What languages do you plan to teach? Why and When?

[Cindyz]

I'm just curious what languages you would like your child to learn. How did you choose that particular language and when do you plan to start each one (age/grade level)?

 

We started Latin in January. My son loves it! However he was very disappointed yesterday when he asked me to pull down the globe and show him where in the world they speak Latin. He seemed to lose a little enthusiasm at that point.

 

I was planning to do Spanish as well. I was thinking of starting in first or second grade? It feels like a language that may actually get some use?

 

My husband would like him to learn Chinese.

 

Would 3 languages be too much? I have no idea when to start them.

[DragonFaerie]

With any luck, my kids will learn three languages by the time they graduate high school, Latin, Spanish and a 3rd language of their choosing. Here's my schedule:

 

Languages

 

Grade 4- Latin I

Grade 5- Latin II

Grade 6- Latin III / Spanish I

Grade 7- Latin IV / Spanish II

Grade 8- Spanish III / Choice I

Grade 9- Spanish IV / Choice II

Grade 10- Spanish V / Choice III

Grade 11- Choice IV

Grade 12- Choice V

[Cindyz]

Thank you, that's very helpful to see!

[MeganW]

My kids are younger than yours, so take my advice with a grain of salt - it's based on reading here, not actual experience!

 

 

We are starting with Spanish, as I am trying to take advantage of the window to get the accent right. The older they get, the harder that will be.

 

We plan to start Latin next. As my goals for that are language-related (grammar, vocab, etc.), I think our purpose is better served by waiting some. Maybe 3rd grade-ish?

 

I hope to add one more language in 5th or 6th grade. We'll see though - that's a LONG way away! It seems like 5 languages is the tipping point where you can get overwhelmed. It also seems like starting 2 years apart is the approach most have success with.

[mom2boys030507]

We are doing Greek with Hey! Anderw Teach me some Greek. My oldest really enjoys it. I am doing it to read the New Testament in it's orginal language. If we don't get far, I am okay with it. I think some exposure early is better then none. My boys will do another language for their high school language credits - what well that is a few years away so I have no idea.

[Crimson Wife]

We tried to do Mandarin with DD in 2nd but then we moved away from where the immersion class she had been taking was held. The Chinese schools in this area all seem to teach Cantonese rather than Mandarin. I tried doing it at home but it was too hard given that I don't speak it and it's a tonal language. We don't have the budget to hire an individual tutor. So it's been on hold for the past year :(

 

She wants to learn Spanish but I have to convince DH of its merits. You'd think that would be obvious given we live in California, but he doesn't think it's as useful a language from a business standpoint as Mandarin. Perhaps, but right now DD isn't doing Mandarin so better a language I could actually teach.

[patchfire]

I feel like I floundered for quite a while with foreign language for my oldest. As it happens, she may have stealth dyslexia, so maybe it was a good thing. For her, the plan is German, so she has a modern foreign language, starting this year (5th; starting in a Saturday School next year), and perhaps doing ancient Greek or reintroducing Latin in 8th or 9th grade.

 

For my remaining two:

German starting in K

Greek (ancient) starting in late 2nd (alphabet) & 3rd

Latin starting in 6th or 7th

and then if they desire, another modern foreign language starting at some point in high school (if they really like languages enough to do a fourth, I might encourage them to wait and do it in 11th & 12th via dual enrollment; alternatively, they might just want basic exposure, in which case I'd encourage them to do it at home in 9th & 10th).

 

Why those languages? German because a good portion of English is still Germanic in origin; there is a lot of philosophy, music, and mathematics written in German; it's not as common of a foreign language either in terms of being studied in the US or in terms of the number of native speakers in the US. I don't honestly think Spanish will increase employability for my children, not when there are a number of children their age, here legally, who are already fluently bilingual in English & Spanish!

Ancient Greek over Latin because there are actually more original works I'd want my children to read in Greek than Latin.

