Emerson Latin's summer offerings are organized by Stage — the student's current level in Latin — and by Register — what the course will ask of the student's time. Two questions govern selection.
Where does the student stand in Latin today? This determines the Stage. Not where the family hopes the student will stand by September — where the student stands today.
How much of the summer is genuinely available? This is often the more consequential question, and the one most frequently answered with more optimism than circumstances allow. This determines the Register.
The Stages
The three Stages describe a student's current level in Latin — not ambition, but actual preparation.
Stage I — The Latin Formation
The language stage. Students master the whole of Latin grammar and syntax and begin preparing for the beginning and intermediate levels of international contests in Latin and the classical humanities. Any student who has not yet completed a full course in Latin grammar belongs here.
Stage II — The AP Latin Sequence
The literature stage. Students read authentic Roman prose and poetry, prepare for the AP Latin Exam, and advance to the higher levels of international contests in Latin and the classical humanities. Two paths are available, described in full below.
Prerequisite: completion of any Emerson Latin Stage I program, or demonstrable command of the whole of Latin grammar and syntax.
Stage III — The Advanced Authors Program
The advanced literature stage. For students who have completed the AP Latin Exam and intend to compete at the most elite level in international contests in Latin and the classical humanities.
Prerequisite: completion of AP Latin with a letter grade of A, whether at Emerson Latin or elsewhere.
The Registers
Every summer course carries a Register designation — a frank statement of what the course will ask of the student's time. The figures below are deliberately conservative; students with well-established study habits frequently complete their preparation in considerably less time.
Register III — Three to five hours of preparation per class
The summer is given over to Latin as the primary commitment. Competing intensive commitments — another rigorous academic program, a sport in its competitive season, significant travel — are generally not compatible. Select this Register honestly.
Register II — Two to four hours of preparation per class
Latin takes precedence; other activities continue at the margin. Music lessons, moderate travel, and family obligations are compatible, provided they do not encroach on class time or the preparation the sessions demand.
Register I — One to three hours of preparation per class
A disciplined complement to a varied summer. Latin meets once or twice a week, and the pace, while genuine, does not preclude a full life alongside it.
Full Schedule at a Glance
| Course | Reg | Level | Dates | Days | Time (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AP Latin Fast Track | III | High School | June 15 – Aug 7 | Mon–Fri | 2–6 pm |
| Intensive Latin | III | High School | June 15 – July 10 | Mon–Fri | 2–6 pm |
| ASAP Latin | III | High School | June 15 – Aug 21 | Mon, Wed, Fri | 9–11 am |
| Oxford Latin 1+2+3 (full sequence) | II | Middle & High | June 15 – Aug 21 | Mon–Fri | 6–8 pm |
| Oxford Latin 1 (standalone) | II | Middle & High | Aug 10 – Aug 21 | Mon–Fri | 2–6 pm |
| Natural Latin | I | Middle & High | June 20 – Aug 22 | Saturday | 2–4 pm |
| Cambridge Latin | I | Upper Elem & Middle | June 16 – Aug 6 | Tue & Thu | 9–11 am |
| Course | Path | Reg | Level | Dates | Days | Time (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foundational Latin Prose | Intensive | II | High School | July 13 – Aug 7 | Mon–Fri | 2–4 pm |
| Foundational Latin Poetry | Intensive | II | High School | July 13 – Aug 7 | Mon–Fri | 4–6 pm |
| AP Latin Prose (Summer) | Abroad | II | High School | June 15 – Aug 7 | Mon, Wed, Fri | 11 am – 1 pm |
| AP Latin Poetry (Summer) | Abroad | II | High School | June 16 – Aug 8 | Tue, Thu, Sat | 11 am – 1 pm |
| Latin Literature: Caesar | Literature | I | High School | June 20 – Aug 22 | Saturday | 6–8 pm |
| Latin Literature: Vergil | Literature | I | High School | June 20 – Aug 22 | Saturday | 8–10 pm |
Foundational Latin Prose and Foundational Latin Poetry are taken concurrently. AP Latin Prose and AP Latin Poetry are taken concurrently.
| Course | Reg | Level | Dates | Days | Time (KST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Latin Literature: Cicero II | I | High School | June 15 – Aug 17 | Monday | 8–10 pm |
| Latin Literature: Vulgate | I | High School | June 17 – Aug 19 | Wednesday | 8–10 pm |
Stage I — The Latin Formation
Seven courses serve Stage I students. Three questions narrow the field.
