Foreign Language for young children

[~Puddins~]

I was reading the post on which foreign language to learn (besides Latin) and I was just curious what age most of you begin teaching a foreign language (including Latin)? I believe TWM recommends formally beginning that around 4th grade?

 

The reason I ask is my 6 yr old has been interested in learning a foreign language (we live in south Texas so we hear Spanish A LOT) and he always asks me "What are they saying?". And now he's begun asking me how to say "book" in Spanish or some thing like that (only he asks ALL day long). However, our schedule really does not allow for a formal curriculum on foreign language this year, plus he is still working on total mastery of English phonics so I was just wondering if there were any recommendations for getting him started on a foreign language, but one that won't make me feel badly if we don't spend too much time on it this year :001_smile:

 

Also, would we be breaking a cardinal rule if we learned Spanish over Latin first? :confused1: What to do!!

[WTMindy]

I think Spanish first is a fine idea. We did it with our kids, and it has only helped them learn Latin. It is great to start so young while they can quickly assimilate languages. The best thing would be to find a kid his age who doesn't speak much English and have them get together and play along with any formal studies.

[Closeacademy]

When they start talking we start playing with spanish. They learn it from Dora the Explorer on TV, Rock n Learn DVD's and CDs and then we check out picture books from the spanish language section of our library. When they are ready to do the amount of writing involved I get the walmart workbook on Spanish.

 

As far as Latin--we start that when they are reading fairly well on their own. So for my oldest that was the 2nd half of second grade but my youngest will probably start at the beginning of second grade. We start with Minimus.

 

Anything else we do will happen around 5th or 6th grade or so once they have a good grounding in Latin.

 

Hope this helps. And I would go ahead and start working on spanish in a fun way if you can.:001_smile:

[Harriet Vane]

My dd started Spanish first, then Latin a year later. She has an aptitude for languages (inherited from my father, who was fluent in several), so she has always done fine doing both.

 

My ds started Spanish at age 4 and is still going strong. I will start Latin with him probably the in two or three years, at third or fourth grade.

 

Go ahead and ride the wave of your child's interest--they learn better when they are interested.

 

We have had good results with Rosetta Stone. However, we have had even better results with our Spanish teacher. :D I would highly recommend a native speaker for playing simple games and engaging in simple chatter.

 

Really, at this age, it's okay to pick something simple and just dive in. There are cheap workbooks at the teacher store you might look into--just start with simple vocabulary memorization.

[Paula in MS]

I am working on Spanish but only orally. This does not interfere with her phonics/reading instruction. We are going to use Rosetta Stone (only the spoken component.) We also listen to songs and watch DVDs that do not depend on the child knowing/learning to read in Spanish. Grammar and reading will come later.

 

Paula

[~Puddins~]

Thank you all! We've decided to take a trip to our library and look on the Spanish side of the Children's section :) DS is excited. We do have neighbors that speak Spanish and I usually will ask them "how do you say?" so maybe now I'll just make DS ask them himself and work on social skills at the same time as foreign language :D

[mcconnellboys]

Both of my boys started Spanish in kindergarten. My older son did not begin Latin until fifth grade and he finished Latin II last year, as a freshman.

[SoCal Sandra]

Whereas Latin pronunciation is less critical. Also, there is nothing wrong with thinking practically about future employment opportunities. I know a bright man who is fluent in two languages but couldn't get a job at Starbucks because he didn't speak Spanish. Dss study both Latin and Greek, but it's their Spanish study that will probably make their lives easier here in SoCal. Also, the Spanish study has made Latin easier for them. HTH.

[Lakeside]

We're currently using I Can Read and Speak French by Maurice Hazan. There is also a Spanish version of it. My son had a lot of fun when we do it and it is not so intense that you need to spend a lot of time doing it. It comes with a CD and some stickers and cards to make into a game (I think...we haven't used those yet;))

[asher]

:lurk5:

[Lucy in Australia]

If your child is interested and you have the opportunity for some sort of "immersion" where they hear the language a lot, I would definitely go for it. You only need make it as formal as you want to at this stage. Their little minds absorb so much, it will be a great beginning to more structured study later on.