Latin because I still think it's important, and there are still some original works it would be great for my children to read. :)

[Satori]

We have started Spanish and Latin this year (first grade). My husband (and all of us I guess) would like her to learn Chinese, but we'll wait a few more years for that. I'd also like to learn a little Greek (my daughter too, hehe).

 

I'd love to keep Spanish and Latin as our primary focus, anything else will be a bonus.

 

My husband is working in Mexico City this spring, and he really needs to learn Spanish. Plus that was my major in college and a lot of companies hired me because I could speak it, even though I was hired for computer jobs. So we can see the relevancy of speaking Spanish.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Satori

[Dmmetler]

I have a kid who loves languages, and who started bringing home the "100 words of X" as soon as she could read, and constructing simple sentences. I started teaching her Spanish about at that point because she wanted to learn, and because there were so many resources available, and finding people to talk to was as simple as going to the grocery store or neighborhood playground where we were living at the time, since more people spoke Spanish or Spanglish than English. She's been enjoying Elementary Spanish on Discovery Streaming, often doing multiple grade levels with the same basic vocabulary, and I get a lot of her supplemental materials in Spanish (because there are a lot of bilingual classrooms, that's not hard to find), which she enjoys and which builds her vocabulary. As an added bonus, it's easier for her to stomach easy review materials (which I feel she needs some of since she'll have to take state tests at her stated grade level, not the one on her LA or math textbook) when the instructions require some work for her to read them.

 

 

She fell in love with Latin at age 5, and we started it then. I'm planning to alternate LfC and Cambridge Latin, because she really likes Reading Latin, and Cambridge gives more reading practice early on since it's designed to be immersive.

 

She saw SSG and wanted to do it to, but recently asked for "something like Minimus for Greek", and I think she needs something more focused on vocabulary and reading right now, before moving into GfC (besides, if we hold off on starting GfC a little longer, hopefully more volumes will be available so she can just go through them in order). I'm thinking maybe Hey, Andrew 2 next year?

 

I'd like to add another modern language if we can find a regular outlet to speak it, maybe Mandarin or Japanese.

[teachmejoy]

I was just curious as to why you would start Latin at such a young age? What are the short term and long term goals of studying it? Doesn't it get confusing when they are just learning English? I've just seen so many comments on here about it, and I never even thought about it!

[robsiew]

My oldest is only 4th grade, but this is what we've done so far and plan to do as of now:

 

3rd grade: Latin

4th grade: Latin

5th grade: Latin and Greek (or if he decides against Greek Spanish)

7th or 8th grade: Latin, Spanish/Greek and third (modern) language of their choice

 

I took 3 additional languages besides my own in HS/College and value the study of language. Sadly, I'm not fluent in any of them... so I'm not much help! My oldest seems to have a similar enjoyment of languages so I'm going to let him study what he'd like. Not sure about the rest of the kids as they are young yet. My dd started Latin this year and really likes it even though she thought she wouldn't!

 

One thing you could say to your son who is not as excited about Latin anymore is that it is easier to learn a language people don't really speak first so that you can learn the mechanics without feeling like you need to pronounce everything exactly right. We are "using" Latin as an intro for how to learn a language as well as vocab help. I think what they learn in Latin will greatly help them learn other languages faster.

 

I'm not as worried as some about the accent thing... you know, many people don't learn a foreign language until after the "optimal" time to learn a language. Since I'm not fluent in anything other than English I'm not so worried as to start 3 languages at age 3, or to do Latin/Greek before a modern. I figure if our kids can speak a couple other languages, even if they have an accent, they will be further ahead than many American kids who barely have a basic understanding of the language after HS.

 

That being said, I have no idea what to use to teach modern languages! I've been stuck on that for awhile! I'm starting to think it might be worth it to find someone local who I can barter with or pay for tutoring. Really, I'm guessing that's the best way to learn a language. In that case I may push Mandarin at some point!

