My word--everyone is discussing foreign language!

[Jane in NC]

I don't ever remember seeing so many language questions on the boards before so I am curious if this is a planning phase or if people are more in tune with the need for exposure to a second language.

 

My son studies Latin and French. With my high school background (but minimal memory function) and a teacher's book, I can muddle through the former. I study French along with my son. Last year we employed a tutor for conversation; this year we are focusing on grammar, reading and listening which is really the best we can do in an environment that presents few opportunities to speak French.

 

Why Latin? All of the reasons that you have seen previously on the board regarding grammar, etc. But my son has also fallen in love with ancient and medieval history. He needs Latin as well as French for where he wants to go in this world in terms of his history studies.

 

Beyond curricula, how do you choose the languages that your children study?

 

Jane

[hsmamainva]

My oldest studied Latin from 3rd grade through 8th grade (using first the Latin Primer -- which *I* had trouble teaching! -- then with Latina Christiana I and II, followed by the Henle Latin series).

 

She switched to Spanish in 9th grade and used The Learnables for 3 years (9th, 10th, and 11th) and her conversational skills are 'adequate', but there was very little writing and grammar instruction.

 

She wants to study Arabic now (and for her own special reason: her #1 career goal is to work for a government protection agency after college -- i.e., FBI, CIA, etc. -- and she feels that by studying Arabic, it will increase her chances for acceptance).

 

So I'm looking into Auralog's Tell Me More -- I sent away for the free CD for Arabic and for Spanish for my 14 year old.

 

He hasn't studied Latin. I tried, once, but he has high functioning autism and Latin brought him to tears on numerous occasions, so I shelved it. We did go through the Latina Christiana series, but only as a vocabulary source, if that makes sense -- he enjoyed memorizing the basic meanings, but he just couldn't get conjugating the words.

 

I've ordered Spanish for him simply because there are so many Spanish speaking people in the US now! He hasn't chosen a major yet, but one of the careers he's sort of thinking of is architecture or something in the construction field and I know he'll need to speak Spanish, at least on a conversational basis, if he's working in construction!

 

So...those are our reasons!

[Miss Marple]

We made the choice based on geography, amount of a particular language being spoken locally, and his future career plans (which most likely will include foreign travel/living). In our case, Spanish won out. But French seems so much more romantic :-)

[Harriet Vane]

We do Latin because of all the benefits it provides academically (base for understanding romance languages, vocabulary enrichment, etc.).

 

We considered the following in addition:

 

French: I did very well with this in high school and college and think I could pick it right back up and do okay teaching it.

 

German: My father was Swiss and all my relatives in Switzerland speak German. I have always wanted to learn. I thought homeschooling provided the perfect vehicle for forcing me to do so.

 

Spanish: This language is so common in America, and in our area in particular. You cannot beat it for sheer practical everyday use, and the availability of resources. Plus dh knows Spanish and this was his vote.

 

We ended up going with Spanish. Dd is also doing Latin. Dd picks up languages easily, so my plan is for her to take either an AP exam or the National Latin Exam so that her Latin experience can be reflected on her transcript. After that she will drop Latin, continue with Spanish, and possibly pick up another language of her choosing. I told her that if she chooses German I will take a class with her.

 

For Ds I am not sure what we will do. He is taking Spanish. While he definitely doesn't pick it up as easily as does Dd, he's doing fine. I have not decided whether or not to do Latin with him, though I am leaning towards doing so. ??? I am also not sure if he will pick up another language in high school like Dd. I would rather he invest his time in an area that is his passion--it may be best for him to continue with Spanish.

[Michelle in MO]

(Henle I) and that was all the further I was able to take our older two. However, one of the girls shocked me the other day by stating that someday she'd like to pick up Latin again!

 

They both really want to learn French, but there is no outlet for French in our area other than at the cc! None of the high schools offers French anymore---it's all Spanish. I realize Spanish is almost essential in America nowadays. Still, it would be nice to have more choices.

 

Latin will be great for further studies in medieval history and lit. A former classmate of mine from the University of Minnesota is doing this: http://people.cohums.ohio-state.edu/grotans1/. I love the picture of the ancient manuscript--in my "other life," I'd love to be a specialist in ancient manuscripts!

[Tokyomarie]

Our "family" foreign language is Japanese because of our 10+ year sojourn in Japan during the '90s. Our daughters learned it naturally by immersion in the culture and attending public schools in Japan.

