Some students quibbled over a solution while others looked intently at their textbooks for the answer.

Each was hoping to translate foreign phrases about a dinner party as part of a classroom competition.

After a lively debate in a huddle, a group of four boys in this Glenelg High School class dashed to the chalkboard and deftly wrote their sentence about a host greeting his guests in the hallway.

Their teacher, Mary Ann Staley, smiled and nodded, and the boys pumped their fists and let out a load cheer.

Who knew Latin, the language of the ancient Roman Empire, could be so exciting?

Sure, they probably won't find a reason to say "Lex clavatoris designati rescindenda est" ("The designated hitter rule has got to go") at a ballgame, but Latin is far from a dead language.

For example, Latin phrases are used on a regular basis by lawyers, and scientists often turn to Latin to name newly discovered plants, animals, fossils and celestial bodies.

Locally, students seem to recognize the benefits of learning the ancient language of Cicero and Virgil, as Latin is gaining in popularity in Howard County high schools.

This year, there are 508 students enrolled in Latin in the county. Actually, slightly more students take Latin I than German I or French I in county high schools, said Leslie Grahn, world language resource teacher for the schools.

Out of the 12 county high schools, eight -- Atholton, Centennial, Glenelg, Oakland Mills, Howard, Marriotts Ridge, Mt. Hebron and Reservoir -- offer Latin classes, with many of the students at these schools are taking Latin as their second foreign language, Grahn said.

Spanish is the most popular world language offered in the schools, she added.

"Part of what we attribute to the rise in interest in Latin is that kids have become more aware that Latin is a base of English," Grahn said. "It can make them more powerful in English."

Grahn added that a fair number of students enroll in Latin to help them with the vocabulary aspects of the SAT.

Latin is big at Glenelg

Glenelg High has one of the most well-established Latin programs in the county.

While most area high schools have one teacher dedicated to Latin, Glenelg has two, said Karl Schindler, principal of Glenelg. The number of students wishing to take Latin increases from year to year, Schindler added.

Schindler attributes much of the Latin program's success at his school to Staley, who revived the Latin offerings at the school when she arrived in 1992. Since then, the Glenelg Latin program has grown from one section of students to more than 200 students today enrolled in Latin I, II, III and IV, Staley said.

In fact, Staley, who has been teaching Latin since 1972, recently received national recognition for her teaching, winning the Award for Excellence in Pre-Collegiate Teaching from the American Philological Association, a national organization of teachers and professors of Latin and Greek.

Staley said she tries to make the study of Latin relevant and fun for her students by showing them connections between the modern and ancient world.

For example, during one recent class she and her students compare Luke Skywalker of "Star Wars" fame to the Roman hero Aeneas in Virgil's "The Aeneid."

Apart from the cultural and historical relevance of Latin, Staley also stresses the practical relevance of the ancient language.

"If you know Latin, you make fewer trips to the dictionary," she said with a laugh.

She added that the study of Latin also tends to make students better readers and writers of English.

Connor Penek, a junior at Glenelg enrolled in Latin III, said he initially signed up for Latin after talking with his older brother and sister who took it, saying they convinced him the classes would be fun and Latin would help him perform well on the SAT.

Connor said he ended up really liking the language and discovered he had a natural knack for learning it.

"It's better than other languages, because it's history-oriented," he said, adding that he enjoys learning about ancient Roman culture and architecture.

E-mail Sarah Daniels at sdaniels@patuxent.com.

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