[SonshineLearner]

Well, My intention is:

2nd/3rd grade: Hebrew (Ancient) to read the Old Testament. We're using Sarah and David which is for children to read the Torah. It's modern.... at some point, we might switch, but it's a "Fun" program and easy to start with.

 

4th/5th grade: Latin and Hebrew (Latin as I want him to read original works in Highschool)

 

6th/7th grade: Koine Greek, Latin and Hebrew (I want him to read the New Testament, as well)

 

8th/9th grade: Keep studying the former three and add at some point.... Spanish or another.

 

I've looked for someone to teach him Chinese, as I did for my daughter, and really... this isn't a good area to find people. :(

 

I plan to have him continue learning all the languages.... throughout highschool, and hopefully he'll want to go to a Classical College and then get a Masters in whatever he's interested in pursuing as a career.

 

I think, that if he gets through all this, I'll have a Classically Educated Engineer! :)

[Dmmetler]

I was just curious as to why you would start Latin at such a young age? What are the short term and long term goals of studying it? Doesn't it get confusing when they are just learning English? I've just seen so many comments on here about it, and I never even thought about it!

 

 

My theory about a lot of learning is that we wait until it's no longer fun to introduce it. I know a lot of little girls who really, really want to learn Cursive at age 5-6, as soon as they've learned to write at all. In most traditional schools, they're pushed off until age 8-9, at which time it's much less fun.

 

Similarly, I've seen 8-9-10 yr olds thrilled by getting to do an "algebra" problem-even if its 2+x=4 and they've been doing similar problems since they were in 1st grade, and the only difference is the use of an X instead of a blank space. When they actually get to 7th-8th-9th grade, algebra is seen as drudgery.

 

So, when my DD was so thrilled with the idea of learning the Latin (and, a few months later, ancient Greek) she saw in the titles at church and in her science books, I figured, why not? If it's fun now to memorize the chants because it makes her feel big, or to be able to understand that Gloria Patri means "Glory to the Father", it certainly won't hurt her ability to learn more formal Latin later, the way I did.

 

It's also kind of a classical approach to classical languages. No, my DD won't get the full benefit of Latin and Greek now. Right now, she's mostly learning the chants and absorbing vocabulary like a sponge. She can parrot back grammar rules, but I don't think she fully understands them. But, when she gets to the next stage, she'll have that much more to build on. It will be much easier for her to learn to do good, grammatical translations and analysis when she isn't also having to learn all the vocabulary. And when she gets to the rhetoric stage, hopefully she'll be ready to really read high level texts and discuss them-using the skills she's developing now.

[my2boysteacher]

We are currently learning Latin, and oldest DS asked to learn Greek as well, so we're taking that slowly. I think Spanish would seem like a logical next step in a few years.

DH wants to learn Mandarin, as well as Hindi since he does regular business with India.

Right now I forsee something like this:

elementary-Latin and Greek

middle school- Spanish

high-school- Mandarin or Hindi, whichever they choose.

 

Oh, and I studied French through college, so I could throw that in as well. :lol:

[ColoradoMom]

My son chose Japanese when he was 10 because he was a Naruto fan (BIG TIME!) and wanted to watch the cartoons in Japanese.

 

Well, fast forward 3 years (yes, he's still taking Japanese because I bought all 3 levels of RS!) and now he won't even ADMIT to ever watching Naruto and thinks Japanese is "too feminine".

 

He has since told me next year will be German ("a manly language" if ever there was one - his words not mine) but it was a hard choice with Russian running a close second.

 

I'm happy with his Japanese progress and I think it was a good choice to learn an Asian language because it is so different. But I'll be happy to give him German next year as it will be much easier in my opinion. We never did get the Japanese alphabet(s) memorized...

[MeaganS]

My daughters are still way young and neither my husband nor I speak another language, although we've studied spanish, french, german, and japanese between the two of us. We have lots of friends who speak spanish as well (grandpa!), but this is our current timeline.

