Announcements · Winter Term 2026

Starting Latin This Winter

October 22, 2026

Most of our students arrive with no Latin at all, which is exactly how they should arrive. Four first courses open on November 21 and 22, one for each age. They differ in how the language is taught as well as in who takes them, because a ten year old and a sixteen year old do not learn a language the same way.

Two ways to learn Latin. The natural method teaches Latin as a living language: students read stories in Latin from the first day and take in the grammar the way a child takes in a first language. The grammar and translation method names each rule first, then puts it to work in translation. Younger children absorb; older students analyze; in middle school, they do both.

The four first courses

Natural Latin 1

Grades 5 and 6 · Saturdays, 9 to 11 AM

The natural method. Story, repetition, and speaking, at an unhurried pace. Grammar is met long before it is named.

Oxford Latin 1

Grades 7 and 8 · Saturdays, 11 AM to 1 PM

Both methods together. Each lesson begins with a Latin story read for meaning; then the grammar inside it is named, practiced, and put to work in translation. The reading keeps the language alive; the grammar makes it exact.

Grammar Latin 1

Grades 9 to 12 · Sundays, 11 AM to 1 PM

The grammar and translation method. Rules first, then translation: the most direct route to reading real Latin literature.

Intensive Latin

Grades 10 and 11 · Saturdays, 3 to 5 PM

For the student who plans to begin AP Latin next fall. The language course that elite boarding schools spread over three years, we complete in three of our terms, Winter, Spring, and Trinity: thirty class periods. By the end of Trinity, a student is ready to begin our AP Latin coursework in the fall. It is our fastest course, and it is meant to be. Because of the pace, we ask to see your child’s most recent report card, with grades in English, any foreign language, and the humanities, and any teacher comments. Verbal test scores are welcome but not required.

A student who already has some Latin may join Natural Latin 2 (Sundays, 9 to 11 AM) or Oxford Latin 3 (Saturdays, 7 to 9 PM) after a fifteen-minute Placement Reading with Ioannes Magister.

Every class is two hours, live on Zoom, and taught by Ioannes Magister. All times are Korea time. Ten weekly classes run from November 21 to January 24. Every class is recorded, and enrolled students have the recordings for the whole course, so a student who misses one week, or many, never falls behind.

Not sure which? That is what the fifteen minutes are for. A free conversation, over Zoom with Ioannes Magister in English, or by phone with our administrator in Korean. We ask what your child has studied and what you hope for, and we tell you which course fits. It is not a test. It is how we make sure the first class is the right one.

Write to us on KakaoTalk in Korean, WhatsApp in English, or at contact@emersonlatin.com. We reply within one business day. Or book your fifteen minutes directly.