italiancookies Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 is it too much to teach a 2nd grader Latin at the same time as french? I was going to buy minums or something for a base and then start rosetta stone french when the minimus was done. or do them together. is that TOO much? should i skip latin and go straight to french? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NittanyJen Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My son was in 2nd when we started. We started with Latin for about 3 months. When that was going well, we added RS German. In his case, it is working beautifully. Both languages are coming along fine, even though our main focus in time tends to be reading, math, and science. The languages have helped his reading fluency and spelling proficiency tremendously. I love how Rosetta Stone presents spelling, writing, and grammar; my second grader has professionally diagnosed disabilities in his language domains and he is doing great with it. We do supplement with cartoons and books in German when I can (I found Pokemon in German!). He is looking forward to learning more languages, but I told him two years of German before we add another. Latin we just read; but in German I want something approaching fluency, which is a lot more work, esp for a kid who grew up monolingual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laura Corin Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I'd wait a year before starting the second language, just to get the first bedded in. My boys learned 3-4 languages when they were at home: Latin, Chinese, French and (for fun with Hobbes only) Greek. Laura Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lisa in the UP of MI Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 It might be too much to start both of the languages at the same time. If she has exposure to either language it should be okay. My oldest (second grader) is doing great with Spanish and Latin, but she's been exposed to Spanish since birth and Latin since about 5yo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaMa2005 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 DS has been doing two languages simultaneously for the past year - both on Rosetta Stone. First, he started with Mandarin, then added Spanish. He is done with Mandarin and is now doing Spanish and French. We do Latin from other sources. He has not had a problem keeping things differentiated. In fact, he loves seeing all the commonalities between the languages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 My DD started a bit later but we'll be doing two languages at once. She's doing Latin this year and we'll add in Spanish for next year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Not at all. 2 languages is well within possibility if you have the time. Remember that children in countries other than the United States often grow up with three languages: mother, father, and community; or parents, community and school. I agree with others that it's best to stagger the languages. Start one and wait at least a couple months before starting the next. My DD is doing French now. We're adding Spanish in over the summer, and then Portuguese in 2013. She'll also study Latin in late elementary, but we won't worry about speaking it much, just about grammar/written components. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acurtis75 Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 If I read your post correctly you are going to do Minimus and then start French. I don't think that's too much at all if your child wants to do it. We are learning Latin and Greek and plan to add a modern language in a few years. DD wanted to do Greek for an entire year before I let her start. I thought it would be too much. It turns out it's not a problem at all for her. I have to look at the teacher book a lot because my mommy brain isn't as good at remembering things as hers but other than that it's gone very smoothly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 If I read your post correctly you are going to do Minimus and then start French. I don't think that's too much at all if your child wants to do it. We are learning Latin and Greek and plan to add a modern language in a few years. DD wanted to do Greek for an entire year before I let her start. I thought it would be too much. It turns out it's not a problem at all for her. I have to look at the teacher book a lot because my mommy brain isn't as good at remembering things as hers but other than that it's gone very smoothly. Oh yeah, this reminds me of the question I wanted to ask (to the OP): does the child in question WANT to do two languages? That can make a difference also. In my situation, I was planning on waiting another year or so to add a second language, but DD is adamant that she wants to do a second, NOW, and has the motivation for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 Learning several languages simultaneously is more of a norm than an exception in European schools. Kids are fine. It is suggested, though, not to add those languages all at the same time - not to start them simultaneously. But, starting one in first grade, one in second grade, one in fifth, one in sixth... and you are fine keeping with all four of them until graduation. It is starting them all in the first grade that gets problematic, although some schools do have their kids start two languages in some years, and kids are still fine. :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
italiancookies Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 Oh yeah, this reminds me of the question I wanted to ask (to the OP): does the child in question WANT to do two languages? That can make a difference also. honestly she wants French only but i thought learning latin first would give her an advantage on learning another language. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kristinannie Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I don't think 2 languages would be a problem, especially since French and Latin are so different. I agree with everyone who says to stagger the start a little. We are doing German now and then plan to add Latin in 2nd. The kids both want to learn Spanish and I want to teach them Greek as well. I am not sure when we will fold the others in. Best of luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorganClassicalPrep Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 honestly she wants French only but i thought learning latin first would give her an advantage on learning another language. Well, French alone is going to help learning another language. If that were the case, I'd think about putting Latin off some. Waiting a couple years isn't going to hurt since Latin isn't a language you need to be able to speak. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Halcyon Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 We are doing this, and staggered their starts. We started Latin a year and a half ago and are folding in gentle Spanish now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ester Maria Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 honestly she wants French only but i thought learning latin first would give her an advantage on learning another language. I recommend doing the exact opposite: start a modern language early, add classics later. I would do French first, and then add Latin at some point (while continuing with French). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcconnellboys Posted January 16, 2012 Share Posted January 16, 2012 I always have done Spanish and Latin with my younger son. We really just played around with the languages when he was in first through fourth grades, though. I used Minimus and Minimus Secundus with him for Latin, and a couple of lighter Spanish programs, too. We didn't get more serious until he was in fifth grade. By that time he already had a decent vocabulary base in both languages. We started doing a lot more writing in both languages in fifth grade, too. I think you do have to go more slowly in both languages when you're doing two simultaneously - unless maybe you're *not* doing something else, LOL.... I find it hard to fit in all of WTM's suggestions in any given year. My son also added in Elementary Greek last year, but it was really just too much for us to keep up with that and all his other studies, so we have nixed it for now.... He did get a little introduction to it, however.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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