The aim of this paper is to set out the results of the Developing and creating didactic proposals for Latin and Classical Culture (now DPLCC) course, which was financed and organised with the Spanish Ministry of Education, CEFIRE, during 2021.

The training programme is aimed at teachers and anyone qualified to teach classical languages. It has been divided into two parts: a theory and a practical section. The theory section entailed a review of some fundamental topics in language teaching. The practical section involved the creation of a didactic proposal based on the element of water. The course counted a total of 34 participants; only 22 finished the theory section and 12 the practical section. From a practical perspective for participants, it was observed that various activities were effectively carried out. In particular, the trainees produced quality texts adapted to the required level. In addition, the proposed exercises are diverse and appropriate for the planned objectives. On the other hand, the graphic design, page layout and illustrations proposed did not have a particular focus on quality, indicating a lesser degree of technical and graphic preparation for producing materials that are also visually appealing to a younger audience. The study shows that trainees revisit and create new activities from scratch, always staying aligned with the chosen theme and the proposed educational level.

This essay presents the methods, as well as the pedagogical effects, findings and results of introducing Ancient Greek in the curriculum of children between three and 12 years old as evidenced over 27 years in the method of Elliniki Agogi. Elliniki Agogi is an award-winning private educational institute established in Greece in the mid-1990s at a time when the teaching of Ancient Greek was questioned and dramatically reduced from the public curriculum. Its aim is to safeguard learning that has its roots in Ancient Greek and to continue to introduce students to the Greek civilisation and its language, using effective, entertaining and artistic methods. This endeavour was based on specific pedagogical models; by learning through experience and through a communication-orientated educational process. With concomitant, cautious organisation and preparation of each lesson a diversified educational curriculum is created that connects the students to their distant past while experiencing positive emotions, filled with ethical paradigms that contribute later to master a fully-shaped personality. 27 years later, studies have come to prove the positive influence of learning Ancient Greek in children's linguistic and mental abilities. The following study conducted is distinctive in the detailed pedagogical method it provides and validates the importance of teaching the Ancient Greek language to children as early as possible.

‘Visual Translation: A Creative Tool for Practising Metacognition and Analysing Agency and Power’ describes the design for a ‘visual translation’ project that I developed to help high school students in an advanced Ancient Greek literature course differentiate between literal and literary translation. This project could potentially be adapted for students at any level of Ancient Greek or Latin language studies, but would likely be particularly apt for the longer passages that are taught in intermediate and advanced language courses.

During the school closures in the beginning of 2021 many students and teachers found themselves making use of new remote educational technology. The use of an online chat function and breakout rooms became routine. Using observations during lessons, anonymised chat logs and a student questionnaire it is shown that there are positive outcomes for student voice and inclusion when using these features. The possibility for integration of a chat function in the physical classroom, to benefit students who are more confident in messaging than speaking, is briefly considered although a proper study of this was not possible at the time.

In October of 2018, a pedagogical experiment was conducted at York University, Toronto, Canada, in which students were given an assignment. For this assignment they were to conduct research on a variety of Roman public buildings in groups, build digital reconstructions of them using the Unity 3D game engine, and present them to the class in the form of a virtual reality (VR) simulation. In doing so, students were able to create a virtual built environment based on their research, navigate it, and discuss the space with a sense of immersion and scale. Using this experiment as a case study, the goal of this article is twofold: firstly, to assess the pedagogical efficacy of constructionist approaches to teaching students about Roman architecture, specifically using VR and video game design technology. The second goal is to address the technical and pedagogical challenges of using game design software in the classroom and to propose ways in which this assignment can be improved in the future.

The aim of this contribution is to provide a new methodology regarding the use of photogrammetry and 3D modelling in the classroom. By means of a practicum taught at Complutense University of Madrid and a survey conducted afterwards, we show the different steps of the activity, as well as the reception of the students, who learnt to elaborate 3D figures.

The article discusses the issue of access to Classical education in general and Greek and Latin language in particular currently experienced by working-class students in the UK, both at high school and at University level. It then focuses specifically on the provision of Classical languages in the Liverpool region, traditionally an area of deprivation and a focal point of Classics poverty. The article details the results from a survey conducted on 68 students of the Department of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology of the University of Liverpool, which shows that even when the cohort is not predominantly middle class, feelings of marginalisation and estrangement continue to be felt by students. Finally, it suggests a number of recommendations to address these concerns, tackle elitism, and promote inclusion.

In November 2022, ChatGPT 3.5 was released on a public research preview, gaining notoriety for its ability to pull from a vast body of information to create coherent and digestible bodies of text that accurately respond to queries (OpenAI, 2022). It is able to recognise the grammar and vocabulary of ancient languages, translate passages, and compose texts at an alarmingly accurate and rapid rate. For teachers, this AI has had mixed reviews. Some fear its ability to produce well-written work effortlessly, while others are excited by its abilities to push the boundaries of current teaching practices. This paper explores how well ChatGPT explains grammatical concepts, parses inflected forms, and translates Classical Latin, Ancient Greek, and Classical Sanskrit. Overall, ChatGPT is rather good at working with Classical Latin and Sanskrit, but its abilities with Ancient Greek are deeply problematic. Although it is quite flawed at this time, ChatGPT, when used properly, could become a useful a tool for ancient language study. With proper guiding phrases, students could use this AI to practise vocabulary, check their translations, and rephrase grammatical concepts.

