How Would You Plan for Languages with This Child?

[Job384]

Or maybe I don't need a plan. I guess I want a plan subject to change.

 

I'd planned on Latin beginning in first grade, then Greek beginning in third, and while I knew I wanted four years of a single modern language in high school, I wasn't sure about whether/when/where/how to do one before then.

 

However, my son took up Greek this year, his kindergarten year, so now my plan is off. I think adding Latin for first grade would cause us to have too much school time. Therefore, I was thinking of just switching them around: continue with Greek now and add Latin in third grade. Modern languages still up in the air.

 

On the other hand, this particular son seems to have a gift for language decoding and phonemic awareness. (I don't know if that's the right terminology, but bear with me.) He can now read both Greek and English phonetically with fluency. Am I making him miss a good opportunity by not adding in a modern language now? There are good programs for Spanish and Chinese in our area. Or should I just keep informally exposing him to other languages while we continue on in Greek?

[kiana]

Honestly I would put getting him to a good level with a correct accent in a modern language higher on the list for his age.

[SarahW]

If you think he may have an aptitude with languages then yes, a modern language it fine. I wouldn't worry about it interfering with Greek or confusing him too much. I'm not sure which program you're doing for Greek for K, but even a kids level program isn't going to be particularly conversational, kwim? If he gets overwhelmed, or starts confusing things between the two, then you should reevaluate. But kids are usually pretty good at sorting language things out.

[Job384]

I forgot to specify. The Greek is New Testament Greek, so definitely not conversational.

[Embassy]

I'm biased, but I think starting with a modern language now is a good thing :)

[Job384]

Would you go with Spanish or Chinese?

 

Edited: More interested in what others see as pros and cons, so I took out my own.

[2smartones]

I'm going to vote the opposite way. We're heavy on Latin and Greek (not at the same time, but starting at age 4) and don't plan to do any modern languages until the last couple of years of high school. If you're already fluent in both Latin & Greek, it will help with vocabulary ... from SAT to on-the-job training ... and it will help with any of the Western languages. Spanish is the major "other" language in my area, so although we have a French teacher in the family, we'll probably go with Spanish when the time comes.

 

Oh, and we use Classical Academic Press for all of our Latin & Greek, and at some point in the (distant) future, we’ll also do the Machen New Testament Greek for Beginners.

[Embassy]

Would you go with Spanish or Chinese?

 

Pros I see with Spanish now, Chinese later:

- easier to keep up because so many Spanish speakers live here

- big utility where we live

- less cost to take trips abroad where people speak it

- will be very useful on junior high and high school mission trips with our church

- abundance of materials

 

Pros I see with Chinese now, Spanish later:

- better accent by starting early

- Chinese class includes a lot of families who share our educational values

- lessons are cheaper than Spanish lessons where I live

- dovetails nicely with his interest in math and our desire to give him a broad worldview

- more time to master a more difficult language

- if he has a full high school course load, Spanish will be easier than Chinese at that time

 

 

If you are only picking one it sounds like Spanish might be the best thing for your area. If you plan to do Spanish in high school I would start with Mandarin now.

 

ETA: Another consideration is that Mandarin isn't a language that you learn to decode and sound out phonetically. It involves lots of memorization.

[KarenNC]

Does he prefer one over the other (between Spanish and Chinese)? I find that interest helps a lot with retention.

[kiana]

I would see which one he's more interested in. Both are good. Chinese will probably be more difficult to pick up later though.

[TXBeth]

I would start with Mandarin. By the time high school rolls around, he may have lost the ability to hear tone. Learning a tonal language as a young child is a HUGE asset when it comes to being able to learn others later.

[Uff Da!]

nm

[mom2bee]

On the other hand, this particular son seems to have a gift for language decoding and phonemic awareness. (I don't know if that's the right terminology, but bear with me.) He can now read both Greek and English phonetically with fluency. Am I making him miss a good opportunity by not adding in a modern language now? There are good programs for Spanish and Chinese in our area. Or should I just keep informally exposing him to other languages while we continue on in Greek?

Just pointing out that Chinese can't be decoded phonetically. You have to memorize the characters. There are various systesm I have heard about doing that with, but it has 0% to do with phonics. The usefulness/appropriateness and role that pinyin and other forms of romanizing the Chinese and other character based Asian languaes are debated round and round by linguist and language enthusiasts alike. I have no particular stance on that matter.

 

Since you live in a place where the Spanish language is promninent it seems like it will be far easier to get Spanish lessons at almost any time. What about Chinese? Is the chinese opportunity long term? Likely to be there when you want it years down the road?

Thats another thing you have to think about. Will the opportunity be there when you want it 6+ years down the road?

 

For Chinese lessons to be cheaper than Spanish seems a special opportunity--one that I would be hard pressed to pass up.

 

An Alternate Option:

You can get your son lessons to read/write Chinese starting now. Even if he just learns 3 characters a week (their pronunciation and how to read and recognize them), for about 25 weeks a year, for the next 7 years (1st-8th grade) he will be able to pick up studying the language in earnest with a some reading ability of ~600 characters, plus his ear will be a little more trained.

According to this article on Chinese literacy, you need around 1000 to read with a 90% but 2000-3000 is considered the more normal range. This forum also mentions the 2-3 thousand figure.

 

As he gets older and more accustomed to Chinese, he will probably learn more than 3 characters a week, but aim for no less than 3 a week.

 

 

Personally I think I would do something like this:

Greek in Kinder.

Chinese in 1st (Using a reading first, then "basic" Chinese sentences that leads into conversational Chinese)

Spanish in 3rd (Its highly phonetic, super easy to learn to read and with the right curriculum fit it can be super easy)

Latin in 5th grade (I'm not 100% sure what you want Latin for, so this might not be an appropriate place for you. But if it the test-prep, vocabulary thing, then it might be okay. Many people on these boards start it in 5th grade, and their kids do very well.)

 

I wouldn't drop formal study/practice of Chinese or Spanish until it was time for Highschool, and then only if DS wanted to do a different modern language.

 

Just my 1.5 cents ;)