Applying digital tools in the Latin classroom

Abstract

The study of Latin is facing a crisis in the form of declining class enrollment. This report examines research in second language acquisition to identify potential reasons for such declines and propose fruitful avenues for Latinists to meet the challenges facing their classrooms. Latin’s history and continued perception as an elitist discipline merits a new and contrasting emphasis on student identity and motivation. I show that, among other familiar challenges, Latinists must acknowledge that there is a digital divide among students; discrepancies in both access to and usage of online and digital tools creates disadvantages for some students in a globalized economic market. In light of the benefits of blending digital and in person instruction, and informed by Stephen Krashen’s influential ‘input hypothesis’, I present a catalogue of online tools that can be integrated into a Latin class and provide suggestions for using these resources in a classroom that utilizes Comprehensible Input.