Latin: Lower Intermediate - Consolidation

Overview

This 10-week consolidation course is based on the syllabus of the previous two terms (most recently – Latin: Lower Intermediate - Part 2) and is primarily tailored to meet the needs of students who completed the weekly class, but new students who are at the appropriate level of proficiency are also welcome. Students who missed some live sessions during the previous two terms and wish to catch up for the next level up in the next academic year are encouraged to join. It will comprise one weekly, one-hour pre-recorded lecture to be viewed by students in preparation for the weekly tutor-led live session at the advertised time. Students will be encouraged to prepare and study at home.

Using sections 3 and 4 of Jones and Sidwell's textbook 'Reading Latin' as well as additional resources, we will meet and consolidate semi-deponent and deponent verbs, participles, reported statements, uses of subjunctive and several types of secondary clauses. We will also practice all the verb tenses, in active and passive forms.

We will be working through and revising sections 3 and 4 of Jones and Sidwell's lively textbook Reading Latin and on unseen passages and materials provided by the tutor on a weekly basis. The structure of the course means that we will be translating extended passages from the beginning - an essential way to get to grips with Latin in practice.

By the end of the course, we will have encountered all the verbs tenses, pronouns and be familiar with the major clauses (reported statements, active periphrastic, ablative absolute, relative clauses, cum clauses, indirect commands), giving students the confidence to navigate original Latin texts at a more advanced level.


This course combines online study with a weekly 1-hour live webinar led by your tutor. Find out more about how our short online courses are taught.


Programme details

This course begins on the 16 Apr 2026 which is when course materials are made available to students. Students should study these materials in advance of the first live meeting which will be held on 23 Apr 2026, 12.30-1.30pm (UK time).

Week 1: Pronouns: revision of the pronoun is. Personal pronouns and possessive adjectives: revision;  and suus in context.

Week 2: Verbs: perfect indicative deponent; semi-deponents; perfect participles deponent.

Week 3: Verbs: Present participles, future participles and perfect participles of active verbs. Translations and other usages.

Week 4: Verbs: revision of infinitives and perfect and future infinitives. Syntax: reported statements in more complex translations.

Week 5: The ablative case: revision and new usages. Ablative absolute and nominal clauses.

Week 6: Verbs: pluperfect indicative active and deponent.

Week 7: The relative pronoun quī and relative clauses.

Week 8: Active and passive voice revision: present, future, imperfect indicative; perfect, pluperfect indicative, and imperative.

Week 9: Usages of pluperfect subjunctive active, passive and deponent. Cum + subjunctive.

Week 10: Revision of present subjunctive active, passive and deponent. Revision of imperfect subjunctive.

Background Reading

No coursebook required \ All course materials will be provided by the course tutor

Textbooks

No course book required. Course materials will be provided by the course tutor.

Fees

Description Costs
Course Fee £360.00

Funding

If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:

Concessionary fees for short courses

Tutor

Mrs Elena Vacca

Elena Giulia Vacca is a Classicist specialising in Comparative Literature and the Classical Reception of Greek tragedy in Russian literature. She is completing her DPhil in Classics at the University of Oxford, where she also lectures in Latin. In addition, she teaches Latin and Ancient Greek at the City Literary Institute in London, and Italian as a second language at the Italian Cultural Institute.

Course aims

  • Consolidate the grammar, syntax and vocabulary learnt throughout the first two terms.
  • Become fluent in reading Latin texts.
  • Read passages of original text to see the contructions studied in context. 
  • Revise more challenging aspects of the language that are appropriate for the level. 

Course objectives:

  • Read and translate original Latin texts.
  • Understand advanced grammar topics and recognise the phenomena in the texts.
  • Consolidate and enhance the extant vocabulary by recognising the formation of individual words and etymological affinities.
  • Building contextual knowledge about society and culture of 5th c. Athens

Teaching methods

This course takes place over 10 weeks, with a weekly learning schedule and weekly live webinar held on Microsoft Teams. Shortly before a course commences, students are provided with access to an online virtual learning environment, which houses the course content, including video lectures, complemented by readings or other study materials. Any standard web browser can be used to access these materials, but we recommend Google Chrome. Working through these materials over the course of the week will prepare students for a weekly 1-hour live webinar you will share with your expert tutor and fellow students. All courses are structured to amount to 100 study hours, so that on average, you should set aside 10 hours a week for study. Although the course finishes after 10 weeks, all learning materials remain available to all students for 12 months after the course has finished.

All courses are led by an expert tutor. Tutors guide students through the course materials as part of the live interactions during the weekly webinars. Tutors will also provide individualised feedback on your assignments. All online courses are taught in small student cohorts so that you and your peers will form a mutually supportive and vibrant learning community for the duration of the course. You will learn from your fellow students as well as from your tutor, and they will learn from you.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course students will be expected to be able to:

1. Translate short passages from Latin into English;

2. Apply their knowledge of Latin grammar, of word formation and of vocabulary;

3. Understand a Latin text as a product of a specific time and place.

Assessment methods

You will be set optional assignments to consolidate your learning and to allow you to progress at your own pace. Weekly tests/quizzes and homework will provide a means of gauging progress over the course.

Application

Please use the 'Book now' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an enrolment form.

 

IT requirements

Any standard web browser can be used to access course materials on our virtual learning environment, but we recommend Google Chrome. We also recommend that students join the live webinars on Microsoft Teams using a laptop or desktop computer rather than a phone or tablet due to the limited functionality of the app on these devices.