What You Don't Know You Don't Know about English Grammar
Going Beyond Native Fluency
It has been my experience as a student of languages that a native speaker is not generally the best person to learn a language from. This is because, though they know what the right thing is to say, they do not often know why it is the right thing to say. Pressed on why we say "at the moment" instead of "in the moment" (which is what other Germanic languages say), a native speaker simply responds: "It's just how we say it."
I have been teaching Latin to native speakers of English for a long time, and it is interesting how often a conceptual barrier to, say, understanding participles arises not from any difficulty with Latin, but from a weak understanding of participles in English. We no longer study our language with the rigor that we use to, or the type of rigor we bring to the study of a language like Latin.
This course aims to change that.
In this 8 week course, we will look at the main features of English that are stumbling blocks for students of Latin. But this course isn't only for those looking to do better at foreign languages. A lot of misconceptions have crept into how we think about English grammar, driven by the pragmatic utilitarianism of 20th century approaches. As a result, our understanding of English has drifted away from the historical facts, which are grounded in English's history as a Germanic language with heavy Romance influence. This course will place English back into the context of Indo-European languages generally, correcting errors and emphases that have done more harm than good both in the study of English and in our individual study of foreign languages.
Who is this course for, then? It is for aspiring and current Latinists of all levels; it is for teachers of English at all levels, but especially at the middle and high school levels; it is for those who wish to learn multiple foreign languages; and it is for those who wish to be more proficient in reading older English texts, which require a more sophisticated understanding of grammar.
June 2 - July 21, 2026
Tuesdays, 7:00 - 8:30 pm CT
$300 / student
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Junius Johnson is one of the best professors I have ever encountered. He is deeply knowledgeable and qualified, but also uses humor and a sense of play to foster a collaborative and engaging learning environment — all while pushing his students to do and be their best. He equipped me with the essential skills of nuanced Latin translation, and perhaps just as importantly instilled in me a love for the language and appreciation for its historical development and contexts. More than a decade after studying with him, I continue to benefit from Professor Johnson’s instruction and in fact am currently translating a ninth-century text for publication.
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With humor, intelligent discussion, and deep insights, Junius Johnson gives you more than an overview or introduction to Latin, he inspires you to keep learning hard things while giving you a vision and much fuller picture of Latin.
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Junius has such a robust understanding of the language, and his passion is contagious. His approach invites parents, educators, and students to re-imagine how they think about Latin, moving from merely transactional to experiential. He’s also not afraid to address many of the “why” questions that all too often go unanswered. Highly recommend!
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Simply put, Junius Johnson is the best Latin teacher I have ever experienced in my many years of supervising education. He is a true scholar of the Latin language from the classical period to the neo-Latin present; he has success teaching every age and skill level. Junius is compassionate with those who are less gifted than he, but still manages to stretch his students in a friendly and inviting manner. I wholeheartedly recommend him to you as your teacher. Trust me, the encounter will be memorable.