Prose comp: the case in favour

I am a convert to prose composition. I did none as part of my own A-level Latin course. I did a lot in Greek at university (as part of the ab initio course), and a fair bit in Latin, but I felt less confident in the latter as I hadn’t done it at school. I then avoided it for several years of my teaching career until I arrived at a school in which it is done at all levels, with every year group, and in both languages. And so I started teaching it. At first I was nervous. I did a vast amount of preparation before each lesson, and checked all my own versions with a colleague before the class. Now I am a total convert and I love teaching it.

My love of prose composition is not shared by every classicist. But in a nutshell, this is why I think you should start off the year by doing English to Latin/Greek sentences with your sixth form classes:

1. It improves pupils’ language skills no end

It allows them to consolidate basic accidence and syntax and enables them to gain a proper understanding of sentence structure. Often pupils only really know their -μι verbs in Greek, or understand the sequence of tenses in Latin, if they are required to write in the language. It is a truth of educational theory that active manipulation of the language leads to greater retention than passive absorption, and pupils’ unseen translation and reading of set texts will improve as a result.

2. It allows pupils to appreciate some of the difficulties faced by ancient authors and how this impacts on their style of writing

Pupils of KS3 and 4 English are required to write in all sorts of styles and genres, including descriptive and narrative writing. This clearly has an impact, even if just subconsciously, on their analysis and understanding of the achievements of the authors they read as part of their GCSE and A-level English courses. The same is undoubtedly true of those who have tried to write in Greek or Latin. Pupils who do both languages will often comment on the fact that Greek verbs are harder, or that Latin feels clunkier because it doesn’t have such a range of participles. These insights will have an impact on their appreciation of the styles of Thucydides and Plato, or of the merits of Tacitus vs Cicero, etc.

3. It is the closest experience we can give them to teaching the language

My Latin and Greek are a lot better as a result of the experience of teaching them. We can’t often give our pupils the opportunity to be teachers (although in some contexts this might be possible). But we can give them the opportunity to write in the target languages, which is perhaps almost as useful.

4. The prose composition papers at A-level and Pre-U are easier than the comprehension alternatives.

I would like to add a caveat: if pupils are well-prepared (if they are not, it will not go well!). The prose composition passages are always straightforward, and the same sorts of constructions and vocabulary are tested each year. Candidates tend to let themselves down if they don’t know their basic grammar (noun and verb endings, pronouns, etc.) and so it is important that prose composition is started at the very beginning of the LVI, and that grammar and vocabulary are regularly tested. Translating both into as well as out of the classical languages needs to become the normal way of working in language lessons.

5. Many pupils enjoy it

This is particularly true of able pupils, but I have also found that less able linguists enjoy composing in Latin/Greek if they can see the impact it has had on their translation skills.

So, if the benefits are so many and various, why aren’t we all doing it?

a) Lack of teacher confidence

This is, I think, the biggest barrier. It certainly was a barrier for me earlier on in my career. My advice would be simply to get on with it. Learn alongside your pupils. Find a classical colleague (in your department, online, through the ARLT etc.) who is willing to check your versions before you go through them with a class: there are always people who are willing to help out. Accept that you might make mistakes (who doesn’t?!) and revel in the fact that writing in Latin and Greek is a fluid and creative exercise: there are often many right answers (and many wrong ones…).

b) It serves no purpose…

…as no-one speaks Latin/Greek and it doesn’t directly link into reading ancient authors, which is why we learn the classical languages. Or so the argument goes!

Aside from the arguments advanced above, I would argue that a lot of what is done in education only makes sense within a larger context of the subject as a whole. Learning vocabulary in French would be pointless if we didn’t use these words together in a sentence. Learning the periodic table in Chemistry would be pointless if we didn’t then need it to understand and construct chemical formulae. Similarly, English to Latin/Greek would be pointless if it didn’t (as noted above) strengthen our knowledge and understanding of the grammar and vocabulary which we then encounter in ancient authors. And it does.

You needn’t commit to doing full passages. Pupils will gain a huge amount from doing just sentences. Why not commit to starting with some GCSE level sentences with your sixth form class, and working up from there?