Question 1 — How old is the student?
Cambridge Latin is designed for upper elementary and middle school students. If the student is not yet in secondary school, this is the right place to start. All other Stage I courses are designed for high school students, though motivated middle schoolers are welcome in Natural Latin and the Oxford sequence.
Question 2 — How much of the summer is genuinely available?
| The summer is given over to Latin | Register III — AP Latin Fast Track, Intensive Latin, or ASAP Latin |
| Latin takes precedence; other activities continue | Register II — Oxford Latin 1+2+3, or standalone Oxford Latin 1 |
| Latin complements a varied summer | Register I — Natural Latin |
Question 3 — What is the goal, and will the student continue with Emerson Latin in the fall?
This question separates the Register III courses most finely. Read the course descriptions below for the Register that applies.
Register III Courses
AP Latin Fast Track
For the complete beginner who intends to sit the AP Latin Exam the following May. The first four weeks cover the whole of Latin grammar; the second four turn immediately to the prose and poetry the AP requires. This sequence — offered nowhere else in its combination of speed and comprehensiveness — covers in eight weeks what a strong boarding school typically completes across four academic years.
The grammar-translation method governs the first half. The second half moves into authentic Latin prose and poetry alongside the analytical work the exam expects.
Students who complete AP Latin Fast Track and continue with Emerson Latin in the fall join AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays, meeting through to exam day in May. This is the only path available to Fast Track students continuing with Emerson Latin; they proceed directly to AP Latin and do not join the once-weekly Latin literature courses.
Intensive Latin
The most compressed course Emerson Latin offers, and the most immediately literary. On the first day of class, students read Cicero and other Roman and Medieval authors in the original — not long passages, but sentences and aphorisms that carry literary and philosophical weight from the outset. Grammar is not a prerequisite to be satisfied before the real work begins; it is learned in the presence of the greatest writers who used it.
The grammar-translation method is used wholly throughout, on the conviction that nothing else equals it for mastering the fundamentals of the Latin language at the fastest and most efficient pace.
Upon completing Intensive Latin, students choose between two paths.
The Intensive Path. Students proceed directly into Foundational Latin Prose and Poetry in the second half of the summer (July 13 – August 7). In the fall, they join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays through to exam day in May.
The Literature Path. Students who prefer a longer formation in Latin literature before the AP exam take a once-weekly Latin literature course over the weekend each term — Catullus in the fall, Cicero in winter, Ovid in spring, Horace in the Trinity term — completing the sequence the following summer with Vergil, then joining Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose and Poetry in the subsequent fall. Throughout this path, students compete at higher levels in international contests in Latin and the classical humanities.
The decision between paths may be made at the end of the four weeks, with full information about what has been accomplished.
ASAP Latin
ASAP Latin covers the entirety of Latin grammar and syntax — material that consumes three years in a typical boarding school — across thirty class sessions in a single summer. It serves three kinds of students.
The first is the beginning student who wishes to arrive at school in the fall ready to start Latin literature. The second is the student who has already studied Latin and wishes to review and consolidate every element of grammar before returning to school. The third is the student who wishes to continue at Emerson Latin year-round, taking once-weekly Latin literature courses over the weekend while competing at higher levels in international contests throughout the fall, winter, spring, and Trinity terms — and eventually joining Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose and Poetry.
