Author: Alfred Reitermayer, This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

I The story of teaching Classics in Austria
For centuries Classics teaching in Austria has been influenced by Erasmus' preference of Latin over Greek and of treating Latin as a vehicle to convey grammar and style. Even in the 20th century, LIBER LATINUS, a widely used Latin textbook with a highly esteemed, obviously traditional Latin Lexis and Grammar, made generations of pupils see Latin sometimes as just a drill and practice factory for learning grammar.

In the late 1970s, influenced by moves in the UK, a new approach to Latin was made by VIA NOVA. This textbook allowed teachers to cut back to some extent on grammar teaching, focusing instead on reading continuous passages of Latin. The problem pupils and teachers had with this kind of textbook was the simultaneous appearance of declensions and conjugations - a practice designed to facilitate the earliest possible reading of interesting texts - making it hard for beginners, and sometimes harder too for parents trying help in the process, who were accustomed to regular revision and sequencing of Latin declensions and conjugations. 

However, the controversy between traditional grammarians and new-style teachers   eventually resulted in three other new courses, VENI VIDI VICI (a mixture of traditional grammar with continuous background sections on Roman and Greek history and myths), FELIX (simultaneous grammar and background sections) and LUDUS (the shortest Latin Course in Austria, with a minimum of grammar and vocabulary, continued by original texts with an enormous appendix on vocabulary for each text).

II The modern secondary school system in Austria
Secondary schools in Austria generally admit pupils at age 10 and then put them through 3 distinct stages of education. Key Stage 1 takes students through Years 5 to 7 with no special examination at the end and English beginning for all pupils at age 10. Key Stage 2 gives the pupils the choice to add Latin (the so called Long Latin) with a total of 19 hours (4/3/3/3/3/3) until Year 12) or another foreign language, often French, Italian or Spanish, with a further 19 hours until Year 12) or to decide for a school programme without a second foreign language, but more mathematics and natural sciences. Key Stage 2 takes students through Years 7 to 8 and ends with no special examination.

Key Stage 3 takes students through Years 9 to 12. Students can opt for Short Latin in a total of 12 hours (3/3/3/3) or Greek or Short French, or natural Science or Music and Arts or Information Technology.  In Year 10 students decide for 4 additional hours in total (2/2) for a language or other subjects, so called "Wahlpflichtgegenstände", which are important for the type of end examination, called REIFEPRÜFUNG in Year 12.

At the moment Latin is still a required component of study for about 40 subjects at the university, even for studying Medicine and Law. Next year, together with the Humboldt University of Berlin, we will try to create a European Frame for Classics as a precondition for studying at university, similar to the common European Reference frame for languages.

III Classical subjects within the secondary system of Austria
1987/8 75.000 pupils took Latin lessons, while 2383 took Greek lessons; in 2001/02 (latest statistic) 53.040 pupils took Latin lessons, while 994 took Greek lessons in secondary schools.

Favourable developments in 2003/2004 included a genuine interest taken in the position of our subjects by politicians responsible for secondary education, with an intention to create a basic Latin module over the next few years for all pupils from age 10 to 11 (2/2 hours per week). Afterwards, selection for pupils, based om successful achievement in modern languages or Classics or natural science should be more easily possible than it is now.

The most important development has been the creation of a new curriculum for Latin and Greek for Years 9 to 12, starting in Autumn 2004. For the first time, it is not a prescription of authors which is compulsory, but a prescription of topics widespread over the centuries where Latin and Greek influenced history, architecture, the arts, religion and rhetoric. Further information on this can be found at www.lateinforum.at

The essence of the future examination programme at Year 12 in 2008/09 will be the fundamental harmony between its two halves, both the part for which the individual schools bear full responsibility with "Wahlpflichtgegenständen" and the part for which the examination papers are centrally prepared by a Government Board. The emphasis in the new system is on the literary value and the importance of the contents of the texts studied in the classroom.

IV How to become a teacher of Classics in Austria
The process is fairly well-defined. Students leaving school will embark on a degree course in Classics at university, which will generally last three years. The qualification gained will usually be a Bachelor of Arts. After this course of study, students enrol on a further years study, where students be provisionally awarded MAGISTER PHIL. (qualified teacher status), which entitles them to teach in any Austrian school. They still face a period of one year, in which their qualities are scrutinised before being ratified.

V Further Information
There is further advice and information about this process on the www.lateinforum.at and www.schule.at