 

Here's our plan:

 

K-2: Spanish with light Latin (SSL, Classical Conversations, etc.)

3-5: Spanish and heavier latin

6+: Spanish, Latin, and Mandarin

 

Both of our fathers are in the business world and an understanding of spanish is very important (my dad speaks portuguese and gets by). My father-in-law also does a TON of business with China, so we definitely see some benefits there. My goal is for them to learn the languages all the way. If they're going to study the language, they are going to learn it well enough to use it, so fluency in speaking (for Spanish and Mandarin) and fluency in reading/writing (Latin) is what we're striving for.

[kalphs]

I'm just curious what languages you would like your child to learn. How did you choose that particular language and when do you plan to start each one (age/grade level)?

 

We started Latin in January. My son loves it! However he was very disappointed yesterday when he asked me to pull down the globe and show him where in the world they speak Latin. He seemed to lose a little enthusiasm at that point.

 

I was planning to do Spanish as well. I was thinking of starting in first or second grade? It feels like a language that may actually get some use?

 

My husband would like him to learn Chinese.

 

Would 3 languages be too much? I have no idea when to start them.

If my mental pause brain remembers correctly we started Dd on French in 2nd Grade because she begged to begin it.

Next year we will begin Latin alongside science because that is how I learned it.

:)

[skueppers]

I started teaching my kids German at birth. I speak German, and we have important family connections in Germany. My kids attend/have attended a German preschool, and my daughter attends a Saturday morning German school. I would like for my kids to acquire a truly deep knowledge of German, such that it would be possible for them to live, study, and work in Germany if they chose.

 

I imagine they will study some other language later on, but I am not worried about it right now. Certainly not until reading and writing both English and German are at a very solid level.

[mommymilkies]

I was just curious as to why you would start Latin at such a young age? What are the short term and long term goals of studying it? Doesn't it get confusing when they are just learning English? I've just seen so many comments on here about it, and I never even thought about it!

 

Well, my older kids are doing it and my little ones like being "big" so they sit in and learn along. It's not forced.

 

We start French from birth in some amounts, just like when I was younger (a lot of my family speaks French). Not a lot, and only small amounts. I have lost a lot of my fluency over the years from being a former French National Honors member. When only your cat speaks french to you, that's what happens. :lol:

 

We have added in learning the Greek alphabet and small amounts of Hebrew (I was raised Jewish) and German. We started Latin this year and will be doing more intensive French and Latin for the older kids. My oldest dd is a language lover like myself, so she is self-teaching Modern Greek and my son is wanting to learn Arabic. :)

 

Why French? I love it and was raised with it. Latin helps with other languages, German is fun, Hebrew is history and just to know. Greek is for help with English and fun. We don't do Spanish because it's the one language I have tried and failed at. Maybe someday, but I can't do it, and can not teach it atm.

[kristin0713]

We are starting with ASL, because my background is in Deaf Ed. and Interpreting so I already know the language. At some point, we'll do another language...I have some background in French, but it has been a long time. It kind of depends on what other around here in the co-ops are doing because I really don't feel qualified to teach a language that I don't know.

[Embassy]

Here is what we have done:

 

Toddlerhood/Preschool: Exposure to Mandarin

Kindergarten-1st: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, exposure to French

1st-3rd: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, and French

2nd-4th: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, French, and Sinhala

5th + Continue with languages

 

If you are looking for Mandarin, I'm very happy with Better Chinese. After trying Rosetta Stone for years with little progress, we are all learning well with Better Chinese. My boys are not only learning to speak Mandarin, but read and write it.

 

The grade ranges vary because my older son did things a little later than my younger son. And my little girl is getting exposure to Mandarin, French, and Arabic by being around her brothers.

 

I don't know any of the languages we are learning so we are all learning together. I do have a "trained ear" so I am better able to instruct my children where to put their tongue or lips to make certain sounds not found in English.