Classes meet every other day, preserving the time needed to work through assignments with care. The method is hybrid — half grammar-translation, half the nature method. Concept follows concept in a logical sequence, so that even advanced grammar arrives with clarity rather than difficulty. Upon completion, students can translate and analyze authentic Latin prose and poetry at the level required by the AP Latin Exam, the IB, and the A-Level.
Register II Courses
Oxford Latin 1+2+3
The Oxford sequence shares the same hybrid methodology as ASAP Latin but proceeds at a more measured, evening pace. The three courses together are the equivalent of three years of Latin instruction at a boarding or independent school.
Oxford Latin 1 (in sequence) — June 15 – July 3 · 15 classes
The first three declensions; present-tense verbs across all four conjugations; the principal pronouns.
Oxford Latin 2 (in sequence) — July 6 – July 28 · 17 classes
The fourth and fifth declensions; the remaining verb tenses; principal ablative constructions; present and past participles.
Oxford Latin 3 (in sequence) — July 29 – August 21 · 18 classes
The subjunctive mood; the ablative absolute; indirect statement; gerunds and gerundives. Authentic Latin literature introduced at the midpoint of the course.
Full Sequence — June 15 – August 21 · 50 classes
Students who complete the full sequence — all three courses — may continue with Emerson Latin in the fall, joining once-weekly Latin literature courses over the weekend and competing at higher levels in international contests throughout the year. Students who complete only Oxford 1, or Oxford 1 and 2, are welcome to return and complete the full sequence; continuation into Emerson Latin's year-round program is available only upon completion of all three courses.
Oxford Latin 1 (Standalone)
For students whose summer schedules could not accommodate an earlier start. The standalone Oxford Latin 1 covers the same foundational grammar as Oxford Latin 1 in the sequence, concentrated into two intensive weeks of daily sessions. Students whose schedules were otherwise committed earlier in the summer may still arrive at September with a genuine beginning in Latin.
Register I Courses
Natural Latin
Natural Latin proceeds by immersion. Students read accessible Latin with sustained repetition of grammar forms and sentence patterns, arriving at understanding from within the text. Explicit grammar is attended to carefully at each stage, because international contests require precise grammatical knowledge.
The course proceeds at a measured pace, meeting once weekly in the summer and continuing once weekly through the fall, winter, spring, and Trinity terms. The following summer, students move into Foundational Latin Prose and Poetry; the fall immediately after, they join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays through to exam day in May. From the first day of Natural Latin to the AP examination is approximately two years.
Cambridge Latin
Cambridge Latin introduces younger students to Latin through reading. Ancient Roman stories form the primary text, with grammar treated as a tool for understanding rather than an end in itself. Students encounter meaning in context and build their sense of the language through the pleasure of narrative.
Two kinds of students find this course well suited: those who wish to arrive ahead of their peers when Latin begins at school in the fall, and those whose schools do not offer Latin but who intend to pursue international contests as part of a serious academic profile.
The summer intensive period meets twice weekly. Together with the fall term that follows, it completes the equivalent of one academic year of middle or high school Latin. Year two is completed across the winter, spring, and Trinity terms. The following summer, students begin Natural Latin. Apart from the summer intensive period, all subsequent terms meet once weekly at a more measured pace.
Stage II — The AP Latin Sequence
Prerequisite: completion of any Emerson Latin Stage I program, or demonstrable command of the whole of Latin grammar and syntax.
Stage II is the literature stage. Students read authentic Roman prose and poetry, prepare for the AP Latin Exam, and advance to the higher levels of international contests in Latin and the classical humanities. Three distinct paths are available. Understanding the difference among them is essential to choosing correctly.
The Intensive Path is for students who have completed Stage I and intend to sit the AP Latin Exam in the coming academic year. They take Foundational Latin Prose and Poetry this summer (July 13 – August 7), then join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays beginning in the fall, meeting through to exam day in May.
The Literature Path is for students who have completed Stage I and prefer to read Latin literature at a measured once-weekly pace over the weekend for a full year — or more — before taking the AP Latin Exam. These students are typically year-round Emerson Latin students who finished Stage I early, as middle school or early high school students, and wish to wait until their junior or senior year to sit the exam. While on this path, they prepare for and compete at higher levels in international contests. Students on the Literature Path join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose and Poetry in the fall that follows their second summer — not the upcoming fall.