 

After moving to the USA and beginning our journey into full-time homeschooling, our girls took one year of Spanish because the opportunity for a local homeschool class where they could meet other homeschoolers presented itself.

 

Dd#1 studied about a year's worth of Latin which we didn't keep up because of the lack of human resources to help her learn. I do not know Latin & couldn't help her beyond the first half year and the tutor we finally found moved away. Because I was trying to school three at three levels while our whole family was dealing with culture shock, I was in no position to try to learn it with her.

 

Dd#2 did not study Latin. She has had enough language learning challenges and I figured 2 languages plus the brief exposure to Spanish was enough. She studied Japanese again in high school.

 

Ds didn't learn Japanese in Japan; he had a severe speech delay and by the time it resolved we were about to move back her. Because of our background, I decided Japanese will be his foreign language and he is now taking it in a homeschool class. We may also start Latin on a low key basis this year to give him at least a couple of year's exposure. I'm in a better place to learn it alongside my student this time around.

[Reya]

Beyond curricula, how do you choose the languages that your children study?

 

 

I majored in Spanish, among other things, and DH is a native Chinese speaker. So those were obvious.

 

We're doing Latin lite because it's so useful for historical studies and because there's so much FUN curricula out there.

 

We may add Greek or Hebrew for religious reasons. If we do French, German, or somethng else, it'll be for fun. We have an Arabic linguist next door, and I'm HSing his son, so that's a terrible temptation, too! :-)

[KAR120C]

Beyond curricula, how do you choose the languages that your children study?

Spanish because of it's prevalence around here (no lack of native speakers -- just spend an afternoon at the park!)

 

Latin because of word roots, and after we had dabbled a bit (as much as I was going to require) he wanted to continue.

 

Russian partly for family history but mostly because he expressed an interest. He wants to learn Japanese too, but I said only one new alphabet at a time. ;)

[Jan P.]

I don't ever remember seeing so many language questions on the boards before so I am curious if this is a planning phase or if people are more in tune with the need for exposure to a second language.

.

 

Beyond curricula, how do you choose the languages that your children study?

 

Jane

 

Jane,

 

I am in the planning stage for next year, so I'm trying to find testing options that will help validate what my dd has covered in her language studies.

 

I prefer that my dd take Latin, but it was such a big bust this year that I dropped it. My dd has some learning issues, and I felt that a more phonetic type language would be easier for her. She chose Italian because she felt it wouldn't be too far off from Latin and because her father took it in college. He has tons of stories of trips to Italy that has given her a bug to go to Europe.

 

My ds chose Spanish because it was offered at our local co-op. He also started out with Latin, but he didn't progress very far with it. I have a Spanish background in high school and college, so I have helped him somewhat with his studies. I do think Spanish is a more practical language for Americans especially here in the South where there are many Hispanics living in our area.

 

I try to let my dc decide what language that they want to study. I do give them heads up on more difficult languages such as Russian, Korean, Japanese, Chinese, etc. due to symbols used in writing that is different from English letters. Yet, if they decide to study one of these languages then they are on their own. I can't afford a tutor, so a computer software or dvd program would be their best bet.

 

Blessings,

Jan P.

[Liza Q]

I started my oldest on Latin in the 7th grade. She asked to drop it after 9th and I let her choose the next language. I was hoping that she would go for Spanish (more practical), but she chose French and has been very motivated!

 

My next daughter beeeeegggggeeeeedddddd me not to do Latin - and I was OK with that. This past year (9th grade) I made her do French, because her older sister was already taking it. She just can't stand it so I said she could do another language instead. I really want her to try Latin because there is a good co-op class near us, but she was miserable with the idea. I asked her what she would prefer - and she chose German.

 

I want my 9yo to start Latin (because of the coop classes) but she is horrified, as some of her friends are taking it and she has heard a lot of mixed reviews. She wants to do German (because of her older sister) - and I have not yet decided what I am going to do.

 

My 8yo is the sort who will happily go along with what ever his sister does, so he will just be along for the ride, whatever I choose!

 

Oh - I should mention that my older girls are MOST interested in Russian and Arabic! As I don't feel up to dealing with another alphabet at home, I told them that they can wait till they get to college!