 

Oh, you can read why we chose those here.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Wehomeschool

[RachelFlores]

We will start Spanish next year for 1st and continue till she is fluent. Dh and his parents speak it so she will hopefully get lots of chances to practice (dh, doesn't speak it well, but he understands it). I plan on starting Latin in 3rd or 4th and a third language (of her choice) in highschool.

[kristin0713]

Wow--after reading through this thread, I can't believe so many of you are doing all these languages so early! My kids are only 3 and 5--am I really behind on this?! I guess they are in the prime time to be able to learn another spoken language right now...but I don't know how I would teach them when I don't know it myself??

[Crimson Wife]

If you are looking for Mandarin, I'm very happy with Better Chinese. After trying Rosetta Stone for years with little progress, we are all learning well with Better Chinese. My boys are not only learning to speak Mandarin, but read and write it.

 

I tried Better Chinese with DD and it was a *HUGE* flop. The TM was written in Mandarin and neither DD nor I could follow along with the CD-ROM. Clearly, the program is geared towards native speakers wanting to teach their American-born children.

[helena]

I'm happy to see so many families learning (or planning to learn) multiple languages.

 

We've been doing French for a few years now. They like it, so I stick with it.

 

I speak Spanish (spanglish :glare:), so I speak it a bit with them. I mostly boss them around in Spanish. If say something in Spanish, they respond in English. I plan on picking up the pace on that one. It's important because we are Mexican and it would make grandpa sooo happy. :D

 

They're probably going to start Arabic classes at our Masjid next year. This one is important because it's a major link to our faith, reading the Qur'an, and connecting with people in the community. They know a bit already, but I'm grateful to send them off for this language. :001_smile:

 

We're not learning Latin or Greek, but I just bought English from the Roots Up so that they can work on having a deeper understanding of their own language, English.

 

I want them to truly master English. This one is a biggie for me. My grandparents never mastered the language, my dad is fine, but speaks more poetically than proper. I was poorly educated..

No excuses for my daughters! My heart feels warm and fuzzy thinking about my eldest doing Editor in Chief!

[Embassy]

I tried Better Chinese with DD and it was a *HUGE* flop. The TM was written in Mandarin and neither DD nor I could follow along with the CD-ROM. Clearly, the program is geared towards native speakers wanting to teach their American-born children.

 

They make a TM in English too. I don't know if that is new or not though. I couldn't use the program without the English manual.

Edited February 11, 2011 by Wehomeschool

[Just Robyn]

My oldest is in third grade, so I only have plans and hopes at this time. My oldest started Latin this year. We are doing Latin because I believe living languages should be taught by native speakers and we can't afford to hire a tutor, nor would I want to go through the possibly long and painful process of finding one who seemed to have some skills and ability to work with and teach children one on one (or possible one on two or three).

 

At this point I plan to continue with Latin for a few years and add in or switch to Spanish as soon as my child is old enough to take some classes at the community college - community type classes, not credit ones. I am thinking he would be able to handle those by middle school as they are, in my experience, very laid back.

[Cindyz]

Here is what we have done:

 

Toddlerhood/Preschool: Exposure to Mandarin

Kindergarten-1st: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, exposure to French

1st-3rd: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, and French

2nd-4th: Mandarin, Greek, Arabic, French, and Sinhala

5th + Continue with languages

 

If you are looking for Mandarin, I'm very happy with Better Chinese. After trying Rosetta Stone for years with little progress, we are all learning well with Better Chinese. My boys are not only learning to speak Mandarin, but read and write it.

 

The grade ranges vary because my older son did things a little later than my younger son. And my little girl is getting exposure to Mandarin, French, and Arabic by being around her brothers.

 

I don't know any of the languages we are learning so we are all learning together. I do have a "trained ear" so I am better able to instruct my children where to put their tongue or lips to make certain sounds not found in English.

 

Oh, you can read why we chose those here.

 

How my goodness! I just checked out Better Chinese and am in love. It looks like something fun to start for 1st grade.

