salve Reader!

A couple of weeks ago, I received an invitation to speak at a very (very) popular podcast... in Latin. I was honoured. I was terrified. I worried about my Latin fluency under pressure, and declining seemed the best option.

But I did not say "no". I constantly tell my students that languages are to be spoken and that making mistakes is part of the learning process. I also tell them that speaking Latin can be fun and not just an exercise in accuracy.

And so I went on the podcast, had a laugh, made quite a few mistakes and left thinking I had to do it more often. Will this lead me to create a series of videos about the topics I would have loved to say more about? We shall see!

This week, to celebrate embracing "audaciam" (daring), I am going to share some ideas for students to come out of their comfort zone and have a bit of fun. Here are 3 proposals (reach out if you have any questions):

1. Participate in the ARLT Latin Reading Composition. This is a great chance to be loud about Latin, learn more about how the language sounded, and improve your literary understanding. Plus, it is a fabulous supercurricular to bag!
2. Learn about the Romans in an experimental way. Why not visit a site or museum, or even get your hands dirty with a Roman meal? That is what I cooked this weekend following Apicius, and it was a hit!

3. Be bold when choosing universities to apply to. Go to open days and engage with application support programmes. For example, there is a Cambridge for Beginners webinar offered by Christ's College in February, which is perfect for Y11 and Y12 students. You have nothing to lose by attending a webinar and exploring what it is like to study at a collegiate university.

I would love to hear how you or your students are going to be daring this week. Let me know by replying to this email!

Ana Martin

PS: Registration to my Latin GCSE Revision Course is about to open. Be the first to find out here.