"Why Should I Learn Latin in the 21st Century?"

Why Should I Learn Latin in the 21st Century?

This is the most common question that my students asked in the beginning of their secondary school years when they started to learn the "useless, dead"  Latin language. Probably, I am a little biased due to my enthusiasm about the subject but I strongly believe that Latin has numerous benefits in terms of students' developement.

First of all, they learn a language which is the origin of many European languages. French, Italian, Spanish etc. are considerably easy to learn after a few years of experience in Latin. Certainly it makes students think about the origins of words and it does improve the understanding of English vocabulary. But surely the same can be said for developing good reading and writing habits.

Latin does not necessarily have to be "dead". I think it is the teacher's task to bring Latin alive and make it acceptable for today's students. It is really possible and effective (based on my experience) by using creativity we are given.