Poll about foreign languages

goodheartedmommy

Do you want your child to learn a foreign language? If so, at what age will you start or did you start? Do you speak one yourself? Do you want them to be fluent eventually, or just know the basics? Also, what language is it that you want them to know?

hikerbeth

Honestly, I don't care which language, I just want them to learn one.  I took some languages in high school and then got into my intense engineering curriculum in college and didn't keep up with it and I regret it.

My husband lived in Germany for a while and minored in German.  He's not fluent by any means, but he can get around German-speaking countries just fine.

veloelle

I speak passable French.

DD is in French class now, 1x a week. We have a Lango franchise near us that my friend owns. If she was fluent, I'd be over the moon. But for now, she knows colors and some numbers, which I'm thrilled with.

I think it's very important to expose them to another language. I want her to know how to converse. Spelling and all that jazz can come later when she's in school.

goodheartedmommy

I took 4 years of french. I don't remember as much as I'd like these days. Anyway, my kids know some spanish, but only what they've learned from Dora. I was just wondering when it was normal to start teaching them these days. I wasn't exposed to foreign language until Middle school, when I took mandatory Latin, and then was given the option of foreign language classes. I'm wondering if many people teach things other than spanish, since it's becoming a necessity for many jobs in the US.

jettagurl

I want them to at least know Spanish.  DH can carry a convo, I know a decent amount (to half-A figure it out).  Ben knows some words...just random things.  I think Spanish is increasingly important, especially in trades and for some small businesses. I'd like to take some classes again, but I just don't have time at this point in my life. 

I think it's good to introduce the idea as they learn their primary language, but  I think it can be hard at times to learn the 'rules' for both at the same time....so to learn the words young, but then sentence structure and conversational language later once they have a great grasp on English. 

 

REOM

We speak Italian, and our girls do also (somewhat). In their daycare/preschool, they have Spanish circle time, and are picking up some words there. Starting in K, they will have both Spanish and Italian classes at their school. We have been in an Italian playgroup since Gina was 6 months old. 

Languages are very important, imo. It's not just about learning another language, but it also helps you to understand and appreciate English better. Studies show that children who study languages have improved cognitive development, and increased problem solving skills over those that don't.

It's never too early to learn, but middle school is too late. According to a widely accepted linguistic hypothesis, if you learn past puberty, you will never be able to obtain native like proficiency b/c your palate freezes and you will physically not be able to form certain sounds.  This explains why many educated people, like doctors or professors, still have an accent after speaking English for 20+ years.

Sorry for the tangent, did I mention that I mastered in linguistics? lol

AnnapolisLari

My mom recently bought the Rosetta Stone package for Russian. We're starting DS on it as soon as she moves up here. He already knows several words and has remembered them long term.

monchichi

DH is latino and speaks spanish.  I do pretty well for myself....or at least I did a few years ago.  I'm taking classes again.  We speak both spanish and english at home and the kids are fairly fluent in spanish--although their language of choice is english.  They would do better if they had exposure to the language outside of the house.  Alas, we haven't found any good opportunities around here.

cokt

At James' preschool they use quite a bit of Spanish. They have Spanish lunch days once a week and story telling in Spanish etc. I would love for him to be fluent in Spanish as he grows up. MH is conversational in Spanish and I hardly remember anything from when I took it in high school. I would like for him to learn any language, but I think Spanish is the most useful where we live.

wellfleet04

DS is in a Spanish immersion program one morning a week at 17 months.  I wish I'd found it earlier for DD, but she's learned some Spanish from me, books, etc.  I will likely enroll them both in Spanish classes by age 4 if not earlier.  I want them to be fluent.  I am conversational and wish I'd stuck with it to get to fluency.  I can get around a Spanish speaking country, but it's a struggle.

JOEBunny

I took 4 year of Latin, 2 years of Spanish, and one semester of Italian in Italy.  I can barely speak my way into a bathroom.  I would love for my kids to be different, but it it unlikely. 

Today at the playground a boy a year older than my son was talking to the father of one of my son's friends in French.  The father speaks 3 languages and is a SAHD to his son.  Their son, who is a week older than mine, will have probably know more than I can ever learn.  

I am just not good at it.  There is a preschool program here for Italian for 3 and 4 year olds.  DS will be the right age for it.  I would definitely consider it for DS.  (They only offer it every other year and DD was not in the right year.)  I would love to be able to play guitar and speak another language (Spanish).  

DevonPow

Yes, I do. I don't care what language, but I would like him to start fairly young just because it is easier to learn then. I took 4 years of Latin and 4 years of Spanish, but it is pretty much all gone. DH was fairly fluent in French and was conversational in Danish, but hasn't practiced in so long that both are very rusty.

A-baybride

We'd like our kids to be fluent in Chinese, which is DH's first language.  The best/easiest way for them to learn is to have their parents speak only that language to them, but DH has been lazy and hasn't done that, so they hardly know any. We'll probably end up paying for lessons, which is such a waste of effort and $ when they have a fluent parent!  But it's a useful language to know these days.

My sister's youngest just started an immersion school (free through their school district, though they had to "win" a lottery since it wasn't their home school) where they teach half the day in English and half in French.  You can only enter in the first grade.  I think it's a great thing to offer and it will be interesting to see how quickly she picks it up.

wildfloweragain

I definitely do want them to learn as many as they'd like, but at least one.  I'm pretty sure DS will be following in his dad's footsteps and become a firefighter, and while not necessary, it is helpful to be able to help people who only speak Spanish.

