What foreign language did you start with?

[mbosh237]

I'm still considering what foreign language to start with.

 

What foreign language did you start with and why did you choose it?

 

:bigear:

[Haiku]

We started with Spanish because there are a lot of materials readily available and because it's a commonly used language in the United States. I was unconvinced that starting Latin before my kids would really understand or benefit from the grammar focus would be helpful to them. We plan to start Latin when dd9 is in 5th grade.

 

Tara

[RainbowSprinkles]

I'm still considering what foreign language to start with.

 

What foreign language did you start with and why did you choose it?

 

:bigear:

 

 

Hi! My dc have had exposure to German, but not in a formal way, (because I'm fluent) since they were born. My plan is to continue that and next school year we will add in Latin. The next modern language we will add will probably be French (because there seems to be more available). I really wanted to do Italian, but probably not until high school.

[Amy Jo]

Spanish because I had a little bit in elementary school, I could pronounce it (unlike German, which was my runner up), and there are a LOT of materials.

 

Amy

[patchfire]

We started with Latin, because I had taken it in high school. I would have preferred to start with a modern foreign language for the early exposure, but the only modern language that either dh or I knew was French, and I didn't really care if the kids learned French. :tongue_smilie:

 

After a lot of thought about which modern foreign language to choose as a family, we decided on German, and we've found a Saturday school very close to home which the kids will attend starting in the autumn. So, German will be the first foreign language for my younger two. I also have a good friend who knows German and will be helping to teach/tutor them. :)

[AngelBee]

We started with American Sign Language because it would be started so young.

 

Then we added Latin and Spanish. Spanish because it is so common and opens a lot of doors of opportunity and Latin for educational reasons.

[Moniksca]

We're doing French, we're in Canada, so it is taught here in the elementary schools. We were not sure how long we would be homeschooling so I wanted him to be able to ease into the school system if he had to. We started song school latin this year (4th) and not sure how long we'll go with latin. My ds will add in another language of his choice in high school.

[Melanie]

We started with Japanese, because the kids wanted to be able to speak to their karate sensei in his language. They soon lost interest and wanted to learn sign language so they could speak to my aunt in sign. (She isn't deaf, but is a counselor for the hearing impaired.) Then they lost interest in that, so I made a command decision and went with Spanish, since I had studied it in high school and college. They fought and fussed and complained, so we went with Latin. I had always wanted to learn it, and besides, it was recommended in The Well-Trained Mind! They quickly lost interest in Latin, but by then I had lost interest in their interest, so we stuck with it. Now it's their favorite subject. :001_smile:

[trying my best]

Russian. Actually started today because the book arrived :)

I chose Russian because I am still fluent

His first lesson was today

Edited January 20, 2011 by trying my best

[Mom0012]

We started with Spanish because I came across La Clase Divertida and knew my kids would really enjoy it. Also, there are tons of materials available at the library to supplement what we are doing with LCD.

 

Lisa

[Laura Corin]

Mandarin, because we moved to China. Calvin was seven; Hobbes was four.

 

Laura

[brasilmom]

We started with Portuguese because that's my mother language. My dd learned to read Portuguese before she did English, and now she does both languages without problem. I want to have her learn all the romantic languages, latin and possible German. I know it is a lot, but she already has a strong foundation on romantic language, so I think it is doable. She will be first grade next year, so we have time to cover all this terrain.

[kristinannie]

It is funny reading this thread. I wanted to teach my kids German because I speak it pretty well (I am definitely not fluent, but can definitely get by in a German speaking country and watch TV or read a magazine with a dictionary!!!). I could easily teach them conversational German.

 

My husband and I have talked and we agreed to do Spanish. I am a beginner/intermediate in this language, but feel that it is much more useful in the USA to know Spanish.

 

However, now that I am seeing that quite a few of you are teaching your kids German, maybe I will rethink that! I absolutely love the language and feel so much more comfortable teaching it.

 

We are going to start Latin in 3rd or 4th grade. They are in kindergarten and preschool now.

[Targhee]

Spanish. Husband is fluent, and I understand a lot of it (Italian background). Also, it's a very useful language in the US (and of course in places where the official language is Spanish). There are many resources, like my kids can watch nearly half the kids DVDs we own with the Spanish language track on.

[Embassy]

I started with Mandarin exposure in toddlerhood because it is very different from English.

[justamouse]

Latin and now French. Latin, well, because I see the sense in them knowing it, and French because I'm better with French than I am Spanish (they love French, too, just in case you think I'm dragging them though it-it was their choice.). Mom can teach them Portuguese and Spanish if they want.

[Dmmetler]

Spanish, almost from birth because it was readily available and both DH and I had at least some level of skills. We also signed when DD was younger, but never got beyond the "signing time" level of single words and into the grammar/syntax, so it's kind of stalled out.

 

Latin at age 5, because DD wanted to learn it after seeing all the scientific names in books.

 

Greek at age 5 1/2, because DD saw Greek on Headventureland and wanted to learn it, too.

[MissKNG]

German because my dad was straight off the boat so it has special meaning to us.

[Just Robyn]

We are starting with Latin. I believe living languages should be taught by native speakers. Learning Latin now will make it easier for my dc to learn a Romance language later should they choose to.

