Comprehensible Input in Ancient Languages Conference – a roaring success!

This is my introduction to the Conference I recently organized on the subject of using Comprehensible Input for Ancient Languages Teaching at the Faculty of Classics, University of Cambridge on 24^th October 2025.

Presenting the conference

This is the first conference here in Cambridge University dedicated to the topic of Comprehensible Input in ancient languages. I am pleased to say that we have around 40 in-person guests here and around 200 online. This I think shows the extent of interest in the topic and the importance educators are attaching to developing teaching practices and learning experiences which are more in line with how we know that human beings acquire and learn languages.

Cambridge University is the home of the Cambridge School Classics Project, which publishes the Cambridge Latin Course. Not far away, towards Haverhill, the Suburani Latin course is published by Hands Up Education. W. H. D. Rouse, the headteacher of the Perse School, just on the other side of this city, at the beginning of the 20^th century, started the Association for the Reform of Latin Teaching. The Association is still flourishing and I am pleased that we have one of their representatives – Ana Matin – here today giving us a paper. Cambridge is therefore an excellent place to be talking about the teaching and learning of ancient languages!

I’d like to thank Prof James Warren, Faculty Head until this year, who gave me the go-ahead for running a languages conference here in the Classics Faculty. And to Dr Rosanna Omitowoju, one of the languages teaching officers here, for being a keen supporter and participant in the final discussion – she may not be present all the time as she has another university role to take care of during the day.

I would also thank Alice Case at Classics for All, the UK charity whose ambition is to get Classics Education into more and more state schools, and which has supported us with some financial assistance.

Most of all I’d like to thank Molly Willets, who is the Faculty Outreach officer here in Cambridge, who has been forever at my side working on the complex planning that such a conference requires – especially as it has grown and grown.

Without treading on the presenters’ toes, I’d very briefly explain what Comprehensible Input is. Stephen Krashen coined the term back in the 1980s (something he has not claimed to be purely his own theory). The use of rather than knowledge about the language is the cornerstone. Everyone pretty much agrees with the idea that masses of input in the target language is an essential component of language development. This input is most easily and efficiently achieved through listening to and hearing messages that make sense and are at the level of the listener for comprehension – or uptake – to take place. Input can also be reading – and this is perhaps more relevant to the learning of ancient languages, which is why most of our presenters today are going to talk about reading text rather than listening to spoken Latin or ancient Greek. Most, but not all. If reading is the choice, we need to maximise the amount of reading, make sure that it is readable, compelling so that our readers want to read more, and carefully structured so that whatever we read does not in the end displace the original texts that we want to read in the future, but which leads up to them in a gradual and carefully-plotted way. We might choose to optimise the comprehensibility of the reading material in various ways, as our presenters will show.

The talks will be recorded and later made available online. I hope that you enjoy them and I hope that we can – I’m already thinking of this – have another conference in the near future on another aspect of teaching and learning in Classics Education.

The presenters

Prof Christian Laes (University of Manchester). Keynote speech.

Abstract: Viva voce rather than Latine loqui. From a Case in Flanders to the International Context. The ‘active’ use of Latin (and Ancient Greek) was banned for decades in Flemish schools – Flanders being a region with a strong tradition in the teaching of classical languages. About 2017, the situation changed, slowly and drastically. Less than a decade later, one sees the same change in a worldwide context of classics teaching. Language immersion and fluent reading, rather than translating and solving grammatical puzzles, come prominently to the fore, and the accessibility of internet resources has opened horizons unseen before.

Bio: Christian is Full Professor of Ancient History at the University of Manchester, where he also teaches Latin and Ancient Greek language courses. As a former gymnasium teacher, he has kept a keen interest in the didactics of Latin and Ancient Greek – as the president of Euroclassica (since 2019), he has the opportunity of studying this in a wide international context. Christian is a dedicated speaker of Latin, and also president of the long-standing Academia Latinitati Fovendae.

