tcja4 Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 When did you all find it successful to begin foreign language with your student/s? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted February 29, 2016 Share Posted February 29, 2016 Anytime. If you speak the language, start when they are born. Or start when they are older :) For written work, probably not before age six or so for most kids. My kids started Chinese when the oldest was 10, working with a tutor. All the kids participate to one extent or another in lessons. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Governess Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 My oldest started with Chinese in preschool. At that age it was a lot of songs, interesting cultural stuff, and introductory vocabulary (colors, numbers, family members, etc.). Starting in first grade we added in character recognition and reading/speaking in complete sentences. In third I hired a tutor to teach her how to write characters correctly. Now in sixth she does all her written work in characters and works at a high school level. The key is to keep working, keep building, and outsource if you find yourself hitting a wall - there is no substitute for a native speaker. With Latin, we started in 3rd, once she was pretty solid in basic English grammar/diagramming. We started up a bit more quickly than we did in Chinese because she was older and it's an easier language to jump into. I'd say she's only a year farther ahead in Chinese than she is in Latin, even though we started Chinese 4 years earlier. Bottom line, anytime is a good time to start, but you will approach things differently depending on age. Also, because foreign language requires so much practice in order to retain and progress (sort of like math), I would take that into account and start at a time where you will be able to keep it in your schedule consistently going forward. Languages take up a big chunk of our time and we have had to sacrifice other things to give them room in our schedule. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maize Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Research on foreign language learning indicates that older kids learn more efficiently than younger kids; an older child will make faster progress. But if you start early you have a lot more years to work with. The one thing younger kids do better is pick up accents. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brad S Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Research on foreign language learning indicates that older kids learn more efficiently than younger kids; an older child will make faster progress. But if you start early you have a lot more years to work with. The one thing younger kids do better is pick up accents. Younger kids certainly can pronounce words like they're taught much better, but they also have the potential to learn exceedingly well in general. My guess is that whatever research you're referring to is focused on outcomes that may not be reflective of broad language learning. IMO age 11 or earlier is the best time to learn a second, or third language if possible and there's a way to practice it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Start anytime. IME, the tougher question is, "How long can I sustain teaching my dc the foreign language." I discovered after a few years that I needed outside support for this, via Saturday morning language classes and tutors. I just didn't have the time, energy and expertise to keep up the lessons at the pace and level the dc needed. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monica_in_Switzerland Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Start anytime. IME, the tougher question is, "How long can I sustain teaching my dc the foreign language." I discovered after a few years that I needed outside support for this, via Saturday morning language classes and tutors. I just didn't have the time, energy and expertise to keep up the lessons at the pace and level the dc needed. Hear, hear! As already mentioned, it is "easy" to get to an "ok" level of language, at pretty much any age. It is much harder to go beyond that with a non-native speaker parent. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 The 'foreign' languages like Latin, Greek & German, are not started before middle school. The second and third language has been started in the younger years (English at 5, French at 7). The third language is the weakest here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wintermom Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) The 'foreign' languages like Latin, Greek & German, are not started before middle school. The second and third language has been started in the younger years (English at 5, French at 7). The third language is the weakest here. Just out of curiosity, if Dutch is the first language, why wait so long to introduce German - as it's so close in vocabulary to Dutch? Is this order of language your specific family choice based on your own language knowledge and geographic location? I'm thinking that the order and timing may be very different for most Dutch people. Edited March 4, 2016 by wintermom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loesje22000 Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Just out of curiosity, if Dutch is the first language, why wait so long to introduce German - as it's so close in vocabulary to Dutch? Is this order of language your specific family choice based on your own language knowledge and geographic location? I'm thinking that the order and timing may be very different for most Dutch people. German is a minority language in Belgium, en the Netherlands is English oriented. Homeschooling in English is easier to me then in German. German has cases like Latin, Dutch has not, and I am definetly not solid in cases. The required exam levels for English and French are higher then for German in Belgium. Of course one can switch the languages and start German early. But I make in my mind a diffrence between the foreign languages and the second / third language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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