English from the Roots Up
by Joegil Lundquist
Reviewed by Martha Robinson
Purchase details: English from the Roots Up by Joegil Lundquist. Comb-bound paperback, $29.95. Published by Literacy Unlimited. Please support HomeschoolChristian.com by buying this program from our Christian Book Distributors link or Amazon affiliate link.
Mrs. Joegil Lundquist, who studied both Latin and Greek in high school, strongly recommends that Latin and Greek should be taken out of the foreign language department and placed in the realm of English studies, preferably in the early elementary ages. She provides a convincing argument that starting young children with Latin and Greek roots will allow them to develop extensive vocabulary before they are distracted by the "conflicting interests" of the adolescent years. English from the Roots Up is a delightfully simple method for vocabulary building in the youngest of readers.
English from the Roots Up details 37 Greek words and 63 Latin words for which the student makes flashcards during the class session. Greek flashcards are outlined in green, while Latin flashcards are outlined in red. The meaning of each word along with a number of derivatives are placed on the back of the flashcard. On each page of English from the Roots Up the actual flashcard is shown with a section of teaching notes. While Mrs. Lundquist does make some suggestions on presenting material, she encourages creativity by describing one of her own classroom sessions. A key to classical pronunciation of Latin, a brief explanation of Roman numerals, and a chart of the Greek alphabet is included.
Recommendation: This program is both simple to understand and easy to use. A parent with no foreign language experience may buy it and use it the next day. I concur with Mrs. Lundquist's recommendation that Latin and Greek should be studied early to help with vocabulary and reading skills, and this program is well suited for that purpose.
Our experience: We tried English from the Roots Up for several months and got about half way through the program. While many have had great success with this program, we just could not figure out a way to make it interesting. The pure learning aspect just was not enough for my daughter.
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