Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in Latin Language and Literature

The objective of the Master’s degree programe Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in the Latin Language and Literature is to prepare qualified teachers, who possess adequate language and pedagogical skills for teaching Latin, which is a highly specific subject due to the fact that Latin is both a dead language and a language, which has shaped the Western European culture and scholarship for more than two thousand years. Single-subject studies (completus) and major studies (maior) aim at developing students’ language skills together with their knowledge of ancient literature and history, gained in Bachelor's degree programe Latin Language and Literature. It offers theoretical education in pedagogy, psychology, and didactics, which is to be gained in pedagogy and psychology courses as well as courses of Latin didactics and teacher-training courses. The minor studies complement and enrich the syllabus of the major studies. The minor studies are designed especially as a supplement to the major studies of the Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in any living language, history, and Social Studies Basics. All study programs within the Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in the Latin Language and Literature put emphasis on close interrelation between pedagogical theory and practice, the aim of which is to prepare students for a quickly changing educational environment.

After successfully completing his/her studies the graduate is able to:

• understand the specifics of Latin as a dead language and reflect them in instruction
• effectively plan and realize instruction with regard to various objectives of Latin studies (Latin as a language of historical and literary sources, Latin as a source of legal, medical, pharmaceutical, veterinary, and biological terminology)
• explain Latin grammar covered within Bachelor's study programme Latin Language and Literature (including the historical development of Latin in Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and Renaissance humanism), using various teaching styles and methods with rega
• critically interpret the assigned Latin texts and apply the concepts of critical analysis on texts written in any other language
• explain grammatical, morphological, and lexicological relations between Latin and Czech, as well as other living languages
• teach Latin in literary, cultural, and historical context of its development as a written and spoken language of the ancient and medieval world
• motivate students to recognize the values of the European culture through the study of foreign languages and literatures
• apply modern technology in class
• apply current psychological, pedagogical, and didactic concepts, including modern alternative methods, with regard to individual students’ needs
• understand the principles of inclusive education and effectively implement them in practice
• test and evaluate the efficiency of reaching the given teaching objectives and modify the teaching methods accordingly

The graduates are primarily qualified to work as teachers at four-year and eight-year high schools with Latin instruction. They can also work at secondary medical schools and as lecturers of Latin for specific purposes at a university (esp. at the Faculty of Medicine, Faculty of Pharmacy, and Faculty of Veterinary Medicine). The graduates are also qualified to work at language schools, which is, however, a rather exceptional job due to the fact that Latin is a dead language. They can also use their skills at various cultural institutions (archives, libraries, and museums), publishing houses and all types of media, i.e. jobs where the knowledge of Latin and/or the ability to find and critically work with various sources of information together with cultivated speech are required. Generally speaking, thorough knowledge of ancient literary and cultural history enables better understanding of the majority of European cultural spheres.

• Secondary school teacher

In the first 2 semesters, students focus on mastering the concepts of field-specific didactics (Didactics of the Latin Language I and II), which is followed with classroom observations and teacher training (Teacher Training I and II), the extent of which depends on particular study programe. Single-subject teacher training comprises 360 hours at school (100 hours of teaching, including tandem teaching, and 260 hours of other activities: observations, instruction reflection with a teacher, assistance, excursions, test correction etc.). Students of combined studies are required to have a half number of teacher training hours. The teacher training also involves the creation of student’s portfolio and instruction reflection with a teacher of Latin didactics.

The standard length of a Master’s thesis is 140 000 characters, including footnotes, contents, indexes, bibliography, and annotations. The student chooses a thesis topic either from the list of proposed topics available in the Information System of Masaryk University or after previous agreement with his/her supervisor. The chosen topic should combine the field-specific, pedagogical, and didactic components of the studies. The Master’s thesis proves student’s ability to work with Czech as well as foreign research literature related to the chosen topic and his/her critical thinking. It also proves student’s ability to approach the topic using current theoretical perspectives and adequate methodology, to work with Latin sources, and to formulate and support his/her own conclusions. The thesis is required to meet the guidelines of scholarly writing.

The graduate of the study programe Upper Secondary School Teacher Training in the Latin Language and Literature can apply for admission to the PhD degree programe. The Institute of Classical Studies offers the following study programes: Classical Philology, Medieval Latin Language and Literature, Ancient History, and Historical Languages of the Czech Lands.