The Active Method
From the very first session, classes are conducted entirely in Latin or Ancient Greek. This full immersion fosters a natural mastery that significantly improves the student's ability to read original texts without the mediation of translation. The classroom becomes a shared context where students develop active competencies by communicating exclusively in the target language.
Why Active Philology?
Active Philology is our foundational objective: to bridge the gap between university-level rigor and immersive teaching. We connect professional philological study with a living pedagogical practice, ensuring that oral fluency serves as a tool for deeper, more precise access to ancient texts.
For centuries, Latin was taught as a functioning system. In the 19th century, this changed to the "grammar-translation" method—a form of analytical "mental gymnastics". While this developed logic, it often left students unable to read a text without a dictionary.
“The method that in its time was adopted in virtue of its promised reading competencies is forming, then, scholars incapable of reading a classic text autonomously and fluently in its original language.”
Phonology: A Servant of Philology
At Institutum Antiquitatis, we consider phonology a servant of philology, not its master. Our approach to pronunciation and prosody is strictly pragmatic: we prioritize transparency and intelligibility, ensuring that phonetic choices clearly reflect the language's prosody and facilitate the recognition of the grammatical functions associated with it.
Rather than attempting to replicate exactly how an ancient Greek or Roman would have sounded—an objective rendered unattainable by the vastness of social, regional, and chronological variations—our instructors employ pronunciations that are clearly intelligible to speakers of most modern languages.
Our Pedagogical Pillars
Known variously as the Ørberg Method, the Natural Method, or the Inductive-Contextual Method, our approach is built on three scientific principles:
Inductive Learning: Grammar is not a set of abstract rules to memorize, but a reflection on language you already know how to use.
Comprehensible Input: Following Stephen Krashen’s research, we ensure that new information is always just one step above your current level (i + 1), facilitating natural acquisition.
Cultural Context: We teach language within the daily life of the ancients—their history, mythology, and philosophy—so that words carry their original weight and meaning.
The "Student-Teacher" Philosophy
Active Philology requires humility. Because none of us are native speakers of Latin or Ancient Greek, our instructors are also constant students. We view the classroom as a shared "learning adventure," where we continually refine our skills through ongoing university training and professional collaboration.
Read our full Academic Manifesto & Bibliography for a detailed exploration of the history and science behind Active Philology.