Ana Martin (online Latin tutor)

Abstract: On optimal input and actual input: How can we turn rote memorisers into readers with the timeframe and goals UK examinations give us? An example from the online classroom. Teaching in a virtual environment may seem restrictive: only face and hands are visible, and movement and actions are restricted. Yet when CI approaches are used, the online classroom is full of opportunity: eye contact is maintained while writing and easily choosing images and sound effects, which encourages engagement and invites interaction; in addition, the screen itself helps lower the affective filter, as students sit in their own comfort behind a screen, and choose how and when to communicate, having private access to the teacher through the chat. These factors have a marked impact on vocabulary acquisition. 

Ana will share her experience of priming vocabulary before reading Latin texts in the context of UK examinations. She will examine the use – and abuse – of vocabulary lists, glossaries, and the Ørbergisation of texts, and show examples of techniques more aligned with CI she has been using in her virtual classroom, including storytelling, visual aids, engaging in Q&A, and the role of gestures and intonation. 

Bio: Ana graduated in Classics from the University of Barcelona, and has worked as a Modern Foreign languages, Latin and Greek teacher for the last 20 years. She is the author of bilingual easy readers, as well as short stories for Latin learners, and runs Latin Tutor Online, a virtual school for students from all around the world. Constrained by time limitations, UK exam requirements and, quite often, schools' use of grammar-translation books, Ana brings an active, communicative approach to her lessons, making Latin and Greek accessible, engaging, and comprehensible.  

Polly Philp (Emmanuel School)

Abstract: In her MEd (Transforming Practice) research project, completed 2023-2024, she investigated how to help A Level students in their struggle with Latin literature to develop their understanding and responses, with a case study on teaching Tacitus' Annals 12 to a Year 12 class. It argues that prioritising reading of the Latin itself, rather than responding to an English translation, helps students to engage more deeply with the text. It investigates classroom practice, homework exercises and assessment, informed by research on teaching reading in a second language and the practical restraints of the assessment criteria and requirements of A Level. It involved the creation of a series of preparation exercises to serve as a foundation for independent engagement with the set text, and an investigation into the most effective sequencing of tasks and questioning to promote deeper engagement with literature.

Bio: Polly is a Latin and Classics teacher at a co-ed independent secondary school in southwest London. She has degrees in Classics from St Andrews (Ma, Hons) and St Hugh's College, Oxford (MSt) and a Master's in Education from Homerton College, Cambridge (MEd).

Jude Hedges-Robinson (PGCE alumnus)

Abstract: My PGCE research project focused on the effects of tiered reading on understanding and confidence when approaching A level unseen translation. I experimented with a method of tiered reading where students were able to select which tier they used at every point.

Bio: Jude studied Classics in London and Oxford before going on to teach at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood for a year. He graduated from the PGCE at Cambridge in June.

Dr Mair Lloyd (Open University and CSCP) and Prof James Robson (Open University).

Abstract: A Game of Two Halves: Enhancing student learning with comprehensible – and incomprehensible – input at the Open University: The OU module Classical Latin: The Language of Ancient Rome innovates in combining language acquisition with the study of Roman culture and literature in translation. In this presentation, James will outline how beginners’ students engage with a range of materials in their studies, including complex literary texts in the original language. Mair will then argue for the importance of listening comprehension in contributing to the fluent reading comprehension of Latin texts and demonstrate activities she uses to help her students develop their listening comprehension skills.    

Mair's bio: Mair’s doctoral research at the Open University explored the effects of communicative approaches to ancient Language teaching and she continues to participate enthusiastically in spoken Latin events. She co-edited the book Communicative Approaches for Ancient Language (Bloomsbury, 2021) with Steve Hunt. She is now an associate lecturer, teaching on the OU’s Classical Latin module and also leads on development of digital materials for the Cambridge School Classics Project. Mair is particularly enjoying being one of the team recording stories from the new edition of the Cambridge Latin Course to promote listening comprehension in school learners.

