Critics have argued that the Active1 approach to Latin is not, in fact, an effective way to learn the language. This misconception appears to stem at least in part from misunderstandings regarding teaching methodology, such as the belief that teachers who use these methods neglect grammar or do not in fact introduce students to ‘real’ original Latin, but simplified versions of the texts created by the teachers themselves. As someone who learned Latin primarily through the Active Method, I can attest that this is an unrealistic representation. These methods are not used at the expense of formal grammar instruction; they are a different way of teaching grammar that also stresses the importance of acquiring a large vocabulary for the purpose of more fluent reading. Nor do such courses never progress to the reading of authentic Classical Latin. I will use online descriptions of Active Method courses to demonstrate this.

From my experience as a student of Latin, I have always perceived the transition from studying GCSE (sat at ages 14–16) to A Level Latin (sat at ages 17–18) as challenging. As a student, I used the inductive Cambridge Latin Course textbooks, which, as a reading comprehension course, fostered an intuitive sense of grammar. This was appropriate preparation for the GCSE exam. For the A Level exam however, which features greater quantities of difficult original literature and requires explicitly identifying grammatical forms, I had to undertake a lot of independent study, in addition to bridging work. Original Latin was a definite challenge for my peers and me: unusual vocabulary, creative generic form and lapses in grammatical convention were exciting but unfamiliar. With this in mind, I sought to investigate the experience of current Year 12 students.

This paper aims to guide the training of all Latin instructors and learners who want to optimise the process of acquiring the language by applying the results of research carried out in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), specifically here those related to the acquisition of vocabulary. Consequently, some theoretical considerations on the psycholinguistic operations that govern vocabulary learning are first offered, in order to build a better understanding of language acquisition and to make instructors and learners more knowledgeable about the vocabulary learning process, from the noticing of an unknown word and its integration into the subject's competence to the expansion and development of knowledge about the acquired words. The theoretical aspects of vocabulary learning will be illustrated at all times with practical examples taken from methods and books for learning Latin, as well as, in the fourth section, with a wide catalogue of practical advice – must-do items for the class – that can be easily implemented by Latin instructors.

Engaging students with the far-distant past can be a challenge. We established Hands Up Education, a non-profit community interest company, in 2017 in recognition of the need for materials that reflect the priorities of today’s students and teachers. Writing a new textbook series provided an opportunity to reevaluate the traditional perspective and prioritise what is important for students learning Latin in the 21st century.