ossa, reginald foster - out soon

[cb]

hi all, apologies if it's been announced already in another thread, but i just randomly bumped into this webpage linked below, about a book coming out in a few days setting out reginald foster's method of teaching latin - thought i'd pass it along:

http://thelatinlanguage.org/blog/ossa-published/

cheers, chad

[Victor]

Being able to preview the book would be helpful. I can't at the moment imagine what is in it to push it to 870 large-format pages. And these pages are the "mere bones" of Latin, it says. If I'd been giving the mere bones I think I might have been able to get the page count down a bit.

[Nesrad]

I'm also skeptical about this Latin method. We've been hearing about it for years, but no details have ever been provided, no samples, nothing. I'm wondering if this is a merely commercial endeavour seeking to surf on the reputation of its author instead of earning respect from its merit. The relatively high price, but not so high as to be prohibitive, would tend to support this theory.

[bedwere]

I surmise the course will contain material already available here:

http://frcoulter.com/latin/index.html

[cb]

i guess we'll see soon! i think there's always something useful in every method, something unique and helpful to take away, since no teacher has ever discovered the complete set of optimal lessons and delivery method, and so i'm always flicking through the new books that come out, even though the old ones are already good. cheers, chad

[scotistic]

I've been waiting to take a look at this book for over a year. I don't know why it's taking so long.

I too have heard great things about the method and people swear by Fr Foster, but I don't know the details. I have seen videos of him and his students conversing fluently in Latin, which is a great recommendation in itself. I understand he works up to the study of Cicero's letters as an exemplar of good Latinity.

I have downloaded his recordings of almost a hundred sermons by St Leo the Great and listened to them multiple times. It's a great resource for audio Latin, read with real fluency, and the material (if you don't mind the religious content) not to difficult to follow along for the advanced intermediate listener.

[bedwere]

I have downloaded his recordings of almost a hundred sermons by St Leo the Great and listened to them multiple times. It's a great resource for audio Latin, read with real fluency, and the material (if you don't mind the religious content) not to difficult to follow along for the advanced intermediate listener.

People may find convenient to download the sermons from this link. It contains the missing bits, although the quality is not excellent (it was done several years ago). It's also convenient to have all the mp3 files in one zip file.

[Nesrad]

A preview is now available on Google Books.

[bedwere]

Greetings from Wisconsin. This Saturday, before flying back to sunny San Diego, I have an appointment in Milwaukee with the great man!

[bedwere]

It was an exhilarating experience. For 90 minutes or so we conversed in Latin, the scholar and the barbarian, about several things. He also showed me the book. It's very thick and it's supposed to teach not only Latin but also the method to teach the language, the experience of a whole life.

Post in composition section.

[ÓBuadhaigh]

What a memorable experience for you! Glad you made it and made the most of it, too.

On a very serious note: how did Father Foster's health seem to you?

[bedwere]

He told me he's doing fine. The only problem he has seems to be with his feet. So he goes around in a wheel-chair. The nurse first gave him something for his throat and then checked his blood pressure, which was OK. So she gave him some pills to keep it under control. Fr. Foster put up a hilarious act against doctors and drugs.

[ÓBuadhaigh]

I imagine his rant-act was very entertaining. I used to enjoy listening to his 'Latin Lover' broadcasts on Vatican Radio with the ever polite, but clearly clueless, Veronica Scarisbrick. e.g. Veronica, "So how did the Holy Father say that in Latin?" Reggie: "Whaddya mean how did he say it? How did I say it? I wrote it for him!"

I'm delighted to hear his health is tolerably good. I don't know anyone with a direct line to him, and have to rely on second-hand information about his health, very often out-dated and/or inaccurate. I really hope to get to his summer course some year before the inevitable.