MICHAEL CHAMPAGNE
Classical Tutoring
Menu
Skip to content
About Me
Blog
Contact
About Me
My name is Michael Champagne, I am a Latinist with sixteen years of experience. I study languages and linguistics, literature, philosophy, music, poetry, architecture, and history, but the study of classical literature, the so-called litterae humaniores, is especially dear to me.
My Mission
I want to bring the Latin language, and all its fruits, to people in the same way it was brought to me. There is more to the language than sterile grammatical analysis. There is beautiful literature and poetry. There are challenging ideas and authors, elegant expressions, and forgotten answers to abiding questions. To know Latin is not to be chained to the century in which you were born.
I teach classes, both online and in person, by full immersion in the language. Excepting the first few lessons for beginners, everything we do will be in Latin. We will read, write, tell stories, and have conversations until your mind claims the Latin language fully as its own, like a second mother tongue. All ages and skill levels are welcome: I have worked with students as young as five and as old as fifty. Nobody is incapable of learning Latin.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How do I speak to you or enroll?
You can begin by emailing me via my contacts page here. I will be happy to answer any questions you might have.
2. Where are classes held?
Most classes are online, via Google Hangouts or Skype. Louisiana residents may also take advantage of face-to-face classes, held in the Lafayette Parish.
3. What does the average class look like?
Classes are colloquial and informal, and students will not be passively listening. You will answer questions, talk, read, and write. This is because it is important that we engage with the language actively. Beginners will read more, and be guided by their readings. Intermediate students will spend more time speaking and writing, with reading done more often outside of class. Advanced students typically find their classes resemble a book-club more than a Latin class, as we read and discuss whatever we find appealing.
4. What kind of students enroll?
I teach a wide variety of students. I have had homeschoolers, both parents and children, university students, priests and religious people, and men and women with a general interest in learning the language apart from any formal classroom. Often my students come to me dissatisfied with their knowledge from the classroom, but I get many absolute beginners as well.
5. Do you use a curriculum, or a certain textbook?
This depends on the student, and I often use my own material. I am, however, more than willing to work with students already using a certain curriculum or book. Many homeschooling families find this helpful.
6. Do you teach grammar in your classes?
There is some argument as to the usefulness of studying a language’s grammar. For my part, I think it is very helpful. But it is important not to put