Spanish AND German?

[pinonheightsacademy]

My daughter would like to learn both Spanish and German starting next year.   I had been looking into one or the other. For German, we were thinking of using the OSU program. Spanish would be through a company with a live class.  

 

She is pretty motivated, but I am worried it would be too much.  Has anyone done this?  

 

I know it depends on the individual. However, we are new to high school and have never learned another language.  I appreciate opinions from veterans :) 

[klmama]

Many people choose to get a good start on the first foreign language before adding a second.  Beginning language learners are more likely to confuse the two languages.  That doesn't happen as much once they get a handle on how the first one works.  

[Matryoshka]

Two languages is not too much for an interested kid, but I'll agree that starting them both at the same time could get muddled. I'd separate the start point by a year at least.

[maize]

Agreeing with others that staggered start is the most common strategy for multiple languages.

 

The school I attended in France started a first foreign language in 6th grade, a second in 8th, and some kids started a third in 10th.

[Tsuga]

My daughter would like to learn both Spanish and German starting next year.   I had been looking into one or the other. For German, we were thinking of using the OSU program. Spanish would be through a company with a live class.  

 

She is pretty motivated, but I am worried it would be too much.  Has anyone done this?  

 

I know it depends on the individual. However, we are new to high school and have never learned another language.  I appreciate opinions from veterans :)

 

I'd have her start both as she has requested, then choose which one to focus on more this year by the end of six weeks.

 

That way, if she does keep up and even does well, why not? And if it's too much, no problem: everything is going according to plan. She is just making the choice as you planned already.

 

Edit: we had one kid do this with another activity. "Oh no I'll do both," turned into "SO I'VE MADE MY CHOICE NOW" really quickly. :)

Edited March 14, 2018 by Tsuga

[...................]

I would pick one and get started.  It's very hard to learn all of the rules of grammar, let alone the vocab.

 

In my opinion, Spanish is easier.  We had to hire a tutor to get my son through the end of German 1 with straight A's.  German vocabulary and pronunciation are easy.  However, it's the rules of grammar that are extremely difficult!  

 

However if you do go with German, I've heard nothing but great things about OSU.  Do not use any program that uses Akutell, the popular high school German book.  It is very disorganized and confusing, without proper helps or enough grammar explanation and practice. our German tutor was horrified by the disorganization of the book.

[Miss Tick]

Another option is she could pick one to start with and do the other informally on the side. That would give her the opportunity with less of a commitment. There is so, so much cheap or free stuff available to get started on language learning.

 

My older two are taking Spanish, but as a family we are learning German at a slower pace.

Edited March 14, 2018 by SusanC

[mom2bee]

My daughter would like to learn both Spanish and German starting next year.   I had been looking into one or the other. For German, we were thinking of using the OSU program. Spanish would be through a company with a live class.  

 

She is pretty motivated, but I am worried it would be too much.  Has anyone done this?  

 

I know it depends on the individual. However, we are new to high school and have never learned another language.  I appreciate opinions from veterans :)

I do not know anything about the OSU program or the company you'd use for Spanish, but in my opinion, the first thing that she'll need if she's going to stick with any language and actually benefit is to have her enthusiasm rewarded by using materials that allow her to actually be successful in speaking/understanding the language. Hunting out these types of materials is my hobby and passion.

 

I am not a company spokesman or anything like that,but I've sifted through a lot of junk to find some kid-friendly language learning jewels. In fact most of the materials I recommend are out of print, but still available in the secondary market.

 

I recommend she  pick a language you get some of the materials that I am about to suggest and get started on studying and using the materials they arrive and work on it over the summer. Schedule time for her to do the language EVERY DAY for 10-20 minutes minimum and help her be consistent. She will see BIG gains and it will feed her desire to keep going.

 

In my opinion it is very important for people to get "paid" from the efforts with a foreign language as quickly as possible so I would get materials that are aimed at getting you speaking in useful, real-life phrases fast.

