Creating Wonder in Students for Latin

Latin can easily become a subject of drudgery and boredom for students. A teacher may only have thirty to forty-five minutes to teach a Latin lesson packed with vocabulary and grammar rules. Forty-five minutes barely gives a teacher time to make sure each student has each vocabulary word memorized and each chant internalized, but it's important to try to do a little extra at the beginning of class to give each student a sense of wonderment towards Latin.

One great way to exact wonderment from your students is by reading a few lines of Latin from an interesting piece of literature. Read it out loud several times. Get your students accustomed to hearing the Latin words. Read it slowly then read it fast. Read it loud and read it in a whisper. It's helpful to pick passages that have Latin words which have similarities to English or Spanish words. Stop on those familiar words and eye your students. Say, "What does that word sound like?"
The result will be that each students' eyes will widen and they will possibly be more attentive during class.

One passage I love to use with my students (I did this last week.) is a silly passage from Harrius Potter et Philosophi Lapis translated by Peter Needham. Even if your students have little Latin knowledge they know the characters from Harry Potter:

Dudley magno cum sonitu coepit lacrimare. Non vero lacrimabat, multos iam annos non vero lacrimaverat, sed sciebat si vultu contorto ululatum emisisset, matrem sibi daturam esse quidquid vellet.

'Dinky Duddidule, ne lacrimaveris, Matercula non ei permittet perdere diem tuum festivum!' clamavit, bracchiis eum amplexa. (pg 18)

Dudley with a great noise began to cry. Not really was he crying, for many years now he did not really cry, but he knew if he sent out a cry with his face twisted, he would get whatever his mother gave to him. 'My Dinky Dudley, do not cry, your little mother does not allow your festival day to be ruined because of him (Harry)!" she shouted, having held him in her arms.

The difficult thing about employing this way to create wonder and excitement for Latin is that one has to read lots of Latin in order to pick out wonderful passages like this. So read as much as possible!