James’ bio: James is Professor of Classical Studies at the Open University, where his teaching encompasses Greek and Latin language instruction, especially at beginner’s level, as well as the literature and social history of classical Athens, with a particular focus on Old Comedy, sex and sexuality, and Greek myth.  He has active interests in the pedagogy of classics, especially the teaching of Latin and Greek in UK universities.  His most recent book is Aristophanes: Lysistrata (Bloomsbury, 2023).

Helena Walters (Haileybury College)

Abstract: This talk reports on the progress made at Haileybury College, where Dr. Sam Koon has introduced the teaching of Latin and Greek through the comprehensible input (CI) approach. The session will share a practical case study: the journey of one pupil from their first Latin lessons in Year 7 to a successful application to study Classics at the University of Cambridge. The talk will outline the concrete methods used to adapt CI pedagogy at different stages of the school curriculum, from early language acquisition to preparation for public examinations and university entrance. The session aims to demonstrate not only that CI can increase pupil retention but also that it produces results.

Bio: Helena read Classics and French, followed by a Masters in Classics, at Lady Margaret Hall, Oxford. She has taught Classics for several years and is now in her fifth year at Haileybury College, where she develops and delivers teaching of Latin and Greek through the comprehensible input approach.

Dr Cressida Ryan

Abstract: This paper focuses on Comprehensible Input as a tool for enabling flexible and inclusive teaching by design. She will demonstrate how blending CI principles with other theoretical frameworks can create a pedagogical approach which differentiates by design, building the need to make anticipatory adjustments for neurodivergent students into a method which can benefit all. She also demonstrate how such an approach makes it easier to both identify and manage any further SpLD and study skills needs which may arise. My case study material is New Testament Greek, which also raises some specific questions about ethical pedagogy, and the role of CI in this.

Bio: Cressida is a disability advisor at the University of Oxford, where is also holds a fellowship at Wolfson College. She has previously been a New Testament Greek Lecturer, and taught Latin and Greek in a range of school and university contexts. Before lecturing, she spent six years in outreach, and was also formerly a school teacher. She researches the Early Modern reception of Sophocles, Neo Latin, neurodivergence, theology, and language pedagogy. She will publish her first monograph in 2026, on the relationship between pedagogy, translation theory, Greek tragedy, and the New Testament, blending her various research interests in a reading of Luther's Latin translation of the New Testament in the light of Jerome and Erasmus.

Eugenia Manolidou (Eliniki Agogi)

Abstract: Ancient Greek: A New Approach to Classical Methods: The presentation examines how principles of Comprehensible Input can be applied to the teaching of Ancient Greek through artistic and experiential methods. Drawing on classroom evidence from Elliniki Agogi in Athens, it outlines a framework based on the LOGOS model—Literacy, Orality, Grammar, Ongoing Connection, and Storytelling—combining controlled vocabulary, high-frequency structures, rhythm, music, and short AI-assisted videos to make meaning precede analysis. Examples from myth-based dialogues, Aesopic fables, and the Delphic Maxims for Kids series illustrate how moral reflection and emotional engagement enhance comprehension and retention. The approach promotes literacy, attention and reasoning at primary and lower-secondary levels, showing how Ancient Greek can cultivate cognitive and ethical awareness in an age of artificial intelligence. Practical adaptations for non-Greek-speaking contexts demonstrate that the language can remain both accessible and intellectually rigorous when taught as meaningful input rather than abstract grammar.

Bio: Eugenia is a classical music composer and, since 2017, the Director of Elliniki Agogi, a school founded in 1994 in Athens, dedicated to the active teaching of Ancient Greek to children and adults. She has developed innovative curricula that integrate music, drama, and visual arts into language learning, with a focus on active and experiential methods. Under her direction, Elliniki Agogi collaborates with universities and institutions internationally, contributing to conferences worldwide and promoting the teaching of Classics from an early age as a means of fostering linguistic awareness and cultural understanding. She is currently pursuing a degree in Classics with The Open University.

Questions

I will post more on this later – I anticipate that the recordings of the papers will be uploaded to the Cambridge faculty website in due course and transcripts will be published.