When is the best time to start Latin? (Poll)

[wintermom]

I was always a modern languages supporter, and love learning languages. I only saw the usefulness of Latin as a benefit if paired with other subjects at a university level, such as medicine/nursing, biology, classics or within the Roman Catholic church. I always believed that modern, "living" languages were much more useful.  I've changed my views having watched my dc learn Latin from an enthusiastic tutor. My dc have had years of exposure to several modern languages starting from birth, pretty much (i.e., French, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish). We live in a fairly bilingual city and they hear French being spoken frequently. We've traveled to French-only cities for vacation and they've had opportunities to use French. They see the benefits of knowing other languages, they're learning how language and culture are intertwined. They're learning vocabulary and grammar. It's all good, but it still hasn't sparked their imaginations like learning Latin together has. They started Latin at about age 12 or so, and have been studying for 2 years. My youngest just started this spring, at age 9, because he really wanted to learn along with his siblings. He's challenged, but doing well.

 

It could well be that I really lucked out with introducing Latin to them after they'd already had multiple experiences learning different languages, that made them more receptive to Latin. It could be that their tutor is really fun, they're learning in a really comfortable, small-group setting with friends, or it could be the Cambridge program with history included that they fell in love with. I don't know. Whatever it is, I'm a supporter of learning Latin, in a way that's unique to modern langauges. There seems to be a lot less pressure with Latin to learn to understand the spoken language quickly and through full immersion. I know that immersion is the way to go to learn language fluency, but to be thrust into immersion settings too soon doesn't always work well for all students. There is also a lot less pressure to speak Latin with "the correct accent." This is very nice for the beginner, too, especially an older student who has a tougher chance of mastering the tiny nuances of speaking a language. The alphabet, grammar, vocabulary and cultural aspects of Latin are very similar to other modern languages. Easier than some, more difficult than others.

 

I really couldn't say when the "best" time to learn Latin would be, though. It depends on the child, the program and the instructor. 

[msec123]

You can start as young as you want, you just need to play on your child's skills at their given age. If your child is under 4 then use images. Don't worry about their ability to retain any information, just get them used to the shapes of the letters.Spend time drawing the letters and having your child go over the letters with their own crayon. If you do too many different shapes, then your child will never remember any patterns. So stick with one noun, like water and draw it everywhere until they start to recognize it.

[Guest ajayram]

You can start as young as you want, you just need to play on your child's skills at their given age. Don't worry about their ability to retain any information, just get them used to the shapes of the letters.Spend time drawing the letters and having your child go over the letters with their own crayon. If you do too many different shapes, then your child will never remember any patterns. So stick with one noun, like water and draw it everywhere until they start to recognize it. Above 8 you could easily begin rewarding them for every word that they learn on their own.