Languages

The study of languages enriches our understanding of the world by experiencing life through different perspectives and ways of thinking. Foundational to the Adolescent Program’s language studies is Latin, the bedrock of Western Civilization. Spanish is also studied because it is the most applicable to our place and time. Greek is introduced during High School studies of The Ancient World.

At St. Helena Montessori School all students study Latin starting in the sixth grade. Some might question why every student pursues a language that is not commonly spoken anymore, or wonder whether that time could be used for pursuing other, more practical subjects. Yet Latin is a practical subject. In one language, students are able to accomplish a great variety of personal and academic goals. Latin, as a language, fosters communication and an exploration of how to communicate with each other. As a highly structured and precise language, it assists students in refining their ability to reason and express themselves with exactitude. As a language that is the progenitor of Spanish, French and Italian, it helps students to make connections between those languages. As a language that has vocabulary roots present in English, it bolsters English vocabulary comprehension and spelling; but as a language that is structured quite differently from English, it challenges students and helps them to grow in perseverance and the building up of memory. 

And yet, the benefits of studying Latin expand beyond grammar and word roots, and it is here that the students’ intellects can grasp ideas that transcend our own limited experience. Students who continue in their Latin studies can read poetry and laws, gospels and histories, all of which were foundational for the literature, laws and religion that we have to this day. Even when Latin stopped being the language of everyday life, it lived on in university discussions between students and professors, the works of scientists and philosophers, and the Roman liturgy and its hymns. It is a language that contains the experiences of all kinds of people over multiple millennia. When students study Latin, they are joining in that dialogue that reaches back continuously over the ages, and they can carry the fruits of that engagement, a treasure house of things that endure, into the challenges of adult life.

St. Helena Montessori students learn Latin through extensive readings in the Latin language. They also learn rudimentary spoken Latin phrases with the goal of being able to speak and understand spoken Latin in basic conversations. Spoken Latin acquisition also occurs in classroom games and discussion of Latin novellas, short stories written entirely in Latin and keyed to students’ levels of learning. Finally, students also memorize conjugations of verbs and declensions of nouns that they will continue to use throughout their language studies. Our language program also looks to make connections to English, Spanish and other languages as a way to help students not only master Latin vocabulary, but to extend their knowledge of other languages as well.