[Rosie_0801]

Well Auslan is a neccessary language around here (ok not a foreign language, but a language other than English anyway.)` I was very upset to realise I'd been inhibiting dd1's Auslan production by speak-signing. I know it's naughty, but it's a natural way to communicate for two hearing people who sign. So I stopped speaking while signing and in about two days she's produced two new signs. Think I've hit on the right answer...

We'll do Latin for all the usual reasons people do Latin, and her fourth language will be pretty much up to her. I intend to send her to Saturday School. She'll have the choice of whatever languages are offered wherever we are living by then. I am all for a hearing, speaking, reading then writing style of learning language and I don't want her to be a class where she is the only complete newbie in a group of native speakers. That would be no good for her confidence and would disrupt the teacher and the rest of the students too much. As long as those issues are sorted to our satisfaction she can pick Dinka or Bengali if that's what takes her fancy.

:)

Rosie

[Kelli in TN]

Well, if you have followed my foreign language saga at all these past years, you know that we start Latin every fall.

 

And then quit.

 

We have the first couple of chapters of Wheelocks about memorized. But that's all we've got.

 

So, dd will be taking her foreign language at the community college, since this is her senior year and we are out. of. time. She will be taking Spanish because that is the only language they offer!!! She wanted French, but they lost their French teacher.

 

Sometimes you choose, sometimes the choice is made for you!

[Crissy]

Outside of Latin, they choose their language study. Both of my boys began Latin around third grade, and at least one of them will continue through high school. Jeffrey has a desire to read original works before he graduates. He has expressed some interest in learning Greek, but we've not gotten past the idea stage just yet.

Hunter is just beginning his 4th grade year. He has a couple of years of Latin under his belt and would like to add Spanish this year. We began SYRWLS at a very slow pace last month, and since I have always wanted to learn the language, we will continue to learn the language together throughout his school years. It impossible to know if he will also want to continue his study of Latin into high school.

[Kareni]

My now rising senior attended public school through 5th grade. At that school they had exposure to Spanish near daily (i.e., songs, simple vocabulary, etc.) In sixth grade she attended a Waldorf inspired charter school; there she had the choice of Spanish or Chinese. She chose Chinese and was thriving with it; however, the instructor left mid-year and she ended up once again in Spanish.

 

Come 7th grade we began homeschooling with access to a homeschooling resource center. I mandated a foreign language (any language), and she continued with Spanish (at that point she completed a formal Spanish 1 program). The following year she began Latin which she has continued to this day (the instructor uses Cambridge). She loves it! She took AP Latin this past year (Catallus-Cicero) and will take it again next year (Catallus-Ovid). Next week she is due to begin a month long intensive Beginning Arabic class taught as a continuing education class through the local community college. Come fall, if interested, she may continue with Arabic or begin Ancient Greek (or both!) in addition to the AP Latin class. This will be her choice. Her current plan for college is to major in Latin or the Classics.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Jan P.]

Well, if you have followed my foreign language saga at all these past years, you know that we start Latin every fall.

 

And then quit.

 

We have the first couple of chapters of Wheelocks about memorized. But that's all we've got.

 

So, dd will be taking her foreign language at the community college, since this is her senior year and we are out. of. time. She will be taking Spanish because that is the only language they offer!!! She wanted French, but they lost their French teacher.

 

Sometimes you choose, sometimes the choice is made for you!

 

Kelli,

I had to chuckle when I read your post. I've had the same problem with all my kiddos with Latin. I wish I had money for a Latin tutor. I really believe that Latin is quite helpful to know. Maybe if my youngest dd isn't too objectional then "maybe" I'll try again.

 

Jan P.

[Brindee]

We did Latin for one year, but that's all it lasted. 3 years ago my oldest picked French to learn, so we all did French. Nobody liked it very well, so we dropped it.

 

Next my oldest picked German, and was doing well with it until he went off to school and they don't offer it there. He started Spanish then, and really enjoyed it, but they lost their teacher part-way through the year.....Not sure what will happen for language with him next year. I'm disappointed the school didn't find some way to finish out the year so ds could get credit!

 

DS14 picked Greek, Koine Greek since he wants to be a pastor. He did that this year/8th grade. He's going to step it up next year so he can get credit for it. He also wants to start Hebrew.

 

DD11 played around with Spanish and ASL this year. She'll get a little more serious about both next year.