 

ETA: I chose to start second language study in grade 3. If I did something before that it would be just for fun and I would probably choose either Spanish or ASL because I'm sticking to languages I studied in college unless they have a burning desire to study something else.

Edited January 21, 2011 by crstarlette

[Snowfall]

We started with Spanish because there are a lot of materials readily available and because it's a commonly used language in the United States. I was unconvinced that starting Latin before my kids would really understand or benefit from the grammar focus would be helpful to them. We plan to start Latin when dd9 is in 5th grade.

 

 

Same here. :) I think all Americans should learn Spanish nowadays. I'm not saying that as someone who is fluent in Spanish, just so you know I'm not saying that because *I* speak Spanish. ;) I can barely ask where the bathroom is in Spanish. lol I prefer French, but I'm learning Spanish right now.

[MorganClassicalPrep]

We started with French because that is my strongest language, and since I know it and DD saw me studying, she was eager to learn it.

 

We'll add Spanish soon, because.. well, that is my second strongest language, and thanks to Dora and Diego DD really wants to learn this also. She is constantly asking me how to say words in both French and Spanish.

 

We'll add Latin eventually, but not until she can really understand the grammar.

[Homemama2]

I was unconvinced that starting Latin before my kids would really understand or benefit from the grammar focus would be helpful to them. We plan to start Latin when dd9 is in 5th grade.

 

 

:iagree: We started spanish this year and plan to add in Latin in about 2 years (5th grade for my oldest-we'll see if my youngest is ready by then). (Actually we started Latin this year too, using Song School Latin which was alot of fun but decided not to try learning 2 at the same time. It got too confusing for them.) And I agree about the Latin grammar. Once my kids have their English grammar down more, then we'll add in Latin.

[mammaofbean]

we went with common languages that we could find native speaking teachers for.

[Bloggermom]

We are starting with Latin and Greek. I plan to do Hebrew as well.

[Rosie_0801]

Auslan isn't a foreign language, but that's where we've started. Dd is language delayed, though she's finally started to do something about that, so when she's up to speed in English and her Auslan vocabulary is larger, we'll start playing with Latin. Dh is learning it, and it's a bad thing to waste an interest of his because he doesn't have many! It will also give me time to memorise vocab, I'm so slow at that! They'll start Arabic at Saturday school in grade one and hopefully add French in high school.

 

Rosie

[2_girls_mommy]

We started w/Sign Language when they were infants. This gave them a way to talk to us before they could talk. It really worked. Then they transitioned to speaking, and we kind of forgot it.

 

We picked it back up in preK and K w/the alphabet. It gave my kinesthetic younger dd a way to learn her letters. She learned the sound and the sign simultaneously. It is the way her brain works. And there was a K class at co-op doing some basic signing, so she took that.

 

K and 1st: some informal Spanish, just because I know it. We used Hooked on Spanish preschool, but dds already knew everything on it because I had been teaching them informally forever, so it was a bust :)

 

3rd grade: Latin. This will be their first real language to study. We will stick with it.

[DaffodilDreams]

Mandarin because I have taken it and because Dd was born in China.

[3MonkeysMama]

We are starting Latin next year (we will see how that goes. we might table it until ds is a little older.) Then Spanish after that. We live in a largely Hispanic community so knowing Spanish would be very beneficial for my children. And it is the language Dh and I both took in school so I have some exposure to it. I would love it if they wanted to continue and another language after that. Not sure which, French maybe.

[ocelotmom]

We are starting with Latin. I believe living languages should be taught by native speakers. Learning Latin now will make it easier for my dc to learn a Romance language later should they choose to.

 

ETA: I chose to start second language study in grade 3. If I did something before that it would be just for fun and I would probably choose either Spanish or ASL because I'm sticking to languages I studied in college unless they have a burning desire to study something else.

:iagree:

 

My kids *will* learn Spanish if I have any say in the matter, but for the purpose of setting the foreign-language-learning pathways, Latin seems to make sense, especially since we don't have a readily accessible Spanish-speaking community at this point.

 

That, and Song School Latin seems like a high quality program which would be accessible to both my older kids, while still fitting within our very limited budget.

[mcconnellboys]

My older son chose Spanish when he was in K (in a private school) and continued studying that through his junior year in high school. He began studying Latin in middle school (5th) and finished high school level Latin II while he still homeschooled. He is now taking Latin in college.

 

My younger son began studying Spanish in K (in a private school) and has continued it since then (he's in seventh grade this year). We played around with Latin during the elementary years (Minimus, etc.) and he began studying it in earnest in fifth grade. He wanted to study Greek last year and liked it (we just studied the alphabet), so he is studying it more in earnest this year. I do not know if he will continue it or not....

 

I steered them toward Spanish because it is becoming more and more prevalent as a spoken language in our country. I believe it will be even more important in business dealings of the future. I have them studying Latin for the logical thinking skills it imparts, the grammar and vocabulary practice, etc. Latin is important in the sciences, in medicine, in many areas of study. Both of them have an interest in history.

 

My older son is a Classical Studies major (at this time) and Latin proficiency may be important if he continues in that direction of study. My younger son may be interested in the biological sciences and unless the classification system is completely overturned in the near future, Latin will be important for him, too, in at least that regard.....

[Leila]

We started on Latin 3 years ago when ds was 8y/o. Next school year we will include French.