The Utility and Representational Opportunity of Latin Novellas

This paper argues for the use of the Latin novella in Latin, educational contexts, particularly within the K-12 classroom. The design of Latin novellas corresponds to features associated with Comprehensible Input: offering a limited and repeated vocabulary, and providing compelling narratives. The many Latin novellas now published broaden the opportunity for narrative selection by Latin students, giving students a choice in what they read. Moreover, many narratives feature central characters that increase the representation of layers of society typically found in Latin textbooks or in the ancient, classical sources. By way of example, Cloelia, by Ellie Arnold, receives focus in this paper.