Announcements · Fall 2026

The National Classical Etymology Exam: Fall 2026 Preparation

October 22, 2026

Most of the long words in English are Latin in disguise. The National Classical Etymology Exam, set by the American Classical League, tests whether a student can see through the disguise: fifty questions in forty-five minutes on English words built from Latin and Greek roots, weighted toward the vocabulary of the SAT. No knowledge of the Greek alphabet is required.

This is a contest where preparing for the prize and preparing for the verbal sections of the SAT and ACT are the same hour of work.

Emerson Latin first ran this exam at our academy in Apgujeong, and our students have won gold medals every year since. In 2026, eight students placed across the Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced divisions, the Advanced gold medal among them. We prepare from real past exams going back decades, together with materials of our own.

The Classes

Students take part on Ioannes Magister’s recommendation, in two classes:

• NCEE A: Novice (grade 8 and below)
  Saturdays, November 14 to December 12, 5 to 7 PM Korea time
• NCEE B: Intermediate and Advanced (grades 9 to 12)
  Sundays, November 15 to December 13, 5 to 7 PM Korea time

Both run on Zoom: five classes, ten hours. The first four are preparation. In the fifth, the first hour is review and the second is the exam itself, taken online. Every class is recorded and available to every student.

The Recorded Course. A student whose weekend is already spoken for may take either class entirely from the recordings, at a lower fee, and sit the exam online on the final day.

Results

Results arrive as certificates and medals issued in the American Classical League’s name. The full record is on our Commendations page. Emerson Latin prepares students for more than twenty international Latin and classical humanities contests each year, and most of our students count them among the parts of Latin they enjoy most.

Enquiries

To ask about fees, or to have your child considered: write to us on KakaoTalk in Korean, WhatsApp in English, or at contact@emersonlatin.com, by October 28. We reply within one business day.