Riflessioni sull’insegnamento della lingua latina

This contribution reviews the main methodologies for teaching Latin: traditional grammar; history and culture; living Latin. After discussing the positive and negative aspects of each method, the new perspective of revisiting grammar in the light of general linguistics is proposed. The basic idea is that a new comparative method allows us to formulate hypotheses on the universal structure of language, facilitating the understanding of grammatical rules. This method lends itself to being presented with innovative teaching methodologies, such as the flipped classroom and problem-based learning. In this way it is possible to propose a scientifically updated version of the humanistic perspective of studying Latin to reflect on the nature of language and to be able to read classical texts competently.