Long term language help needed

[skimomma]

I have also posted about Latin plans and this is a related question.  I felt it deserved its own thread.

 

Dd is in the 5th grade.  We plan to homeschool all the way through to graduation.  We plan to rely heavily on dual-enrollment for high school as both parents work for a university.  Those plans are by no means firm yet....just my best guess right now.  I now feel like I need to take our high school plans into consideration when deciding what language choices to make now.

 

Dd is finishing up a three-year beginner Latin program, Latin for Children A-C.  Our hope in high school is that dd take a conversational language (at the very least) and maybe also continue in Latin.

 

Where we stand right now, I feel we have two basic path options.  I am wondering if those who were in a similar situation could help me sort out which of the two would be better.

 

1.  Continue with a Latin program that builds on LFC for grades 6-8 then switch to a conversational language in 9th grade.  We would decide at that point if she would also continue in Latin as well.  I like that she would get more in-depth practice with a foreign language.  My concerns are that I am struggling to find a program that would be a good fit for both her age and my own knowledge/ability.

 

2.  Discontinue Latin and instead pick up a three-year beginner course in a conversational language (likely Spanish or French).  The advantage here would be to introduce a conversational language before she gets to the age where memorization is difficult.  The big drawback (IMO) is that she would then have "skimmed" two languages without experiencing in-depth study of a language.

 

My ultimate goal is for dd to have the best shot possible of learning a conversational language.  I guess my real question is whether going more in-depth with the nuances of Latin would be more or less valuable long-run than earlier exposure to a conversational language?  If you would switch to a conversational language now, would it be difficult/impossible to pick up high school level Latin again after three years off?  We do not have the time to both right now.

[maize]

I would continue with the Latin if DD is interested, and I would add in a modern language, preferably with a conversational element involving someone who speaks the language--group class, tutor, fluent family member, etc. I would keep the Latin for now because she should be at a point where she can dig deeper and start to really understand the language, and I think that is worthwhile. But she could do the program half pace or something to make time for modern language study.

[G5052]

FWIW -- I would continue with Latin.  The publishers of LFC recommend Latin Alive as the next step, or as alternates, Oxford, Cambridge, or Ecce Romani.  Given your experience with LFC, I'm guessing that Latin Alive will be the smoothest transition.  It reviews what you've learned in LFC, but then goes deeper with more reading.  

 

Then in high school decide what path will be next.  Continuing with Latin will only help with Spanish or French, and certainly you are building the connections for further study in whatever language you choose.

 

Faced with a similar decision, I decided to have mine continue Latin through middle school and early high school, and then switch to Spanish for dual enrollment after AP Latin.

[yvonne]

If you continue with Latin Alive, be sure to call the publishers, Classical Academic Press, and ask which year to use. I talked to them a year ago, and I believe they said to go into LA 2 after completing LfC A-C.  My daughter completed LfC A&B and started LA 1 this year w/ VP online. She only did it for 2 weeks and then another 2 weeks on our own before dropping it. It was mind numbingly boring after LfC A&B. (Looking back, I should have tried skipping up towards the end and picking up where LfC B had left off.)

[skimomma]

Thanks!  You are really helping me to sort this out.  I feel a bit panicked because my own attempts to learn a foreign language as a high schooler fell slat quickly.  I have to remember that I did not have the benefit of Latin study or a strong grammar background....both of which dd is getting through her Latin studies.  It really is OK to wait for a modern language until high school.

[C_l_e_0..Q_c]

I would switch to a conversational language ASAP, honestly.  Learning Latin is great but it is missing one key component of language learning: and that's the conversational aspect. And that is much easier to pick up when young. Education experts talk of a window that closes around 12 years old. Not that it's impossible to learn after that, obviously it's still possible, but it makes it harder. 

 

I did a quick Google search and found this: 

http://esl.fis.edu/parents/advice/myth2.htm

 

 

So what is the best age for a person to start learning a foreign language in situations where there is a choice, and where it is not critical that a native-speaker-like pronunciation is acquired? The answer, according to current research, is early adolescence, so about 11-13.

 

Latin acquisition is different from other languages, and her brain is now at her best for the oral components of French or Spanish.

 

Now the world won't stop turning if you don't switch right away. The brain is still malleable at 15 or 16, it won't be optimum that's all.

[TechWife]

It's great to think ahead, but your kids need to be involved in high school planning and I truly think a 5th grader is too young to do that. Give it a couple of more years.  You also have to take into account college admission requirements. Your student may be far more interested in learning other topics at an advanced level and the high school time might be best spent meeting the minimum requirements for language in order to give her time to accomplish that goal. 

 

[skimomma]

It's great to think ahead, but your kids need to be involved in high school planning and I truly think a 5th grader is too young to do that. Give it a couple of more years.  You also have to take into account college admission requirements. Your student may be far more interested in learning other topics at an advanced level and the high school time might be best spent meeting the minimum requirements for language in order to give her time to accomplish that goal. 

 

I agree 100%.  Dd will be very involved in her high school choices.  I am just trying to make sure my choices now provide the best position from which she can make those choices.  Right now, she likes Latin.  She also wants to learn a conversational language.  We do not have time for both so I have to make a choice.

[TechWife]

I agree 100%.  Dd will be very involved in her high school choices.  I am just trying to make sure my choices now provide the best position from which she can make those choices.  Right now, she likes Latin.  She also wants to learn a conversational language.  We do not have time for both so I have to make a choice.

 

Why can't she make the choice?

[skimomma]

Why can't she make the choice?

 

She certainly has a say in it.  Her choice is BOTH, of course!  We just cannot swing both right now......  She has been in on the discussions of which might be better for now, the pros and the cons.  I thought it might help us to hear from people who have been through/into high school for some perspective that we may not be able to see by ourselves.