[Amy Jo]

Now - Spanish (I want to start this as early as possible) - CM/natural methods, not a grammar/translation course

~3rd - add Latin & Greek (15m/day to Greek, slow & steady) - Grammar/translation at first, leading into Lingua Latina for Latin then real texts in/around high school.

~5th - add German (DH speaks it, but I think he will be more comfortable talking with them when they are more mature).

~8th/9th - (shot in the dark here, it's several years away for me) optionally add a modern language of their choice. I would allow them to drop active study of one other language if they chose, but might require a weekly reading to keep the knowledge from being forgotten.

 

I'm pretty sure up to 5th, and in high school I hope it will be US working on their education, not just me. I'm shooting for four languages though. I am learning Latin & Spanish, and will add Greek soon. My DH is taking a German course at college now (for his degree) so he will be getting up to speed on that.

 

(I'm kinda a language geek, in case you haven't guessed. Probably why I like CM and LCC.)

[Tracy]

We are going to be starting Spanish soon with my kids. I think at their age, it is important to teach a language that they can actually use. In my case, I already know Spanish (or knew might be more accurate). So they will have opportunities to use it both in the home and out. (There are many native speakers at our church.

 

I waited until now to teach it for a couple of reasons, the foremost being my health. I was having some health issues, and I just couldn't manage it. I also grapple with some philosophical issues with enabling people who live in an English-speaking country without learning the language and then suffer because of it. But I finally decided to do it once my health improved, because there is a window of opportunity to learn a language (about to age 9), and that window is quickly closing for dd5.

[linguistmama]

DH is from Mexico and I am fluent in Spanish so our girls are bilingual. My Portuguese is VERY rusty so we're using Rosetta Stone to help my 5yo and I. It's early for us, but I plan to introduce reading and writing in Portuguese about 3rd grade once we have gotten better with the spoken language and reading and writing in the other two languages is established.

[Snowfall]

We started Spanish this year, in first grade. I don't plan on introducing anything else for at least a few years. Then I'll re-evaluate.

[rootsnwings]

We started Latin with DS(10) in January and he is absorbing like a sponge! I wish we had started foreign language earlier with him but from here on out, our plan is:

 

The rest of 4th: Latin

5th: Latin I

6th: Latin II + German I

7th: Latin III + German II

8th: Latin IV + German III

9th: German IV + Spanish I

10th: Spanish II

11th: Spanish III

12th: Spanish IV

 

We're learning German before Spanish because where we live there is a large population of German people (in Alabama! :tongue_smilie:) So I'm thinking about getting a tutor to help us w/ the German while I'm teaching him Latin. He'll essentially be done with his Latin studies by the time he begins Spanish, and I can teach Spanish while he continues with a German tutor. His last 2 years of soccer he has been coached by native-speaking German guys and so his interest for German is higher than for Spanish at this point. I also feel like it's the harder of the 2 languages to learn (between German & Spanish) and so I want to get that one under his belt before he gets too much older... plus, Spanish he will probably need to be more fluent in out in "the real world" so I would like for him to study it closer to the time that he's going out in the real world!!! ;)

 

For my littles I would LOVE to start Spanish & French with them ASAP. I'm stocking up on children's music in foreign language and have even been scoping out Mandarin flashcards, just for fun! :)

Edited February 12, 2011 by rootsnwings

[*lifeoftheparty*]

We teach Latin and have/will again, teach Chinese (Mandarin).

 

My husband and I were both Chinese linguists in the Army, so we learned Chinese at the Defense Language Institute (DLI), and speak at home occasionally. We recognize that having this skill is INCREDIBLY profitable b/c it is a skill that not too many people have and the need for this skill is rising. We also just really love the language and culture and want to pass on our knowledge :)

 

We're doing Latin b/c it's so central to Classical education, and we do Classical Conversations. Plus, it will make it easier for DS to learn another romance language in high school.

 

In Pre-K and K we used Hooked on Chinese and just taught him phrases/words we knew.

 

1st grade (this year)- took a break from Chinese and started SongSchool Latin.

 

2nd grade- pure vocab. We'll work on memorizing Latin vocab, plus Chinese vocab and characters.

 

3rd grade- Latin for Children, formal Chinese curriculum (haven't found one yet, if all else fails, we'll use Rosetta Stone)

 

4th grade- continue with above

 

5th grade- continue with above, plus enroll DS in local Chinese school

 

6th grade- 8th grade- same

 

9th grade-12th grade- add 3rd language that DS chooses...

[Celia]

We're doing sign language right now (grade 1), and will start Greek next year. In grade 4ish, we'll start French.

[mammaofbean]

So far this is what I have done:

 

preschool: Mandarin Chinese

preschool: Spanish

1st grade: Latin

 

dd (6) really wants to learn french and I told her she can do whatever she wants on the bbc wesite on her own, but I think we need a couple of years on the languages she has started before she adds another one.

 

eta: we use Better Chinese (LOVE!!), local chinese class, spanish class and spanish readers, complete book of spanish, lively latin

Edited February 12, 2011 by mammaofbean
to add information

[cellocoffee]

New member here:

 

0-3 yr: only Chinese

from 3yr and on: Chinese, English

6 yr and on: French(inspired by a trip to France and also DD's piano teacher is French)

 

Maybe 8 or 9yr: Chinese, English, French, Latin

 

 

____________

cellocoffee, cellist

DD 7, Chinese/English bilingual/cello/piano/art/SL1-2/Miquon-Singapore2-Saxon2/WGrammar/Wordly Wise/English poetry-tutor

DD 2, Chinese/pretend to play the cello/dance/play dough

[5Wizards]

I would like for my children to be fluent in Spanish, but we have not officially started anything as of yet. We've been talking with a few other families about possibly starting a Spanish class with a fluent professional, and it looks like that may happen for next year. I''l probably have both my oldest children attend, although I will not push it with my 5 year old. We live in CA and feel that it is a very useful language to learn here. My 9 year old is also interested in Latin, so we will probably do some Latin study, but I'm just not sure whether I'm going to start them concurrently or a few years apart.

[teachmejoy]

Wow--after reading through this thread, I can't believe so many of you are doing all these languages so early! My kids are only 3 and 5--am I really behind on this?! I guess they are in the prime time to be able to learn another spoken language right now...but I don't know how I would teach them when I don't know it myself??

 

 

That's how I was feeling!!! I think we'll get started on sign language, because I'm familiar with that and I think it'll be fun. If I find something cheap to start Latin with I may do that too, but I don't have the money to invest in it right now.

 

My mom is a Bible Scholar with her master's in Bible Education. I was talking to her about this and she said the prime ages to learn another language was between 3-8 years old. Wow! No wonder that I'm so slow when it comes to languages!!!

[happypamama]

We've done a tiny bit of French here and there but not much. We're going to start with the Nallenart program soon; DD is in third grade. I hope she will continue with French for a while, but we'll see. I've studied French, so I feel comfortable with teaching it/learning more with her. Same with Italian, and it's a very easy language to learn, IME, so I would be thrilled if they wanted to learn that later. While Spanish is more commonly spoken in many parts of the US, I never studied it and am not really ready to teach it.

 

We are also starting with Latin soon; the younger children may or may not pick up any of it, and that's okay. How much Latin will depend on the children's interests and abilities later. Can't say as I'd be upset if they wanted to learn some Greek in a few years either. Maybe Latin and French for the next few years, Greek and either more French or a different modern language in high school? I like languages, and DD seems to be linguistically oriented as well, so I guess we'll see how it goes.

[kalphs]

I think at their age, it is important to teach a language that they can actually use.

