Disney and Taylor Swift lyrics used to increase Latin appeal

Latin teaching in many schools is based on models dating back to the 1950s, and a new approach would attract more state-educated students, according to new guidance from the University of Cambridge.

Disney and Taylor Swift are cited in a teacher’s guide as examples of student engagement.

Cambridge academic Steven Hunt says Latin is not just for the “lucky ones in the few schools that offer it”.

A program to be introduced in September aims to encourage more public schools to teach Latin.

Mr. Hunt, the guide’s author, who has been teaching Latin and training new teachers for 35 years, believes that students should be taught to speak Latin as well as learn written grammar and vocabulary.

He told the BBC that Latin should be constructed in the same way as modern foreign languages ​​- based on the four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing,

But he said his handbook was not a criticism of teachers who “work very hard in difficult circumstances”.

“The exam system at GCSE tends to force teachers to use fairly traditional approaches – lots of teaching to the test – rather than exploring other approaches that could be more engaging, contain more diversity and reflect what we know about how young people learn languages.” he said.

According to the British Council, there is a “severe divide” in the teaching of Latin in England – with GCSE Latin being offered by around 65% of independent schools and only 9% of state schools.

A £4million program to introduce Latin to about 40 state schools in England – announced last year by former Education Secretary Gavin Williamson – is due to start in September.

Examples cited in Mr. Hunt’s handbook include a university lecturer using Swift’s “Bad Blood” to teach “the starting point for writing” in Latin, and a YouTube channel with translated songs from “The Little Mermaid” and “The Ice queen”.

Zanna Wing-Davey, executive director of the Latin Program, a charity working to improve literacy and language learning through Latin in public schools, hailed the “refreshing rethink of classical education.”

Children attending the charity’s summer school recreated a version of the Roman myth, Echo and Narcissus, with two hip-hop songs – one in English and the other in Latin.

“This supports advanced translation skills while also engaging students from a broad demographic,” she said.

She told the BBC that the structure of modern language curricula “appeals to students from all backgrounds and allows students of different abilities to access a subject traditionally seen as ‘challenging'”.

Elizabeth Sutcliffe, Head of Classics at Abbey School, an independent girls’ school in Reading, said teaching has “come a long way from the 1950s”.

Her students speak basic Latin in class, perform plays with contemporary twists, and recently hosted a “Dragon’s Den-style event to sell the benefits of ancient cities as tourist destinations in the ancient world.”

Ms Sutcliffe said the subject should be accessible and that there is a focus at her school on exploring English words with Latin roots.

“Admittedly, some students still prefer a more methodical approach,” she said. “But if you can gain language skills through computer games and pop songs, and bring the benefits of learning Latin to a wider audience, why not?”

In his handbook, Mr Hunt also said there was a need to attract a diverse range of students and to improve presentation in teaching materials, some of which contain racial and gender stereotypes and trivialize slavery.

He advises against using a text traditionally used for teaching – the story “Venalicius” or “the slave trader”.

A spokesman for the Department of Education said it was making “great strides in giving children of all backgrounds the opportunity to learn Latin”.

They said the program, which begins in September, would help schools develop training and teaching materials and support teachers in teaching Latin.

“Latin can help students learn other subjects from English to modern languages, and can be another powerful tool to help the children who learn it fulfill their potential,” they added.