 

The following resources are good for any beginner, but especially for interested kids/teens who have no background with the language. I would not sign up for language courses, yet. Instead I would invest that money in resources that are really useful and have a high-level of output.

 

 

1989 Berlitz Jr books are useful, if you can find one with the audio cassette or find a native Speaker to read/record the audio of the book for you.

1989 Berlitz Jr German with Cassette on eBay and

1989 Berlitz Jr Spanish with CAssette on eBay, though you might also be able to get them through the library.

 

If you don't have a Cassette player or can't find a native speaker then the 2003 Berlitz for Kids Language Packs are newer and come in a German and Spanish versions. The ones I linked both come with CDs so that may work better for you.

 

In my opinion both the 1989 and 2003 Berlitz series each series has their own strengths and would complement each other very well.

 

Angela Wilkes German for Beginners and Spanish for Beginners are friendly, useful books. These slim, visually appealing volumes offer an over view of the language and grammar skills you'll learn in a Language 101 course, but in a comic book format and without the drill. The newer versions come with audio CDs so you can hear how everything is supposed to sound.

 

LinguaFun Cards are card games that help you build basics sentences in the target language. The Spanish and German version are currently available on eBay and Amazon with CDs (older versions came with cassettes).

 

Also, these may be a little pricy compared to other books but if your kid REALLY wants to use the language, then BUY THEM. Today.

Kids Stuff Spanish

Kids Stuff German

They contain tons of every-day phrases that you would actually say to a child or in a home setting.

 

This last resources doesn't have a German version (that I'm aware of) but is a pair of Barrons workbooks that are different from most other kids language workbooks because it is NOT waste of time Spanish Everyday with Audio CDs and  Spanish for the Young Action Words.

 

I would have her learn to read in Language 1 (using YouTube videos, this won't take long at all) while waiting on her orders to arrive and I would have her work on these materials starting ASAP and all through the summer, she can use the audio cds/tapes to help her pronunciation, but once she is reading she won't be reliant on these audio components at all.

 

I can link you to some "easy readers" if you are interested to help her practice her reading above/beyond the books I've listed here.

 

If she's made good progress with the material through the summer, then revisit the idea of signing her up for an outside class for $$$.

 

These materials will get her able to speak and say things useful to kids fairly quickly and if she's not motivated enough to stick to it with these, then I probably wouldn't fork over the $$$ for outside classes just yet.

[RootAnn]

My daughter, who is doing both Spanish & German, doesn't recommend starting both at the same time. (She's in Spanish 4 & German 1 this year, so take her comment with that in mind.) She's wanted to add another language for awhile, but I made her stick out Latin 2 and then she didn't have time in her schedule last year to add another. It is helpful, IMO, that Spanish & German are not as alike as say Spanish & Latin or Spanish & Italian or Spanish & French. Starting two Romance languages at the same time would be confusing for most of us, I would think, because of their similarities. (DD had a few issues accidentally conjugating a Spanish verb as a Latin one & vice versa.)

 

So, maybe start one in the summer or wait a year to start one. You will likely find out fairly quickly how intensive doing two languages can be! (Or how smooth.)

[G5052]

Two languages is not too much for an interested kid, but I'll agree that starting them both at the same time could get muddled. I'd separate the start point by a year at least.

 

I agree. My oldest did Latin, Spanish, and Russian. Latin was first starting in middle school and going through the AP. He did a Russian conversation course in the middle, and then two semesters of college Spanish after Latin. He thought that he might want to be a linguist, but settled on business and is now a junior in accounting.

[pinonheightsacademy]

There was actually a study out a year or two ago that said it’s actually easier to learn to languages at once......I’ll try and find it. I don’t remember the mechanism.

 

This is going to sound weird, but is she musically inclined and does she memorize lyrics easily to songs (without trying)? If she does she will probably have an easier time than you think. If she doesn’t than one may be enough and do the other free on Duolingo until next year? The $$$ on the second class would be my concern.