[Colleen]

Well Auslan is a neccessary language around here (ok not a foreign language, but a language other than English anyway.)`

 

I can officially say I learned something new today! I'd never heard the term "Auslan" so I Googled it and ended up at auslan.org.au. I never knew there were different sign languages! Upon discovering that, I thought, "Well, that stands to reason. Different spoken language requires different signed language." But then I read this bit in a wikipedia article:

 

"On the whole, deaf sign languages are independent of oral languages and follow their own paths of development. For example, British Sign Language and American Sign Language are quite different and mutually unintelligible, even though the hearing people of Britain and America share the same oral language."

 

Knock me over with a feather! It would have never occured to me that Britain and America (and Australia, for that matter) would sign differently despite a shared spoken language. Very interesting!

[Colleen]

We began SYRWLS at a very slow pace last month, and since I have always wanted to learn the language, we will continue to learn the language together throughout his school years.

 

What led you to choose Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Spanish? Since I'm pleased with their Latin and English books, I've considered going with GP for Spanish, too. I'm hesitant for a couple of reasons, though. One, I remember in the past when I asked Patricia (now in WA) about it, I had the impression it lends itself to a teacher who him/herself is already familiar with Spanish. Second, it seems more practical to learn Latin American Spanish.

 

But aside from using Rosetta Stone as a supplement, I'm not particularly drawn to any other Spanish programs. I'd love to hear your thoughts ~ why you chose SYRWTLS and your impressions thus far. Thanks!

[Colleen]

I don't ever remember seeing so many language questions on the boards before so I am curious if this is a planning phase or if people are more in tune with the need for exposure to a second language.

 

Whatever the reason, I'm glad of it! Many times I've wished for more discussion re language studies. And the subject is particularly on my mind just now, so I'm appreciating these conversations.:)

 

Beyond curricula, how do you choose the languages that your children study?

 

Latin ~ I think there are a myriad of good reasons, all of which are oft-mentioned here, to expose our students to Latin. Reading original works in Latin isn't my particular goal, but I appreciate the many other benefits. I'm waffling right now as to which years I'd prefer my boys to study this. I've gone with starting in 3rd grade thus far, but am considering postponing it a few years.

 

German ~ It's our heritage. I'm half-German and my husband is native Swiss (from central CH, where German is the first language).

 

Spanish ~ I want all my boys to learn some Spanish and my oldest (rising 8th grader) may start this upcoming school year. It's the second language here in the States, fairly common in our locale, and of course widely spoken around the globe. So I see it as practical on a variety of levels.

 

Other ~ I'm a language person and will gladly encourage my guys to delve into any language that strikes their fancy. (Except French, because I don't want to have to listen to it. Just kidding...sort of.:tongue_smilie:) I studied Russian in college and would love to reacquaint myself with it should any of the boys show an inclination. Japanese or Mandarin Chinese would be great, too. But really, whatever lights their fire.

[Colleen]

Well, if you have followed my foreign language saga at all these past years, you know that we start Latin every fall. And then quit. We have the first couple of chapters of Wheelocks about memorized. But that's all we've got.

 

At least you've got those first couple of chapters down pat. On the other hand, my Elementary Greek books are as new today as they were when I bought them three years (I think?) ago. I love this program! I won't part with it! I love the idea of at least dipping our collective toes in the Greek waters! I'm going to start it this fall! No, I'm going to use it as fun extra on during some off time!

 

Really.

 

I will.

 

Eventually.

 

Maybe.

 

:tongue_smilie:

[Colleen]

Pushing this up in hopes Crissy sees my questions. I know there are a couple of other people who are interested in hearing more about SYRWTLS, too.:)

[Rosie_0801]

"On the whole, deaf sign languages are independent of oral languages and follow their own paths of development. For example, British Sign Language and American Sign Language are quite different and mutually unintelligible, even though the hearing people of Britain and America share the same oral language."

 

 

Knock me over with a feather! It would have never occured to me that Britain and America (and Australia, for that matter) would sign differently despite a shared spoken language. Very interesting!

 

It makes sense if you think about it (though generally there is no need to think about it, which is why you hadn't.) A deaf person has limited or no access to a language in it's spoken form, so there is no reason why it should impact a signed language, or not much anyway. Just like sounds that fall outside of human range of hearing don't have any impact on our lives. It's just that deaf people have a more limited range of hearing than the rest of us. In some ways, written language will impact on signed languages (dh reports the deaf kids at school signing "leet speak" Urgh!); it's accessable and signed languages aren't written down. (Ok, there are ways, but they aren't practical and I think only scholars use them.)