 

We won't do formal lessons until middle school probably because of limited time and money, but I do teach them as much as I can and of course we practice what we hear on Dora, Handy Manny, NiHao Kai Lan, etc.

 

I do totally agree with middle school being too late for speaking like a native speaker though.  I took French, Spanish, German and Italian in middle and high school, studied in France, and took French and Spanish in college.  My teaching concentration was foreign languages and I minored in Spanish.  I was going to be a teacher who teaches students of different native languages (it was called LEAP back then) but I found that I really dislike cities, so where I live there isn't much use for that.

 

My main thing I like about foreign languages is to be able to communicate with others.  So while I don't feel like my kids need to write perfect papers in other languages, I'd like them to be able to communicate.

 

ShufflerChick

We speak Russian at home (native) so DD is learning that as her first language. We recently hired a Spanish speaking nanny who communicates with her only in Spanish and after just one month, it seems DD already understands basic things (though doesn't speak any yet). DD is also enrolled in a part time English pre-school type program, so hopefully she starts picking that up as well, but we're not too concerned about English until actual pre-K or K.

The younger the better with languages. Russian was easy for us since we're native, and Spanish is probably the most useful in the US. I would like her to at least be able to understand and have basic conversations in Spanish, but Russian will be necessary to communicate with some of our family members who don't know English well.

Mrs Manners

I would love for Sean to be fluent I'm Spanish. Up until last month, we had a nanny from Costa Rica who spoke only Spanish to him so he understands a lot of Spanish and can speak some. Neither of us speak a second language.

femmegem

I want my kids to learn a foreign language for sure. I took Spanish in middle school, high school, and college, but I don't remember much. I also took some Italian and German in grad school. I can get around Greece with the little Greek I know. I really wish I spoke another language fluently.

mgfit1

Yes.  I want him to speak a foreign language.  I started speaking some Italian to him since he was a baby and he is now 4.  I am not fluent, but took lessons so I speak enough to teach him basic language.  We went to Italy with him last year and he used all of his Italian words like crazy and he wasn't even 3 yet!  I hope he continues to learn Italian and another language when he is older.

Angela814

REOM:

It's never too early to learn, but middle school is too late. According to a widely accepted linguistic hypothesis, if you learn past puberty, you will never be able to obtain native like proficiency b/c your palate freezes and you will physically not be able to form certain sounds.  This explains why many educated people, like doctors or professors, still have an accent after speaking English for 20+ years.

I've heard this too. I'd love for DD to learn another language. I don't really care which one. I minored in Spanish, although I don't remember much. I don't know when they start foreign languages in our public schools. I guess I need to start thinking about that.

DandelionMom

I think it is great for kids to know another language.  My girls have been getting Spanish lessons since preschool but it is only once a week until 3rd grade when it becomes twice a week.  I don't expect much more than the basics.  I learned a little Spanish in highschool. 

KoriBrett

Yes I'd like them to at least know the basics of one each. ?It's required for highschool graduation here anyway. ?I speak a few, and don't care which ones they learn. ?I'd like to put them both in the bilingual eng/span elementary school that's down the block, because the younger the better. ?Sam isn't interested, Bryan, we'll see. ?I won't force that much on them if they don't want it.

It's good to know the mechanics & basics of another language, it makes it easier to understand soooo many other things, especially with the romance/latin based languages. ?I mean, I don't speak a WORD of Spanish, but I can read & comprehend it simply b/c I had so much French.

citygirl22

Yes, we are raising DS to be bilingual in Spanish. I wasn't sure how to do this as I've read different articles supporting one way or the other (not to confuse him) but decided to pick a certain day where we only speak in Spanish. So all of the stories I read, the music we listen to and shows we watch are in Spanish on that day. He seems to enjoy it and kind of expects it each week. 

It's also very important to us that he learn Hebrew - he already knows a lot of songs. When he is a little older, I'm sure he will enjoy Hebrew school with his friends.

JenniC1135

goodheartedmommy:

I took 4 years of french. I don't remember as much as I'd like these days. Anyway, my kids know some spanish, but only what they've learned from Dora. I was just wondering when it was normal to start teaching them these days. I wasn't exposed to foreign language until Middle school, when I took mandatory Latin, and then was given the option of foreign language classes. I'm wondering if many people teach things other than spanish, since it's becoming a necessity for many jobs in the US.

 

I would LOVE for my kids to take Latin.  With a firm base in that, you can at least have a head start in knowing word derivations that allow you to understand all the languages that developed from it.  It helps you make connections that help immensely with vocabulary knowledge.

kickypants

I took Spanish all through high school and college, and it was one of my minors in college. DS1 took Spanish 1x/week in preschool last year, but now he switched schools and it's not offered and I'm bummed. We're considering sending him to a Spanish/Chinese immersion school for K next year. But we'll see. And I'm not adamant that they learn Spanish, either. I just think learning another language is amazing for brain development.

EliseB0323

I speak decent German and a little Russian. I have a very hard time learning languages though, so I would like DS to start learning one early. Research has shown that kids do better learning a language before the age of 9 or so. I don't care what language he choses, but Spanish would probably be the most useful where we live.

Dimplz

I was once near fluent in French but you know what they say...If you don't use it, you lose it!

I would like for DS to one day learn Spanish or Mandarin or even Hindi - something that will be relevant in the world as he gets older.