Foreign Languages..ugh! What to do????

[Karie]

My husband has been teaching my boys Greek off and on for the last few years, but it's been rather hit and miss. My boys are 9 and 11 and I think I need something more structured that I can do with them. It seems like these computer programs are worthless because they are just learning vocab words and not communicating it (like when I took Spanish in high school). I haven't a clue how to get them into learning a language! I asked them what they want to learn, and they both said Chinese.

 

Do you have any suggestions for me on where to start? If you believe a computer program like Rosetta Stone would work, let me know. I'm baffled at this point!!

[Whereneverever]

Co-op class? Tutor? I think you really need a native speaker to learn a foreign language well.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Do you have any Chinese, Korean, Greek, etc, schools near you? They aren't REAL schools, they usually meet one to two nights a week, or a few hours during the weekend. This is where Chinese, Korean, Greek, etc. people will send their children to learn their native tongue.

 

We live in the DC area, so they are quite prevalent, but you have to look around and dig for them. They don't usually advertise, just go by word of mouth. They usually aren't that expensive. The Chinese school near us only charges $150 a semester.

 

We were Chinese linguists and plan to send DS to a Chinese school around here in 3rd or 4th grade. They are awesome b/c the children are taught by native speakers and they actually become fluent, not just learning vocabulary and such. PLUS, they learn about the cultural traditions of China, or Korea, Greece, etc.

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Like this one:

 

http://ccls.no-ip.org/home.html

 

And that's my plug for learning Chinese :) Seriously, it's a GREAT skill to have! There aren't many Americans who can speak it and many (most) native speakers can not qualify for Security Clearances for multiple reasons. The government, plus contractors, are DESPERATE, for Chinese linguists and pay top dollar for them.

 

Businesses who deal internationally with the Chinese will pay top dollar for them too!

 

Seriously, trust me. DH is earning 6 figures right now, having NEVER done ANY college. He knows Chinese, was in the Army and has a clearance. We will never worry about not having a job. Having a skill that can provide that is PRICELESS ;)

[kreistetter]

I used Pimsluer & Rosetta Stone to learn some basic Spanish. IMHO Rosetta Stone is great for learning vocabulary and seeing the language in print. Pimsluer is an audio-only program that helped with conversation skills. I found both programs to be helpful.

[mom2bee]

Removed by Author.

[crazyforlatin]

I take my daughter to a Saturday morning Chinese class, and I think almost all of them across U.S. cities are relatively inexpensive. However, it's hard to learn the language without practicing during the week, as one mom found out after investing one son for 5 years. She's dropping Mandarin because no one speaks it in the family and, since he's not homeschooled, he has to finish his school work first, which leaves very little time for extracurricular subjects.

[Laura Corin]

For Chinese you definitely need a live tutor - the tones are close to impossible for a non-native-speaker to hear and therefore copy without lots of help. Do you live near a university? We use a native Chinese post-graduate student from our local university to teach Hobbes.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Laura Corin]

Do you have any Chinese, Korean, Greek, etc, schools near you? They aren't REAL schools, they usually meet one to two nights a week, or a few hours during the weekend. This is where Chinese, Korean, Greek, etc. people will send their children to learn their native tongue.

 

 

Our boys went to one in Edinburgh. Although they welcomed all students, the non-ethnically-Chinese students all dropped out within weeks because the classes moved too fast: all the ethnically Chinese students had at least some background in the language and the classes were tailored to this. My boys were fine, having grown up in China, but the only other non-Chinese student who survived the year had grown up in Hong Kong and studied Chinese at school.

 

This may not be the same situation for all Saturday language schools, but it's worth asking about the school aims and how they deal with different entry levels.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[*lifeoftheparty*]

Our boys went to one in Edinburgh. Although they welcomed all students, the non-ethnically-Chinese students all dropped out within weeks because the classes moved too fast: all the ethnically Chinese students had at least some background in the language and the classes were tailored to this. My boys were fine, having grown up in China, but the only other non-Chinese student who survived the year had grown up in Hong Kong and studied Chinese at school.

 

This may not be the same situation for all Saturday language schools, but it's worth asking about the school aims and how they deal with different entry levels.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

 

The one we are looking at has a lot of non-Chinese people, including adults, in their classes. We are a bit different b/c DH and I, as I said, were linguists and can still speak it. So we would be able to help him, and have already taught him a few things (counting, colors, etc.)

 

You could also try and make friends with some of the kids, and perhaps ask the parents for play-dates where the kids just speak Chinese? I dunno. We actually have lots of opportunities for practice. We use Chinese at restaurants, etc. when the person helping us speaks it. We have met people at church who speak, etc.

[mommaduck]

My husband has been teaching my boys Greek off and on for the last few years, but it's been rather hit and miss. My boys are 9 and 11 and I think I need something more structured that I can do with them. It seems like these computer programs are worthless because they are just learning vocab words and not communicating it (like when I took Spanish in high school). I haven't a clue how to get them into learning a language! I asked them what they want to learn, and they both said Chinese.

 

Do you have any suggestions for me on where to start? If you believe a computer program like Rosetta Stone would work, let me know. I'm baffled at this point!!

Look up a Greek Orthodox parish in your area. Most have a Greek school one night a week with native speakers ;) This will be modern Greek though, not Koine.

[Sahamamama]

My husband has been teaching my boys Greek off and on for the last few years, but it's been rather hit and miss. My boys are 9 and 11 and I think I need something more structured that I can do with them. It seems like these computer programs are worthless because they are just learning vocab words and not communicating it (like when I took Spanish in high school). I haven't a clue how to get them into learning a language! I asked them what they want to learn, and they both said Chinese.

 

Do you have any suggestions for me on where to start? If you believe a computer program like Rosetta Stone would work, let me know. I'm baffled at this point!!

 

If I were in your shoes -- a few years of hit-or-miss Greek, living in CO, boys that are 9 and 11 -- I would stick with the Greek. IOW, I would get serious about that language, instead of starting over with another one.

 

Tell your boys that you want them to get to a certain level in Greek. If and when they reach that level of proficiency, if they want to start another language, fine. If they want to go further in Greek, also fine. But at least they will have an idea of the work of real language study that way. HTH.

[skueppers]

I think Rosetta Stone is actually pretty good. You don't just learn vocabulary words with it -- you learn the tenses, cases, how to compose sentences, pronunciation, etc. I definitely got benefit from using Rosetta Stone myself when I had access to it. I think it would be a good place to start.

 

Of course, you will eventually need access to native speakers of whatever language you choose. The Saturday school my daughter attends has three different levels, one for native speakers, one for kids with some competence in the language, and one for beginners. It costs $325 per semester here in the Washington, DC area.