Foreign Language choice help...

[PagesandFields]

I keep putting off picking a language to teach myself and the kiddos... I need help to pick...

 

I am not even certain that we will do much Latin anymore because I am working on getting realistic about our goals... Just in terms of time..

 

I planned on Spanish, because it is probably the most likely to come up near us and in my experience would have been the most useful second language to have...

BUT in our area ASL and Japanese would also be helpful

BUT if we ever move or travel, in the place we would move to and the places we would travel to French would be the most helpful... I took 5-6 years of French as a kid, so this would also probably be the most comfortable for me to teach also... Thoughts?

Sorry for badly constructed questions. I can't type on a tablet...

Edited April 9, 2016 by PagesandFields

[Guest]

All of them? :)

Seriously, take a year - or even just six months, and go over the basics of all of them (numbers, colors, everyday verbs and nouns, very light grammar, writing, etc) and then see if your kids have any affinity or desire to continue on in one particular language.  If your kids are 4 and 6, this would be totally fun for them.

 

DS started French at 4, at 5-6 did French and Hebrew, at 7 added Korean to the previous two, at 8 dropped everything for Spanish, and now at 9 has settled on Japanese and Russian....well, settled for the time being anyways :)

[coastalfam]

I would say French and ASL. ASL is so natural for kids to pick up, fun to pepper in with your lessons, and in our experience, helps reinforce learning for visual and kinesthetic learners (like finger spelling during spelling lessons, etc.). You can use entertaining programs like the Signing Time series to learn effortlessly, and it makes a lot of sense as it is (more or less) one to one correlation with english. French sounds potentially useful for you, and probably most enjoyable with your background. With your background, you will be able to incorporate French into daily activities more easily, which will help deepen the learning experience. We will be doing ASL (more formally) and Spanish beginning next year, for the same reasons. 

[happypamama]

I vote Spanish.  I studied French for several years in high school, so it's comfortable for me, but DD wanted Spanish, so we have been learning that.  Spanish is more similar to English than French in some ways, and it just seems more straightforward as well, in rules and pronunciation.  I have found it reasonably easy to pick up Spanish after French, college Italian, and a few years of Latin.  Plus, if it's useful in your local area, go for it.  

 

(This coming from the mom of a kid who is using DuoLingo to teach herself about four other languages besides Spanish and Latin, so maybe I'm not one to talk, haha.)

[Lanny]

Born and Raised in L.A.  I never dreamed that I would end up moving to South America. I deeply regret that I did not become truly bilingual, with Latin American Spanish,  when I was young.  I vote for Spanish.  It may eventually help you and your DC with additional employment opportunities.   Other languages can also open doors to employment in the USA, but not as many doors as Spanish can open.  GL with whatever you decide to go with!

[wintermom]

I think the most "helpful" foreign language is the one you know well, enjoy using and the one you keep searching for opportunities to use and improve.  Any study of foreign language is wonderful, though, IME. It really depends on your goals for yourself and your dc. Do you want to reach fluency, or simply learn basic grammar and vocabulary. As you know from experience, it takes years and years of continuous work to learn and maintain a foreign language. You could start with French, as you have some experience with it, or decide to all jump in and begin learning Spanish. Having some outside support, such as a tutor or class, would probably be really worth the money. The more invested you and the dc are in learning the language, and having fun with it, the longer and harder you'll keep working at it.

 

Looking back, I wish I had invested the time and money in a tutor for our family, so that we could all together work at learning and speaking a modern language. I tried to teach them French with curriculum, but it's very challenging. I was strong but not completely comfortable myself with French, and I ended up focusing my energies on math, reading, writing.  My dc are studying Latin with a tutor now, and they are loving it. With an out-sourced person who loves the language and knows it very well, it makes a world of difference. 

 

 

Edited April 9, 2016 by wintermom

[Syllieann]

I started with Spanish for my oldest since it is most common in our area and easiest to come by resources/native speakers. It seemed like the obvious choice. That was short lived. The cost and time investment compared to payoff just didn't pass muster in my book. We had dipped our toes into asl since yds had speech issues, so we decided to go with that. It is so incredibly useful to be able to say something non-verbally. Spanish is of questionable utility for us in our metro area. In my generation, and certainly that of my children, most people who speak Spanish also speak English, making it kind of unnecessary (but possibly interesting) to converse with them in Spanish. We might add something else later, possibly French or Russian, but I don't see us doing Spanish without some sort of need to go live in a foreign country. So my vote is for asl or French, depending on your children's interests. It will certainly make it easier if they are wanting to learn it.

[MinivanMom]

Any foreign language learning will be positive for your kids, and it is simply not possible to predict which language will be most useful to your child many years down the road. So I really think the best route is to study the language that your child feels most passionately about and/or the language you will have the easiest time teaching.

 

It sounds like French would be the easiest language for you to teach, but there are also local resources for Spanish, ASL, and Japanese. So the big question is . . . Which language do your kids want to learn? If they have any interest in French, then I would definitely go with that. But if they are more interested in one of the other languages, then I would start there instead. 

[Janeway]

Let the kids pick. People seem to perceive Spanish as more useful, but it's just a perception. Let the kids pick their favorite. Personally, I have found Latin to be the most useful for vocabulary and science and such.

[Miss Tick]

If the kids don't have a strong preference, going with French means less day-to-day effort from you.

 

We've done Spanish for years coasting on my high school classes. Sure, to be fluent we will need a tutor or something similar, but their vocabulary is great, we are working in grammar and their listening comprehension is pretty good. Moving into Latin was a breeze, 2 years ago, and now there is some interest in German.

[wintermom]

Let the kids pick. People seem to perceive Spanish as more useful, but it's just a perception. Let the kids pick their favorite. Personally, I have found Latin to be the most useful for vocabulary and science and such.

 

How would a 4 and 6 year old have any idea what language to pick?  And how, if one has zero experience, do you pick a "favourite?" I just don't understand what you mean.

[Amira]

Pick something doable. How doable a language is depends on your location, your available resources, your interest and/or knowledge in the language, your kids' interest in it, your budget, etc. Just make sure you can do it consistently because that's the most important thing with language learning.

Edited April 10, 2016 by Amira

[PagesandFields]

Thank you everyone! I was pretty much set on doing Spanish... But I have totally changed my mind... The kiddos have some friends who speak ASL with their parents, and right now I think this is the most natural language for us to learn. I found some community classes relatively near to take when they are older, and I imagine it would be relatively easy to find a tutor or class for them because of our proximity to a school for the deaf... and in my very poor attempts at teaching them Spanish I have mostly realized how VeRY much more comfortable I am with French... So I think I would like to add something in later with that... I would love to speak Spanish... But My dream is for us all to become as fluent as possible in one... I don't see doing that with Spanish for us... I used to live in New Mexico and have wanted to improve my Spanish since then... But my family has interest in moving or traveling nearby Quebec... So to focus on the French again would be very helpful if not necessary...

 

Thanks a million!

[justinblogger198]

Portuguese and Chinese tends to be very useful. One of the Hindi language, too

 

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