The Summer AP Latin Path is for students from boarding and independent schools — not year-round Emerson Latin students — who wish to complete the entirety of AP Latin coursework before returning to school at the end of the summer. Emerson Latin's year-round students take AP Latin Prose and Poetry beginning in the fall term.
The Intensive Path
Students on the Intensive Path complete Foundational Latin Prose and Poetry concurrently in the second half of the summer (July 13 – August 7). These two courses are prerequisites for Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose and Poetry in the fall. In the fall, students join AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays, meeting through to exam day in May.
Foundational Latin Prose
For students who have completed their Stage I program and are entering the AP Latin Sequence. Working from College Board–approved prose selections, students translate and analyze each passage with close attention to vocabulary, syntax, and style across a range of authentic Latin prose authors. The course develops the habits of careful reading — accuracy, patience, attention to construction — that the AP Latin Exam rewards throughout.
Foundational Latin Prose is a prerequisite for Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose in the fall. Taken concurrently with Foundational Latin Poetry.
Formerly Pre-AP Latin Prose.
Foundational Latin Poetry
Working from College Board–approved poetry selections, students master scansion, dactylic hexameter, and the principal figures of speech — hendiadys, zeugma, chiasmus — that Roman poets employed with precision and purpose.
Foundational Latin Poetry is a prerequisite for Emerson Latin's AP Latin Poetry in the fall. Taken concurrently with Foundational Latin Prose.
Formerly Pre-AP Latin Poetry.
The Literature Path
The Literature Path is for students who prefer to read individual Roman authors carefully, at a once-weekly weekend pace, before entering AP preparation. It is designed primarily for year-round Emerson Latin students who completed Stage I while still in middle school or in their freshman or sophomore year of high school and who wish to wait until they are juniors or seniors before sitting the AP Latin Exam. Throughout this path, students prepare for and compete at higher levels in international contests in Latin and the classical humanities.
The full path spans two summers and the school year between them. In the fall that follows the second summer, students join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose on Saturdays and AP Latin Poetry on Sundays, meeting through to exam day in May.
| Term | Course | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Summer 1 | Latin Literature: Caesar | Once weekly, Saturday |
| Fall | Latin Literature: Catullus | Once weekly, weekend |
| Winter | Latin Literature: Cicero | Once weekly, weekend |
| Spring | Latin Literature: Ovid | Once weekly, weekend |
| Trinity Term | Latin Literature: Horace | Once weekly, weekend |
| Summer 2 | Latin Literature: Vergil | Once weekly, Saturday |
| Following Fall | AP Latin Prose (Sat) + AP Latin Poetry (Sun) | Weekly, September – May |
Latin Literature: Caesar
Caesar is the first course on the Literature Path — the immediate next step for students who have just completed Stage I. The course works through Caesar's Commentarii de Bello Gallico, the account of his Gallic campaigns that established both the genre of the war commentary and a model of Latin prose style imitated for two millennia. Caesar's prose is clear, vigorous, and direct — the natural first encounter with authentic Latin literature. Each session pairs close reading with the full suite of AP Latin question types: multiple choice, translation, short answer, and formal analysis.
After Caesar, students continue through the school year with Catullus (fall), Cicero (winter), Ovid (spring), and Horace (Trinity term), meeting once weekly, before returning the following summer for Vergil.
Latin Literature: Vergil
Vergil is the final course on the Literature Path — taken by students who completed Caesar the previous summer and have advanced through Catullus, Cicero, Ovid, and Horace during the intervening school year. The following fall, these students join Emerson Latin's AP Latin Prose and Poetry.
