It's getting tough out there. Feeling the pinch?

ladyholly

I studied French (I use the term advisedly) fro the 4th year of primary school but it really wasnt my forte. It wasnt helped by my teacher coming up to CSEs as he just told us to read the text book which I for one didnt find helpful. I must say I am always surprised when I can often make sense of quiz questions that require French knowledge. Unfortunately when people speak French it is too fast for me to grasp it. I was hoping my daughter would do better but her teacher was as lousy as mine had been.

I am envious of people who can speak several languages. We had a Chinese friend who was fluent in Russian, French, German and Croation (she taught Croation in the language university in Beijing) and was learning Dutch for fun. When we were in China we found a lot of young people had learned English by watching English language films.

greent

I studied Latin in the 80s - my school also had a teacher of Ancient Greek - but only 1 student did that. 

The school I work at did Latin GCSE until 2016.

MFLs seem to be falling out of favour as a subject option at GCSE (it was compulsory for us to take at least 1 language) - and very much more so at A level. 

Katiehound

now this is in English folks (but Duolingo is good and free)
I'm not sure how useful the Latin is- ended up learning great chunks of English translation of Caesar's gallic wars V!! (O level, along with French & Spanish) I learned German with Lingaphone records borrowed free from a library- so that kind of dates me.

In tough times are you allowed a £1 splurge? holiday treat?

I have just posted on another board this offer: 3 issues of Country Living (which retails @ £5.99 per issue!) for £1
have only just seen the offer and it ends on July 26th so you need to be quick, just remember to cancel the DD
Nice glossy magazine with interesting subjects and (usually) some beautiful photos.
The link is here:
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/1075149/magazine-offers-3-for-1-free-gifts-etc-only-post-offers-here#latest

Woolsery

I received my first detention for my Latin at grammar school; I forgot to rule a margin or something equally heinous. It wasn't a great start and things continued in much the same way, with me wondering about the relevance in the modern era of learning how to say, "We shall lay waste the lands of the barbarians with our spears and arrows!"

I wasn't to know that 30 years on I'd be using Latin in our part-time plant nursery business. While my wife coped perfectly well without any grounding in latin, remembering the names better than me, I was usually the one who knew what they meant. The war-like sentence above would give me clues about leaves that were 'sagittate,' or names like Verbena hastata.

Blackcats

Katie hound - I loved the reading laboratory - I recall It was in a box at the front of the classroom and moving through the sections was so exciting.  

I didn't learn Latin at school - my mum liked to go to Latin mass which I couldn't understand and seemed to go on for much, much longer than mass in English.  

in_my_wellies

I have carers coming to see my mum four times a day. They speak another language, not a usual second language for a white, middle class woman in her sixties to know. If only they knew.......

weenancyinAmerica

Our local high school taught Latin - for their textbook they used Winnie Ille Pooh. I still have a copy of the book. Well, Winnie is a classic also isn't it?

Slinky

Woolsery said:

I received my first detention for my Latin at grammar school; I forgot to rule a margin or something equally heinous. It wasn't a great start and things continued in much the same way, with me wondering about the relevance in the modern era of learning how to say, "We shall lay waste the lands of the barbarians with our spears and arrows!"

I wasn't to know that 30 years on I'd be using Latin in our part-time plant nursery business. While my wife coped perfectly well without any grounding in latin, remembering the names better than me, I was usually the one who knew what they meant. The war-like sentence above would give me clues about leaves that were 'sagittate,' or names like Verbena hastata.

You've reminded me of a story a friend told, she went for an interview as a secretary at a plant nursery, and was asked could she type in Latin!

She may not have done when she started, but she did by the time she left.

RobM99

Woolsery said:

I received my first detention for my Latin at grammar school; I forgot to rule a margin or something equally heinous. It wasn't a great start and things continued in much the same way, with me wondering about the relevance in the modern era of learning how to say, "We shall lay waste the lands of the barbarians with our spears and arrows!"

If civil unrest becomes as predicted, this may serve you well!

elsien

I did Latin O level - it was possible to pass knowing very little Latin indeed. 

There was the comprehension passage, but the rest of it was about Roman Life, and questions about one book if the Aeniad and some Catullus poetry. As long as you recognised the relevant bits it was perfectly possible to write an essay based on the English translation we’d been looking at in class.

My go-to phrase which comes to mind is Carthago delenda est. 
Eminently useful, I’m sure you’ll agree.