Dh found a quote by Benjamin Franklin which basically says the same thing. :)

[Aurelia]

I'd like Ariel to learn Spanish and Latin at least, and possibly French since she's likely to find them the most useful. We started Spanish at age 4, and at her insistence because the neighbor kids all spoke Spanish and she wanted to play with them. I'm considering starting Latin next year, ~grade 3. I want her to learn Latin because I studied it in high school and found it made decoding advanced words much easier. I actually learned more English grammar in Latin than I learned in English.

 

I don't think 3 languages would be too much, as long as you don't attempt to start them all at the same time. My plan is Spanish at 4, Latin at 8ish, French (or another language of Ariel's choosing) probably around 12. We may dabble a bit with Greek, as well.

[Moniksca]

If I had been hsing in K I would have started french then but we started at the end of grade1 instead, we're in Canada so they start teaching french in grade 1 so when I brought him home we took a year off from french and began a curriculum in grade 3. We added latin in grade 4 just to try for fun, if it doesn't work now I have no problem doing it in grade 7/8. DS will have his choice of another language in grade 8/9. I don't think 3 is too much at all especially if the children enjoy it.

[kokotg]

All three of mine are doing Spanish now. They've all done at least a little Spanish since they were toddlers, and now they're all in a weekly class taught by a native speaker (and we do more at home). We're doing Greek Code Cracker right now, and the plan is that they'll all be doing Greek next year, too. I'm hoping to keep those two going, and then let them choose a 3rd language to add in in high school.

 

Spanish because it's what I studied, so I can help them with it easily, and because it's a pretty useful second language to have, and because it's easy to find resources and classes and opportunities to practice.

 

Greek because we (well, my oldest and I, anyway) are more interested in it than in Latin, and there's more I'd like for them to read in Greek than in Latin.

[mom2bee]

Removed by the Author.

Edited April 5, 2013 by mom2bee

[LittleIzumi]

ASL from birth, Spanish in 2nd, and playing around with French & German randomly until they decide they want to learn it for real. :)

[EppieJ]

We started with Spanish in first grade, more as exposure than anything else. We've gradually increased effort toward learning it as the years have passed. Next year, we'll begin learning some Latin. Eventually, we would like to add Mandarin, and I'm thinking some Greek and Hebrew would be good as well, although I'm not sure when we'll find the time to do that!

 

Dh and I figure that with English, Spanish and Mandarin under his belt, ds can go pretty much anywhere in the world and be able to communicate. I think ds is also interested in learning Japanese.

 

Ugh. So many languages, so little time! :willy_nilly:

[JenneinCA]

We started Japanese this year for everyone. My husband, me, dd12, ds10, ds6 are all going to Saturday school to learn Japanese. I chose it because the day/time was good for us. It had classes for everyone and most importantly *I* thought it sounded like fun. And it is fun. Everyone looks forward to Japanese school and has a good time.

 

My oldest (dd12) is also doing Latin this year. She loves it and is doing well with it. She is doing an online class with Lone Pine, so I do not have to teach it.

 

My plan is to continue with Japanese for as long as we can. Native speakers, brain food for me, and something interesting for us all to talk about it well worth it. My oldest wants to do more Latin next year so she will continue. She also wants to take a Linguistics class so she will do that too.

 

My middle guy, ds10, can not remotely deal with the level of work required for the online Latin course my daughter is taking. At least next year Japanese is going to be his only language. I will probably start him on computer languages soon, but I don't think that counts here.

 

My little guy, ds6, loves words and learning new things. I hope to introduce him to some Latin after getting him fluent with the characters in Japanese. Probably when we stop doing spelling as a separate program I will start him with Latin. He spells very well, so this may be sooner than normal.

[Cleopatra]

My dd is learning Latin, Greek, German, French and Spanish. There is no trouble with her learning the languages; the problem is fitting them all in! With Greek, she's been going at a fairly easy pace and Spanish is more or less done in her free time. She'd love to add more: Italian, Japanese, Africans .............. EEEK! :willy_nilly:

[mom2bee]

Removed by the Author.