Let’s face it. Sometimes it’s hard to get motivated to study Latin. In the early stages, some people have so much enthusiasm and desire to learn, but after awhile it’s hard to get into the habit of studying Latin on a consistent basis. This is especially true when you encounter some difficult conjugations and all of a sudden all that enthusiasm dwindles. One of the ways you can force yourself to learn Latin is to enroll in a long distance learning course.

The Carmenta Online Latin Classroom offers live online instruction by a qualified instructor. The class is geared toward students who are in their teens or of adult age. In addition to live instruction, homework is assigned and graded. Some people need the homework practice to reinforce what they’ve learned in class. Homework is also another way for students to study Latin, because without it some people are not self motivated to take the time to study Latin. If you’d like to get more information go here: http://www.carmentalatin.com/index.html

There’s also a Latin course offered by Lone Pine Classical School. The course is geared toward teenagers and children. There are two online classes per week and an optional class for extra help. The optional class is crucial for students who like to ask a lot of questions. In addition, the optional class allows human interaction, which for some people is an important factor in getting motivated to study Latin. There is also a two-week trial where you can quit the course if you find that it doesn’t suit you. Here is some more information: http://www.lonepineclassical.com/

I haven’t personally tried the Cambridge Latin Course, but the resources that this program offers is quite impressive. They have all sorts of online quizzes that go with the lessons in the course. You can also start whenever you want without worrying about an enrollment schedule. The Cambridge Program also offers a review course for those students who are planning on taking Latin examinations in the future. There is also email and e-tutor support for those who need the extra attention. You can find some more information here: http://www.cambridgescp.com/page.php?p=il^faqs^intro

Here are some questions you might want to keep in mind when comparing online Latin courses:

1)     How much are the courses? The Lone Pine Classical School allows students to pay in installments of $50 but the Cambridge course requires the full fee at the onset of the course.

2)    Is there tech/email/tutor support? If there is none, then you might be better off just studying on your own.

3)    Are additional textbooks/workbooks needed? If so, how much do they cost? Even if the mode of instruction is online, the course may require students to do homework from the textbook/workbook, so the cost of the textbook has to be factored in with the cost of tuition.

4)    How reputable is the course? The Lone Pine Classical School offers a two-week trial, which is a good indication that they are confident in their Latin program. There are lots of tutor and online Latin programs but some of them are frankly quite sketchy.

5)    Is free necessarily bad? No, free online Latin courses are not necessarily bad, but they don’t offer the extra support that some students need to succeed in learning Latin. One of the ways to force yourself to learn Latin is to pay for a course. That way when you’re tempted to skip class or procrastinate in studying your Latin verbs, you’ll be reminded of the money you spent and will reluctantly do what you have to do to get good value out of your money.