I’ve wanted to learn Latin for a while, and decided that there’s no better time than the present. Are there any really good websites that make the process easy and quick? How long might it take to learn a decent amount of Latin?
Same for American Sign Language. I’ve recently befriended a deaf person, and have been slowly learning ASL, but would like to speed up the process and tighten up my fluidity. Any help there?
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You can take formal ASL classes at a community college or, if time and money are an issue, take online classes and go to deaf events.
I teach free online ASL classes here: http://www.start-american-sign-language.com
Here are some lessons: http://www.lifeprint.com
Study an ASL dictionary for vocab: http://www.aslpro.com
And find deaf events in your area: http://www.ohsoez.com
Going to deaf events is really important. The fastest way to learn ASL is through conversation with a deaf person (more than just your recent friend).
Have fun!
I’ve never attempted to learn Latin myself, so I can’t help you much there, outside of the fact that I know that Wheelock’s Latin seems to be the text of choice for most folk. It doesn’t appear to be online, but you can probably find a copy in the library. Here’s the website: http://www.wheelockslatin.com/
As far as ASL, I’ve been working on it myself, and I found a great set of free lessons at http://www.lifeprint.com . Try out the free lessons; they have good coverage of grammar and usage. My deaf friend was rather impressed with my progress after just a few lessons. There’s also a dictionary on the site as well.
I know someone who earned an associate’s degree in ASL at Wilson Community College, in North Carolina, and now works as an interpreter with hearing-impaired students. If this college isn’t exactly in your back yard, you can probably find others with similar offerings by googling “sign languange community college.”
As for Latin, I agree that Wheelock’s is THE book. I’ve used it as both a student and a teacher.
Good luck with both endeavors!
For Latin, I would recommend http://www.textkit.com
There are free textbooks and a very helpful forum community.
I am taking ASL at my community college. You can also go to lifepring.com. They have an online course of study that is FREE. Also, keep practicing with you friend. You will learn it faster in “real life” than in a class room. Good luck.
You can become fluent – and mean really fluent, in latin in about three to four years. There is a good course online for learning Latin as a self learner here:
http://latinum.mypodcast.com
Good luck.
The other contributors provided great resources, but if you really want your learning to be easy and much more efficient, why not take lessons from an online tutor?
I know a website that has a wide range of tutors for many languages: http://edufire.com/ Lessons are one-on-one, done using a webcam and the prices are more than convenient.
Check out tutors for ASL: http://edufire.com/tutors/american%20sign%20language%20(asl)
and also for Latin: http://edufire.com/tutors/latin
As for how long it might take to learn “a decent amount” of Latin, that depends entirely on how quicly you are able (and also willing) to go. I think it is generally possible to cover the morphology of all the parts of speech in around 16-17 sessions, with other 3 or 4 sessions dedicated to the basics of syntax. After these, a student should be able to read and translate simpler texts. Of course, translation practice is the most important thing and the only way to become able to undertand more complex texts.