspective from 2012

Resources on Roman culture, not specific to the NLE:

• The Private Life of the Romans by Harold Whetstone Johnston, Revised by Mary Johnston: An online version of this out-of-print book from 1903, containing 16 chapters on aspects of family life, society, travel, local government, and religion.
• Outlines of Roman History by William C. Morey, Ph.D., D.C.L.: An online version of a 1901 book, from the founding of Rome to the fall of the Western Roman Empire
• Digital Augustine Rome: Interactive map from the University of Arizona
• Digital Atlas of the Roman Empire: By web programmer Johan Ã…hlfeldt, who also hosts an atlas of the Frankish Kingdom of the early Middle Ages
• Morgan-Owens Neo-Latin Lexicon: Lists of words useful in modern Latin, includes ancient terms for animals, body parts, foods, etc. In redevelopment; follow the (old) links in the left sidebar to find the full word lists
• VRoma Teaching Resources for Latin language, literature, Roman history and culture

Certamen (Latin quiz bowl) resources, which may also be helpful for NLE prep:

• Certamen: Official National Junior Classical League page: With links to resources
• Certamen: Official source list
• Yale Certamen study materials: Links to other aggregators of study materials
• Yale Certamen starter kit: Vocabulary lists, topic summaries, comprehensive outlines, sample questions
• Yale Certamen Roman Life Lists: Families, names, house and furniture, garments, food, amusements, government, occupations, burial, religion and feasts
• Rossview Latin Certamen study materials: Links to vocabulary lists and approaches to studying different topics, and study decks on Quizlet, Sporcle, and Anki
• Florida Junior Classical League study guides: Official study guides by topic and level