About LIA

In this interview (" What is the Latin in Action teaching method and online resource? Why and how should I use it?" - available as mp3 [52 minutes] and pdf [216kb]), Susanna Phillippo (Lecturer in Classics, Newcastle University) explains her pedagogical approach and provides advice for those who may be considering using it or the materials. Susanna has extensive experience of language teaching in St. Andrew's, Oxford and Newcastle and is well-known as a pioneer in developing new approaches to teaching beginners' ancient Greek. Latin in Action is the result of her work with Mrs. Teresa Saunders (Newcastle University) and Jakob Wisse (now Professor of Latin Language and Literature at Newcastle University) undertaken with the assistance of her HCA Teaching Development Grant. As well as continuing to develop approaches for language learning at beginners' levels, including PG acquisition of modern European and other languages for scholarly purposes, Susanna pursues research interests in Greek tragedy and the Greek influence on European literature and culture.

The interview considers:

1. The origin of the idea for Latin in Action
2. The effect of using translations alongside the text and the grammar assistance work in the classroom for students and tutors
3. Advice for potential users
4. The rationale for Latin in Action online
5. Adjusting classroom practice to incorporate Latin in Action online

Any further questions should be addressed to Susanna.

These materials draw on Cressida's experience of developing teaching resources for both Latin and Greek in schools and for Latin at all levels at the University of Nottingham, where she convened the Beginners' Latin course (2008-09). Her research side-interest in Neo-Latin was a valuable addition to the project. In this article ("Some thoughts on writing the Latin in Action grammar sheets") Cressida reflects on the process of creating the supporting grammar materials, with reference to their pedagogical utility and rationale. Any queries relating to them should be directed to Cressida at the University of Oxford, where she is the Classics Outreach Officer (from Sept. 2009).

In addition, Cressida is currently completing a PhD at the University of Nottingham on the eighteenth-century reception of Sophocles' Oedipus at Colonus. Her enduring research interests are in Greek drama and philosophy.

This digital realisation of Susanna Phillippo's Latin in Action materials has been strongly informed by Timothy Hill's experience as developer of the Cambridge University Press Lectrix application, designed to enhance the understanding and appreciation of ancient texts by intermediate and advanced students of the classical tongues. In both Lectrix and Latin in Action the aim is to allow readers to focus on the texts by laying them out in such a way that cross-referencing becomes a natural, fluid, and swift operation.

In addition, the exercises and grammar pages have been produced from documents marked up by Dr. Hill in the TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) P5 vocabulary, then transformed via XSLT into XHTML. This was done to maximise the interoperability and re-use of the materials: the original TEI-encoded exercises, grammar pages, and XML Schemas can be downloaded here, here, and here.

As part of her role as CSC Academic Coordinator, Eleanor was delighted to put together a team of like-minded experts to make the fruits of Susanna's TDG accessible to a wider audience and suitable for online use. We were supported in this endeavour by a JISC Distributed e-Learning 2 (DeL2) project grant under the Assets and Exemplars funding strand. Comments on Latin in Action Online as a whole are welcomed by CSC, and they will be used (where appropriate) to guide support for the development of other/further materials or methods. Please use the online Feedback Form or contact Eleanor directly.