Next language to study

[Chez J]

Thinking ahead to next year...

 

My daughter will be 5th grade age next year, but she will be in 7th grade language arts and reading. Our native language is English. She is literate in French, reading at about a 3rd or 4th grade level. Le Cabane Magique is a bit easy, but Dear Canada in French is too hard. (Won't be next year I'll bet.)

 

I want to add another language in middle school, then a last one in high school. What would be the best to add next: spanish, latin, biblical greek or biblical hebrew? I've about decided to wait on the two biblical languages until high school, and may or may not even then. So, that would leave spanish or latin.

 

Any suggestions? We use CNED for French if that helps with anything.

 

Lesley

[Ester Maria]

How about asking her how does she feel about studying another language and which one of those she might be interested in?

 

Whatever she chooses, I suggest you to continue with French as well.

[jld]

Hi, Lesley.

 

I don't know if our story will help you, but fwiw, this is what dd14 has done . . .

 

She has grown up bilingual Fr./Eng. (French father, American mother), and learned to read Eng. around 7 1/2. She didn't start reading French for about another year, and didn't really get very good at it until we lived in France when she was 11 1/2 - almost 13. We live in India now, and a year ago, on the way here, we stopped in France and bought the Chouette Orthographe/Francais workbooks. She did the 6th grade ones, and now is starting the 7th grade ones (she is in 9th). I keep her stocked in French novels (jr. high or high school level), which she reads maybe a few times a week (she's really into math and sci., and that is keeping her busy). She doesn't really write much, although she tells me she knows she should. Priorities and time and all that!

 

About a year ago we started working through Voces y Vistas (a first year Spanish textbook from Scott Foresman, published about 20 years ago). We have been pretty inconsistent in using it; sometimes we do a chapter a week, and we have taken months off. Even with the inconsistency, dd has done really well (I used to teach hs Spanish, and I would have appreciated more students like her). She says Spanish is pretty easy when you know French. I want her to finished VyV soon, and be done with the next two levels, Pasos y Puentes and Arcos y Alamedas, by 1 Jan. 2011. I'd then like to take her to Spain for at least a week, and buy some children's novels in Spanish for her to read. That's probably all we'll do for hs Spanish.

 

Now back in the beg. of 7th grade, when we were still in France, she started the Galore Park Latin Book 1, and still working on it today! She likes it, but has been busy the last 2 1/2 years with other things. My goal is that Books 2 and 3 will be done in the next 2 - 2 1/2 years. I am just happy she is doing Latin, and is self-motivated.

 

Dd is not a language girl; she resisted French until we moved to France and had to use it (even though her dad always spoke French to her, 90th of the time in America she would respond in English). She wants to be a doctor in America and understands how helpful it is to know Spanish there. She understands the value of studying Latin to help with science. But I'm telling you, if she had grown up with two monolingual American parents, she would happily be monolingual right now. Too bad for her!;)

 

I'm sure this is tmi. I do hope it is helpful in some way. I am kind of nudging dd to do some German in the next few years, partly because I would like to learn along with her, and partly because I'd like to do some travel in Germany on one of the trips back and forth to America, and I think it would be cool to be able to speak some German there. I also think it would be a true foreign language experience for her, as Span and Latin probably aren't as hard for someone who grows up knowing French.

 

And then there is the whole issue of learning Tamil, the native language of the region we live in here in India. We should, we probably won't, that's how it seems to be going. Who knows -- maybe life will surprise us and we'll learn some along the way.

[stripe]

And then there is the whole issue of learning Tamil, the native language of the region we live in here in India. We should, we probably won't, that's how it seems to be going. Who knows -- maybe life will surprise us and we'll learn some along the way.

You should! It's hard to miss an opportunity like that, AND I think it's a very good thing to learn another alphabet. It makes it so much the easier to learn a third! :)

 

I'd ask your daughter what she thinks.

[jld]

Thanks, stripe. Dd is conflicted, too. We both see the advantage in trying to learn at least some of the language, and have picked up a few words. But Tamil would take already scarce time resources, kwim? Priorities, priorities.

 

My Tamil strategy is to have the baby learn it. The servants have spoken to him in Tamil ever since we arrived here a year ago. They say his understanding is pretty good. He isn't talking yet, and he'll probably speak Eng. first, as that is what most of his family speaks to him. But having the servants speak to him everyday, plus their not understanding Eng. well, should facilitate his speaking Tamil. I'm hoping five years from now he will be our translator.

 

Thanks again!

[Chez J]

That was helpful. I'm really leaning to Spanish because I think it will be very easy for her. I'll look into your suggested curriculum.

 

Lesley