A personal reflection on the experience of introducing Latin to the curriculum. School S. (non-selective, secondary) introduced Latin as a timetabled subject at Key Stage 3 between 2016 and 2019. This is a case study and personal reflection from the teacher who instigated and taught the course, comprising the extracurricular efforts which paved the way for the class, methodological considerations, an evaluation of the project, and the reasons why Latin was ultimately discontinued from the curriculum.

Every textbook has its strengths, and each its own quirks and idiosyncrasies. Apart from any pedagogical concerns about the old Cambridge Latin Course textbook series, for example, was the question of how it represented problematic aspects of the ancient world, such as the role of women and the institution of slavery (see Hunt, 2016). The de Romanis Latin course (Radice et al., 2020a and 2020b), which we use at my school at Key Stage 3, takes a much more detached approach to the teaching of Roman culture, presenting its reading exercises as individual stories grouped around each chapter's centralised theme rather than as a narrative told from the perspective of one group of fictionalised characters. But difficult subjects still arise and need to be handled sensitively by the teacher – particularly given the age group (11–14) the textbook is aimed at. This paper shows one way in which this might be achieved.

Teachers of Classics in sixth form colleges and secondary schools regularly provide extra-curricular activities alongside their bread-and-butter classes in Latin, Classical Civilisation, Ancient History, and Greek. With the on-going squeeze on the provision of these four classical subjects, it is inevitable that teachers of Classics look to other areas within their schools and colleges both to maintain and to promote the face of Classics. The purpose of this paper is to explain the delivery and the thinking behind a weekly extra-curricular activity called ‘Classics on Film’ that was set up at Peter Symonds College in 2018 and which has now continued for four years. This activity encompasses cine-antiquity; in other words, a class that focuses on films depicting the ancient world. By breaking down this project and some of its results, this paper aims to give teachers of Classics and others awareness of the methods, resources, and challenges when delivering an extra-curricular activity on cine-antiquity. Furthermore, it aims to provide a model that other teachers might adapt or use as a springboard for their own bespoke cine-antiquity activity.1

The incorporation of Plato into the current OCR Classical Civilisation A Level syllabus, as part of the Love and Relationships topic (LR) presents a challenge for the classroom teacher. While the specification makes study of Plato mandatory the content description in practice effectively relegates the topic to the side-lines. Having described this problem the article goes on to suggest how Plato's ideas can be taught within the framework of the existing specification in a pupil-friendly manner which is true to the spirit of Plato's own philosophical practice.

Reading is an essential part of learning a language. During my postgraduate (PGCE) teacher-training placement in the UK, I observed extensive reading being used in Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) and English classrooms but saw no evidence for it in the Latin classroom. However, the practice is gaining popularity in the United States as part of Comprehensible Input-based teaching. I was interested to see if extensive reading could be introduced in my classroom without any accompanying spoken Latin and if students would be interested in it. So, I decided to try an extensive reading program for my PGCE research project. The program was positively received by the majority of students, who felt that their Latin ability had improved even after only a handful of sessions, and who appreciated the relatively stressless activity that warmed up their ‘Latin brains’. Many commented that they wanted to read for longer. This very short trial of an extensive reading program gives me much hope for a longer trial or even a permanent program in the future. I also hope that this will encourage others to try bringing extensive reading and its benefits into their classrooms.

We do not possess, nor are we ever likely to possess, any autograph of a Greek or Latin literary text from antiquity. We do not always apprise our students of this fact. This article seeks to explain why we possess only copies of the texts, often adapted for one reason or another and at many stages removed from the autographs. It also explains why certain kinds of originals cannot by their nature be copied or adapted, and are lost to us as soon as they are created. Non-literary texts too, written on durable materials other than papyri and parchment, do not, for various reasons, always constitute autographs, or autographs that we and our students can have ready access to.

This study explores the perspectives of teachers and pupils regarding the benefits and challenges of teaching Classics in primary classrooms in Northern Ireland (NI). Conducted in 2020, the methodological approach consisted of interviews with six teachers from three schools and a focus group held with eight children.1 The study identified positive impacts of teaching Classics on numerous subjects, including Modern Foreign Languages (MFL). The most pressing challenge appeared to be a crowded curriculum. Teachers and pupils suggested that training and support be offered to educators in order to optimise links between Latin, English literacy and MFL understanding. Finally, recommendations are made for the future study of Classics in Northern Ireland.

Languages are cultural epiphenomena: they, and their varieties, emerge at stages of development in the life of a culture. In some important respects they are peculiar to their culture, and the meanings of certain terms used in the language of their culture are not therefore readily transferable to the languages of other cultures. There are culturally-laden terms that do not have semantic equivalents in the languages of other cultures. Generally speaking, translations can more easily reproduce semantic equivalents that are culturally neutral. So, the term ‘dog’ is able to be translated in most other languages, since whatever term is used has the same recognised referent. The efficacy of translation generally depends upon the nature and number of semantic equivalents that are culturally neutral. The trouble is that there is a large number of terms that are not semantically equivalent because they are not culturally neutral; the greater the number, the less the efficacy of translation. It would seem, therefore, that translation cannot in many instances convey what is distinctive of the culture of the original language.