Preface to seven articles on Latin learning and instruction

Abstract

Classicists are enthusiastic teachers, often thinking and reflecting about their subject and teaching methods. There are several platforms on which we share our thoughts and experiences, with blog posts and Twitter (e.g. #teachancient) as an inspiring, relatively recent addition to journals like Classical World, The Journal of Classics Teaching, Teaching Classical Languages and Der altsprachliche Unterricht. The ideas and experiences of other teachers are a highly valuable resource and inspiration for teachers. Nevertheless, our discussions could benefit from using systematically collected and analyzed data to support our arguments and to prove or discard our assumptions and intuitions. Unfortunately, empirical research on the learning and instruction of Latin still seems scarce. This empirical research might take several forms, such as experimental research designs or educational design research. In experimental research designs, preand post-tested intervention studies inform us what teaching methods do or do not have an effect on the acquisition of Latin. Educational design research provides us with specific teaching materials as well as design criteria for the learning and instruction of the Latin language. Data collection methods such as think-aloud-tasks or eye tracking techniques give us insights into the reading and translation processes of Latin learners. The Journal of Linguistics publishes seven articles presenting these types of research, in this issue and the next (see below for an overview). The next issue will also include an overview of relevant research methods, research fields and existing publications on the learning and instruction of Latin. These articles are the result of a workshop that explored the interests and experience of Latin linguists and other classical scholars in the learning and instruction of Latin as a research field (Munich 2017, as part of the biennial International Colloquium of Latin Linguistics).