 

I’ve learned Spanish and French together and have not had a problem. I agree with those who say it depends on how motivated she is. I think some people just have an ear for it. I have a couple of friends who each spoke 5+ languages fluently by the end of high school and that made me think for some people it just comes naturally.

Yes, she is musically inclined.  She plays both violin and piano.  Also takes five dance classes.  Just reading that makes me think two languages may be a bit much to add to her plate.  lol.  

 

I think we will go with my first plan.  Enroll in live online Spanish 1 for next year.  We will see how that goes and if at some point it doesn't seem like it would be too  much she can add in German.  

[pinonheightsacademy]

I do not know anything about the OSU program or the company you'd use for Spanish, but in my opinion, the first thing that she'll need if she's going to stick with any language and actually benefit is to have her enthusiasm rewarded by using materials that allow her to actually be successful in speaking/understanding the language. Hunting out these types of materials is my hobby and passion.

 

I am not a company spokesman or anything like that,but I've sifted through a lot of junk to find some kid-friendly language learning jewels. In fact most of the materials I recommend are out of print, but still available in the secondary market.

 

I recommend she  pick a language you get some of the materials that I am about to suggest and get started on studying and using the materials they arrive and work on it over the summer. Schedule time for her to do the language EVERY DAY for 10-20 minutes minimum and help her be consistent. She will see BIG gains and it will feed her desire to keep going.

 

In my opinion it is very important for people to get "paid" from the efforts with a foreign language as quickly as possible so I would get materials that are aimed at getting you speaking in useful, real-life phrases fast.

 

The following resources are good for any beginner, but especially for interested kids/teens who have no background with the language. I would not sign up for language courses, yet. Instead I would invest that money in resources that are really useful and have a high-level of output.

 

 

1989 Berlitz Jr books are useful, if you can find one with the audio cassette or find a native Speaker to read/record the audio of the book for you.

1989 Berlitz Jr German with Cassette on eBay and

1989 Berlitz Jr Spanish with CAssette on eBay, though you might also be able to get them through the library.

 

If you don't have a Cassette player or can't find a native speaker then the 2003 Berlitz for Kids Language Packs are newer and come in a German and Spanish versions. The ones I linked both come with CDs so that may work better for you.

 

In my opinion both the 1989 and 2003 Berlitz series each series has their own strengths and would complement each other very well.

 

Angela Wilkes German for Beginners and Spanish for Beginners are friendly, useful books. These slim, visually appealing volumes offer an over view of the language and grammar skills you'll learn in a Language 101 course, but in a comic book format and without the drill. The newer versions come with audio CDs so you can hear how everything is supposed to sound.

 

LinguaFun Cards are card games that help you build basics sentences in the target language. The Spanish and German version are currently available on eBay and Amazon with CDs (older versions came with cassettes).

 

Also, these may be a little pricy compared to other books but if your kid REALLY wants to use the language, then BUY THEM. Today.

Kids Stuff Spanish

Kids Stuff German

They contain tons of every-day phrases that you would actually say to a child or in a home setting.

 

This last resources doesn't have a German version (that I'm aware of) but is a pair of Barrons workbooks that are different from most other kids language workbooks because it is NOT waste of time Spanish Everyday with Audio CDs and  Spanish for the Young Action Words.

 

I would have her learn to read in Language 1 (using YouTube videos, this won't take long at all) while waiting on her orders to arrive and I would have her work on these materials starting ASAP and all through the summer, she can use the audio cds/tapes to help her pronunciation, but once she is reading she won't be reliant on these audio components at all.

 

I can link you to some "easy readers" if you are interested to help her practice her reading above/beyond the books I've listed here.

 

If she's made good progress with the material through the summer, then revisit the idea of signing her up for an outside class for $$$.

 

These materials will get her able to speak and say things useful to kids fairly quickly and if she's not motivated enough to stick to it with these, then I probably wouldn't fork over the $$$ for outside classes just yet.

Thank you so much for all the resources. I will check them out!

[pinonheightsacademy]

Thank you everyone for the comments!  I will plan to start with just one language and see how that goes before adding in another.