Best grade to teach foreign language?

[carol]

Won't foreign langurage be forgotten if taught in 9th grade by college?

I am not sure when this should be taught.

 

Opinions Please,

Carol

[Karen in CO]

I would start in 9th. Most colleges schools are looking for 2-3 years of the same foreign language. If you start in 9th and the child hates the language chosen, then you still have time to switch. My ds loves languages, but we went through a few before we found a language he could stick with. We have Latin, Spanish, French, Italian and Japanese on the transcript. Surprisingly, Japanese was the language he loved. So my advice is to start early and enjoy.

[Jane in NC]

Won't foreign langurage be forgotten if taught in 9th grade by college?

I am not sure when this should be taught.

 

Opinions Please,

Carol

 

Your question implies that you are limiting foreign language study to a year or two?? The problem with two years of language study is that one has barely had the opportunity to scratch the surface. The work at that level is mostly grammar--some conversation with modern languages. It may indeed be forgotten, but the greater question is whether two years of language is sufficient.

 

Many colleges are requiring foreign languages for a variety of majors. (You know the mantra--check with the college!) Four years of high school language is usually equivalent to four college semesters. I have several nieces and a nephew who placed out of their college requirement by taking four years of high school language.

 

My son will do four years of high school Latin (Latin II - Latin V); possibly four years of French as well. Latin is his preference and given that he thinks he wants to study archaeology or medieval history, this language is a good choice. But so is French which is why he is doing this one as well. (Truth be told, as I have reported on this board before, he began French so that he could read Asterix in their original form.)

 

Anywho, think about the goal. What language will your children study?

 

Jane

[Chris in VA]

Studying languages other than your own can help you meet many goals. Some want to become fluent--it's good to start very early, even as a preschooler, if this is your goal. Some want to analyze a language so they can understand their own--Latin is often the one picked to encourage this. And some just want to be exposed to another culture, and language is a wonderful key to understanding another's culture.

For college prep reasons, it's good to start early and simply keep going. My son, for example, needs a minimum of either three years of one language or two years of two different languages. If you are starting in 9th grade, however, just keep going thru high school, and then, even if you start in one language and hate it, you can still switch and meet the requirements for many colleges.

Also, like the other poster said, you can use CC to good purpose--you can do the easy, early stuff for two years, and then enroll dc in CC for two semesters of upper level language, and knock out the requirement in the junior year (each semester actually counts as one full year of high school, in most cases). Or, continue with 4 semesters of CC, and really get a good, basic understanding of the language and perhaps learn enough to be considered somewhat fluent.

[Samuel]

Really, the best time to study a language is preK-K through elementary school. If you learn a language at this age you have a chance to speak and perform at a native speaker level. If you start in high school , it is almost impossible to achieve this level of fluency-- I speak a couple of romance languages well, but no one is ever going to mistake me for a native speaker or writer. Many of my European friends started English studies at 5 and did it until university. They speak about as well as I do.

 

However, if studying in high school is the only option, by all means do a 9-12 program. Two years of high school Spanish is usually only enough to say "Hi, my name Samuel, want food." It does vary. Four years might be enough for a good foundation.

[sabrina]

I have been teaching foreign language to my two children since they were 4yo. We have been able to explore lots of different things including sign language. They remember a lot of what they learned. I would just experiment until you find something that grabs them. Then stick with that through high school. You can't do too much.

[Laura Corin]

Hobbes, for example, started Mandarin at 4 and is not allowed to give it up until he goes off to college. It's a core part of our curriculum.

 

If you are starting a language in 9th grade, I would highly recommend keeping it going all the way through high school. When I was at school, I started French at eleven, and took classes every year until I went off to university to study it.

 

ETA: sorry this was meant to be under the OP.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura