AEinMd Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I have an older teen whose native language is English, learned Spanish and Italian through immersion and studied some Latin. Teen is just returning from living in Italy and is inserting Italian in his Spanish. Is planning on taking Italian in school next year. Would you spend the summer reviewing Spanish or introduce a new language (maybe French)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Inserting words from one language into another is very common and nothing to worry about. Some words just better express what you are trying to say than their equivalent in other languages. As he becomes more and more proficient in all three languages, he will be able to work around this. It's also pretty common to have a brain cramp and only be able to think of the word in the one language and not the other, even if you know it. Whether you review the Spanish or start French depends on his goals. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEinMd Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 Thanks but I do think he's forgotten some Spanish because of his Italian; they are so similar. (He hasn't taken any formal Spanish for 2 years and spent the last year with no Spanish.) I don't know whether it would make sense to spend some time this summer reviewing his Spanish or it'll just be lost when he goes back into studying Italian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Was he fluent in Spanish? Was he in Italy for a year? Going to school? Is he fluent in Italian? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEinMd Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) It's hard for me to say whether he's fluent in Spanish. He went to elementary school in Spanish and then took Spanish in school every year (up to AP). So he understands everything and had an excellent vocab (this is where the Italian has crept in) but I was never too happy with his verbs (because he did less grammar than kids who study it as a foreign language). Italian is probably stronger than his Spanish right now. Yes, he was in Italy studying Italian and lived with native speakers for a school year. Edited May 11, 2011 by AEinMd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In The Great White North Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 When dd got back from a year abroad (speaking German and studying French,) she found that the German class at the local high school was useless. Your ds will probably have to self-study both Spanish and Italian. A Spanish refresher is always good to maintain language skills - they fade quickly if not used. I would probably do the Spanish refresher and start French, but I think languages are important. I didn't restrict dd from starting a new language, even though she needed to continue working on the German and French. In 9th, she added Latin, in 10th dropped Latin and added Italian and this year added Spanish. She still has to continue German and French. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 Get him assigned literature and texts aimed at native speakers from those school systems and let him just continue there? For this level school classes are completely useless - they are fine to get a formal recognition, in terms of a credit, if you want, but other than that, totally useless. He will have to self-study and keep up with both languages on his own and I think this is the best way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted May 12, 2011 Share Posted May 12, 2011 I have an older teen whose native language is English, learned Spanish and Italian through immersion and studied some Latin. Teen is just returning from living in Italy and is inserting Italian in his Spanish. Is planning on taking Italian in school next year. Would you spend the summer reviewing Spanish or introduce a new language (maybe French)? Does he plan on learning French anyway, or was this just a random thought? I think spending the summer reviewing some Spanish would be good, as well as some activities to sustain the Italian (reading Italian lit, speaking with some native speakers if possible, etc.). Mixing up languages is very common, especially when the languages are so similar. I studied French/German together for about 6 months, and did very well keeping them separate, but now that I'm studying French/Spanish, I'm really struggling. I've been told (by others who speak multiple languages, language teachers, etc.) that the only solution for this is continued study. The other day while giving a presentation in English, I realized I couldn't think of the English word I wanted, only the Spanish word!! :svengo:(Of course, I had given a similar presentation just a week before in Spanish, but still!) I'll be adding Portuguese this summer myself, and generally think summer is a good time to add a new language, but unless he is planning on doing French (or needs to do French for some reason) I think it would be much more productive to spend the summer really brushing up on both Spanish and Italian. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AEinMd Posted May 12, 2011 Author Share Posted May 12, 2011 (edited) Our school goes through literature in both Spanish and Italian so there is material at his level but he can't fit that many languages with his other classes. He has chosen Italian. Unfortunately, the number of kids studying it is low so it's mixed-grade. The teacher (a native speaker) will place him but they have tentatively estimated he will go into IB Italian SL. The French had a purpose. He's wanted to learn French for years and I think if he studies it this summer, he could maybe keep it up through the school year which would leave him open for immersion next summer. Edited May 12, 2011 by AEinMd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted May 13, 2011 Share Posted May 13, 2011 Our school goes through literature in both Spanish and Italian so there is material at his level but he can't fit that many languages with his other classes. He has chosen Italian. Unfortunately, the number of kids studying it is low so it's mixed-grade. The teacher (a native speaker) will place him but they have tentatively estimated he will go into IB Italian SL. The French had a purpose. He's wanted to learn French for years and I think if he studies it this summer, he could maybe keep it up through the school year which would leave him open for immersion next summer. If *I* was in that situation... (you know what's coming next is going to be great right? :lol:) I would start studying French, but also spend time on Italian and Spanish. Will he be working or taking any other classes this summer? If not, he could devote quite a bit of time to French, and squeeze in 30-60 mins a day of the other two languages. Even 15 mins a day is better than larger chunks less often. I like to read newspapers in my languages, that would at least keep the language being used- and if you don't use it, you lose it! I do think beginning a new language in the summer is best, that way there is some adjustment period before he will be getting graded on (it or his other foreign languages- in this case Italian). This way, if he experiences some mix-up issues, he still has all summer to overcome them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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