Referring to:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/latinforstarters/posts/836908405587096/
The theme of these ‘group resources’ posts is not only to
list what is on file here in the group and links, but to give some guidance to
the question Magister Andrews originally posed: there are truckloads of Latin
resources online, but how do you find “the diamond in the rough” because,
frankly, there are also truckloads of garbage, all of which – and I know from
my own experience – will simply be a waste of time and could mislead you
to believe that Latin, while no doubt challenging (there’s no getting around
that), is simply too high a hill to climb. But it can be climbed; you just need
to find your way. However, if you’re a beginner, how do you know what is useful
and what is not? Well, that can be a personal decision; what I’ve listed in
these recent posts is what I thought would be appropriate for the different
levels in this group but I would never say that there is some sort of
definitive list.
Videos and listening resources can be a nightmare. I’ve
spent more time selecting them – and many of them still had to be edited – than
on any other resource. Magister Andrews has done a few of these little videos
already, and I hope he does more. Why do I like them?
[1] It isn’t ‘fancy’ – it isn’t full of zappy video effects
and “Gladiator” soundtracks which may suggest that a presenter is concentrating
more on the look than the content, and there’s ample evidence of that online.
[2] It is short and focussed,
it deals with a limited range of vocabulary, and the intentions
are clear. He titles his videos ‘Latin from Zero’ i.e. he knows exactly who
his ‘target audience’ is and so he doesn’t give you some rambling introduction
– in Latin – which, if you’re only starting, will be confusing, nor does he
give ‘examples’ using more advanced levels or go off at a tangent talking about
something that has nothing to do with the topic in hand.
He does add a ‘side note’ – calceōs foedōs ignosce │ forgive
(my) filthy shoes – but that isn’t a key piece of information; he’s already
told us what matters in this video.
[3] He never speaks in English, but simply gives you the
phrases with a translation as an additional reference. He illustrates the
vocabulary by his own physical movements, visual references, and the pace of
his voice.
[4] He doesn’t pretend to be a Roman. I have no issues with
people who like to think they are, or eat dormice or invade Gaul, but when they
talk at full speed using every grammatical structure Latin has on offer, and
you’re just starting out, then it can be very intimidating. I really stress the
word intimidating; there can be a lot of that online.
[5] He doesn’t make mistakes, nor does his pronunciation
sound as if somebody is scraping their nails on a blackboard. He uses standard
Classical Latin pronunciation and correct vowel lengths. Occasionally I have
worked with videos where there has been some minor error – nobody’s perfect –
but it doesn’t detract from the quality of what has been done, and if I can’t
edit it, I always note it.
[6] He has a consistent style. We like
consistency, and we become comfortable with the style and voice of a presenter.
One of the problems in Youtube is that you may come across a video relating to,
for example, a particular book, but the presenters don’t follow through and produce
videos on all the chapters. My posts on Sonnenschein’s Ora Maritima were
a rare find since there are listening resources for the entire book.
Thanks, Magister Andrews – and your filthy shoes are
forgiven 
– just don’t
dress up as a gladiator.
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