The course thoroughly covers the teacher's-choice passages from the Aeneid approved by the College Board — selections drawn principally from Books 1, 2, and 4. The required AP readings of Vergil are addressed separately in Emerson Latin's AP Latin Poetry in the fall. A successful grounding in both — the teacher's-choice passages and the required readings — is essential to a top score on the examination.
The Summer AP Latin Path
The Summer AP Latin Path is for students from boarding and independent schools who wish to complete the entirety of AP Latin preparation — all required readings and teacher's-choice passages — before returning to school at the end of the summer. This path is not for year-round Emerson Latin students; Emerson Latin's own students take AP Latin Prose and Poetry beginning in the fall term.
AP Latin Prose (Summer)
Every required letter of Pliny is covered completely, alongside additional prose authors for the unseen passage. Each letter occasions the full range of AP questions: multiple choice, short answer, translation, short essay, summary, and formal analysis. The two prose passage projects are completed, and Socratic seminar addresses the philosophical themes of the short essay. Taken concurrently with AP Latin Poetry.
AP Latin Poetry (Summer)
Every required book of Vergil's Aeneid is read and analyzed, alongside additional poets for the unseen passage. Scansion is mastered; poetic devices are explained for their contribution to meaning. Socratic seminar explores the great questions the Aeneid raises — duty against happiness, reason against passion, fate against freedom. Taken concurrently with AP Latin Prose.
Stage III — The Advanced Authors Program
Prerequisite: completion of AP Latin with a letter grade of A, whether at Emerson Latin or elsewhere.
Stage III is the advanced literature stage. Students who have completed the AP Latin Exam continue their engagement with Latin literature at the most advanced level, meeting once weekly over the weekend, while competing at the most elite level in international contests in Latin and the classical humanities.
The two courses in Stage III follow in sequence. Cicero II is taken in the summer immediately after the AP Latin Exam. Vulgate is taken the following summer, after a full school year of once-weekly weekend courses in the Advanced Authors Program — in the same spirit as the Literature Path, though at a considerably more advanced level.
Successful completion of Stage I — The Latin Formation — Stage II's Literature Path — and Stage III — The Advanced Authors Program — in their entirety is the equivalent of the classical requirements for a university degree in Classics at a Western institution.
Latin Literature: Cicero II
Cicero II is the first course taken after successful completion of the AP Latin Exam. Students who have passed the examination in May begin here in the summer that follows, reading Latin at a measured once-weekly pace while competing at the most elite international contests in Latin and the classical humanities.
The course turns to Cicero's First Oration Against Catiline — Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina, patientia nostra? — the speech by which Roman political oratory is most often introduced to English-speaking schoolchildren, and the one by which Latinists return to the language at its most powerful. Selected passages are read closely, with attention to construction, argumentative force, and the political crisis of 63 BC.
The course is designated II because Emerson Latin offers an earlier Cicero course — part of the Literature Path, centered on the De Amicitia and the Pro Archia Poeta. Prior acquaintance with Cicero is not required.
Latin Literature: Vulgate
Vulgate is the final course in the Emerson Latin sequence — a capstone taken the summer after Cicero II, following a full school year of once-weekly weekend courses in the Advanced Authors Program. Like the Literature Path that precedes it, this stage proceeds at one meeting per week, making room for the student to compete at the most elite level in international contests throughout the year.
The course is in Latin philology and textual history. Its primary text is the Gospel of Mark as rendered in Jerome's Vulgate — the Latin Bible that served as the authoritative scriptural text of the Western world for more than a millennium. Jerome's prose is accessible and narrative; the Gospel of Mark is among the most direct and vivid of the Gospels. Parallel passages from Matthew and Luke are introduced throughout, alongside historical and grammatical analysis that initiates students into the discipline of textual criticism.
Formerly Medieval Bible.
Inquiries
If the student has studied Latin elsewhere, or if the family is uncertain where the student stands in relation to this curriculum, a conversation is the right first step. It is always better to begin at the right level than to place a student where the pace will not serve them.
Two options are available. Schedule a free consultation, or correspond directly by text — KakaoTalk in Korean, Telegram in English.
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