Starting at the Beginning: Latin Structure and Pronunciation

So Latin words perform the same grammatical functions that English words do. This is fortunate, but Latin looks completely different because it implements the grammar a bit differently. Watch this video on Latin sentence structure to get a feel for how inflection makes it different:


Once you become more familiar with Latin structure, it really starts to make more sense. Latin is much more flexible, because the words by themselves indicate the role they play in the sentence. Now the hard part is memorizing all the different forms and what they mean. That's what the second phase is for - memorization.
Right now, though, we're going to move on to pronunciation.  I know many teachers (including all of mine) choose to ignore pronunciation, since Latin is no longer a spoken language (for the most part).  I think this is a mistake; using a language is integral to becoming fluent.  This is the method that Lingua Latina uses: the goal is to have you reading in Latin, rather than translating to English in your head.  You need to be able to hear and speak the language in order to make this happen.
Here are two videos on pronouncing consonants and vowels...


You'll notice that he says to pronounce "V" as a "W" sound; this is the Classical pronunciation.  Some teachers choose to use the medieval pronunciation: the hard "V" that we use the letter for today.  There's also a video on trilling the "R" if you're having problems making it happen.
Concerning the macron: this is another element that many teachers use and many don't.  Original Latin texts do not use the macron, so some people see it as a crutch that isn't quite indicative of what reading Latin is really like.  On the other hand, it can be useful for differentiating grammatical forms while you're learning.  I feel like it allows for a more thorough understanding of the grammar, even if you don't usually have it when reading full texts. 
You should consider your take on the macron before memorizing the tables, because Dowling's Wheel ignores the macron. If you want to memorize the cases with the macron, you'll have to write them all out by hand. If you're not willing to do that, you might be able to pick it up easily enough while reading Lingua Latina, which always includes the macron, throughout the text and the indices.
The other specifics about Latin grammar will be covered in the next phase.  In the meantime, check out this video to learn a little bit about the origins of Latin, and how it's related to modern languages. NEXT UP: Roman numerals, a short stop before the grammar starts.

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