Latin vs. Spanish

[Porridge]

I'm looking for some perspective on how to decide between Latin and Spanish. 

My children are already studying Chinese, and this takes 5-20 minutes / day. The Chinese work load may increase next year to up to 30 minutes.

My DD will be starting 4th grade and I'm thinking of adding another language.

I like the idea of Spanish because it's a living language and useful for communicating with others. 

However, I haven't come across any truly good Spanish curricula that we could follow all the way through to fluency (perhaps I haven't looked hard enough?).  On the other hand, there seem to be many excellent resources available for Latin. The Latin resources are either specifically for homeschoolers or easily adapted to homeschooling, and there seems to be a clear path to mastery through the high school level. Latin just seems logistically easier to teach in the homeschool context. 

 

I've also thought that perhaps since they're learning Chinese, maybe I should just table another language until middle or high school...

Any perspectives appreciated!
 

[duckens]

--I would, and do, choose Spanish, because it is a living language.  Also, if your children live in the U.S., IMO, Spanish is the language to know. 

--If my children want to learn Latin as they get older, we will attain the resources for them at that time.

--As for learning languages, IME, be prepared to use more than one resource.  No ONE curriculum will cover everything.

Disclaimer:dd10 just finished 4th grade.  She has been dabbling in Chinese for a few years, and she has voluntarily added Spanish on her own since Christmas.  :ohmy: :thumbup:

--Since dd10 has started to study Spanish, she has drawn several correlations between Spanish and Italian (which I am studying), and Spanish and English.  She can identify their shared roots, just as if she had taken Latin.

[EmseB]

My high school Spanish and undergrad Russian courses would have been much, much easier if I had a background in Latin to start with.  That's my personal experience, so grain of salt and all that, but when I hear Latin talked about as not useful because no one speaks it anymore...well, if you are learning another romance or inflected language you will find that Latin is very much alive and well, not only because of vocabulary (although that is a fun part of it). So we've done things opposite to the PP.  I tell my kids that I require Latin until 8th grade, and then they can choose to continue in it or pick a different language for high school. I mean, we do Latin for other reasons too, but learning other languages later is one of them.

[wintermom]

If your dc's ages are still 6 and 8, I'd probably just stick with one foreign language now - the Chinese you are already doing. I'd add in either Latin or Spanish in a couple years. Latin is a great foundational language to study vocabulary and grammar, and then add in other living languages afterwards (French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese).

 

It's completely up to you, though. You could add in another language at anytime. It may slow down progress for a while in the other languages (including progress in English), but it will be fine in the long-term. At least according to research I've read. Every child is different in their capabilities and development, though. Some pick up languages very easily, and others struggle.

[Homebody2]

My high school Spanish and undergrad Russian courses would have been much, much easier if I had a background in Latin to start with. That's my personal experience, so grain of salt and all that, but when I hear Latin talked about as not useful because no one speaks it anymore...well, if you are learning another romance or inflected language you will find that Latin is very much alive and well, not only because of vocabulary (although that is a fun part of it). So we've done things opposite to the PP. I tell my kids that I require Latin until 8th grade, and then they can choose to continue in it or pick a different language for high school. I mean, we do Latin for other reasons too, but learning other languages later is one of them.

Your thinking sounds in line with mine. May I ask which Latin program you chose? I'm having difficulty choosing what is next for my 11 year old. We've done SS Latin 1 and 2, and now I'm looking for something a bit meatier.

[Miss Tick]

In our house we study Spanish casually from the get go, Latin starts in 3rd our 4th, and then last year, by request, we added German (6th and 2nd). I don't think you can really go wrong either way Spanish-Latin, or Latin-Spanish. You are right about the curriculum choices, though.

 

I would suggest you start with Latin next year. Getting Started With Latin is a great introduction to the language. Then, if nothing has changed, move into whatever Latin program you like (We use the Big Book of Lively Latin). At any point you could end your Latin studies and shift to Spanish, carrying over vocabulary, the concept of gendered nouns, and verb conjugation from Latin. Starting in middle or high school it is easier to find a program that will carry you through three or for years if Spanish, although "fluency" is a tricky topic on its own.

 

My answer might change if you, yourself had some background in Spanish, but since you didn't mention it I assume that is not the case.

[SebastianCat]

This is a long way off for you, but some universities specifically want to see 2+ years of a modern language taken during high school.   If you are choosing a second language with the goal of sticking with it through mastery, Latin might not "count" for college admissions.   Chinese would certainly count, if you continued Chinese to that point.   Since your kids are still in elementary school, you have time on your side, and lots of options.   You could start Latin, continue through middle school, then switch to a modern language like Spanish (or just drop Latin and continue Chinese) in high school.

[wapiti]

If you are choosing a second language with the goal of sticking with it through mastery, Latin might not "count" for college admissions.  

 

For college admissions purposes, the only examples I've ever seen on these boards is the Air Force Academy and Grove City, as you explained in this old thread http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/506012-what-colleges-do-not-accept-latin-for-admissions/.  If anyone has updates to that thread, that might be interesting!  Otherwise, I don't think this is a concern.  (A couple of my kids are taking Latin in B&M high school as their foreign language.)

[knitgrl]

This is a long way off for you, but some universities specifically want to see 2+ years of a modern language taken during high school.   If you are choosing a second language with the goal of sticking with it through mastery, Latin might not "count" for college admissions.   Chinese would certainly count, if you continued Chinese to that point.   Since your kids are still in elementary school, you have time on your side, and lots of options.   You could start Latin, continue through middle school, then switch to a modern language like Spanish (or just drop Latin and continue Chinese) in high school.

 

Interesting. I've heard reports that some college admissions are really impressed with a kid having taken Latin, but that was for an engineering major, so perhaps it depends on the major? My personal experience has been 4 years of Spanish in public school, plus two more in college, and I never used it. I can sort of read it and kind of understand the gist, but no way can I have a conversation in Spanish. Latin seems to me to be much more useful in terms of understanding English, and it will be a tremendous help if you need to learn Spanish.

[2_girls_mommy]

For college admissions purposes, the only examples I've ever seen on these boards is the Air Force Academy and Grove City, as you explained in this old thread http://forums.welltrainedmind.com/topic/506012-what-colleges-do-not-accept-latin-for-admissions/.  If anyone has updates to that thread, that might be interesting!  Otherwise, I don't think this is a concern.  (A couple of my kids are taking Latin in B&M high school as their foreign language.)

I know some kids here in PS that are taking Latin as their 2 years of foreign language, so their schools obviously have no concerns about them going to college with that. I can think of 4 kids in colleges right now that took Latin with me for their homeschool high school 2 years of foreign language, and they were accepted just fine. So it isn't a concern that I have ever seen IRL. 

[Bluegoat]

I might wait a year or two, but I think you could choose either.  I would choose Latin myself because I have more Latin than Spanish, and I might use it as a primary way to study grammar as well. 

 

But in a more general setting, I might go with what was most likely to lead to fluency.  I'd also consider if you eventually plan to add a third language.

[EmseB]

Your thinking sounds in line with mine. May I ask which Latin program you chose? I'm having difficulty choosing what is next for my 11 year old. We've done SS Latin 1 and 2, and now I'm looking for something a bit meatier.

 

We are using Memoria Press. What are the ages of your kiddos?

 

Prima Latina is where you would start for a 2nd or 3rd grader, Latina Christiana for 3rd or 4th, and First Form would be about 4th or 5th and above.