 

ASL (American Sign Language) is so different from BSL (British Sign Language) because when America was first looking for teachers of the deaf, they went to England. England refused to send any, so they went to France. Auslan is about 70% the same as BSL, so if I rocked up in England, I'd be able to communicate with the Deaf there without many problems, same with NZ. The English deaf would have trouble reading my fingerspelling though, because we use more than they do so are more proficient at reading it back. A cultural difference :) Auslan borrows a lot from ASL, so my dh can understand the gist of a lot of ASL conversations. Not the details, but enough to get the general idea. He's better at that than I am.

 

Signed languages rock! *juggles pom poms in a cheerleaderesque way* Though Auslan is better than ASL :tongue_smilie: No, really it is. ASL initialises too much. It looks ugly.

:D

Rosie- who will now allow the subject to go back to *foreign* languages ;)

[Crissy]

 

What led you to choose Galore Park's So You Really Want to Learn Spanish? Since I'm pleased with their Latin and English books, I've considered going with GP for Spanish, too.

It was my love for GP Latin that lead me to choose their Spanish program. I reasoned that since the approach works so well for Hunter with his first language study, the Spanish program would likely be a good fit as well.

 

 

I had the impression it lends itself to a teacher who him/herself is already familiar with Spanish.

I only have a vague familiarity with Spanish. I took all of two classes in high school, and that was 20 years ago (Gah!). Still, we've had no issues with the early lessons.

MamaLynx cautioned me that the program might be a bit much for someone Hunter's age, so we are doing just one lesson short section per day, and including a lot of review via the audio CD. We've not run up against any issues so far.

 

 

Second, it seems more practical to learn Latin American Spanish.

 

It is my understanding that the differences between LA Spanish and Spain Spanish are minimal. There was some discussion about that very question in this thread.

 

 

But aside from using Rosetta Stone as a supplement, I'm not particularly drawn to any other Spanish programs. I'd love to hear your thoughts ~ why you chose SYRWTLS and your impressions thus far. Thanks!

We are using Rosetta Stone as a supplement, and it's working out well. I like the additional vocabulary and exposure to sentence structure with RS while we're working on conversation and grammar with GP.

We are not far into our Spanish journey, but so far I am happy with the two programs together and with Hunter's enthusiasm.

The vice president for the new soccer team told Hunter that if he's fluent by the time he's sixteen, he can work for the Sounders. ;)

[SheWhoWaits]

I studied French, Greek, Latin, and German in college. I always assumed I'd teach languages. I did teach Latin to my dc. But, go figure, they want to learn Russian and Japanese. So they are doing community college classes and tutors.

[Colleen]

It was my love for GP Latin that lead me to choose their Spanish program.

 

Were you/are you using SYRWTLL, or Latin Prep?

 

I only have a vague familiarity with Spanish. I took all of two classes in high school, and that was 20 years ago (Gah!). Still, we've had no issues with the early lessons. MamaLynx cautioned me that the program might be a bit much for someone Hunter's age, so we are doing just one lesson short section per day, and including a lot of review via the audio CD. We've not run up against any issues so far.

 

Okay, good to know!

 

It is my understanding that the differences between LA Spanish and Spain Spanish are minimal. There was some discussion about that very question in this thread.

 

Thanks for pointing out that previous discussion. I'd been going along for a bit, assuming the differences were minor. Then just recently, I spoke with a couple of people who seemed surprised at my assumption. They're both learning Latin American Spanish and implied the differences were more than I'd anticipated.

 

We are using Rosetta Stone as a supplement, and it's working out well. I like the additional vocabulary and exposure to sentence structure with RS while we're working on conversation and grammar with GP.

We are not far into our Spanish journey, but so far I am happy with the two programs together and with Hunter's enthusiasm.

 

So did you go with the Latin American Spanish version of Rosetta Stone? Also, did you buy the latest version (Version 3)?

 

The vice president for the new soccer team told Hunter that if he's fluent by the time he's sixteen, he can work for the Sounders.

 

Well, harrumph. I want to have friends in the right places, too!