teaching young kids a second language. Which one?

[Papa Deuce]

I guess the obvious one would be Spanish, but if you were going to start young children learning a second language that wasn't Spanish, which would you choose and why?

I have read a few things that say that NOW is the time to start teaching them a second language as they will absorb it like a sponge..... they are 5.

 

[CJMickeyMouse]

I know this is not what you want to hear.... but I would do Spanish.

My boys did a high school Spanish course (Abeka video series) when they were in elementary school and it was wonderful. They absorbed it like a sponge and it's on their high school transcript.

I believe Abeka has other languages as well, but we chose Spanish as it is the most widely used in the midwest where we live.

Good luck!

 

[JennyMominRI]

Sign language

 

[Evil Queen]

Youngest son learned some French in day care and still knows a few words. One of his day care teachers was French. She obtained permission from the parents who were interested. He also knows some Russian too. My niece, was adopted from there and she's taught him a few sentences.

 

[damo]

My kids both were in French Immersion which started in Grade 1. They spent half of each school day totally immersed in French and by Christmas they were both speaking and understanding and thinking in French. It is really incredible what they absorb at that age.

 

[HayGan]

Mi y mis ninos hablan espanol

 

[belle_of_the_ball]

french....its a totally amazing language...and when you learn it...all these doors open!

i wish i knew it when i was younger...but ive started being immersed in it this year.......im picking it up and its wonderful

that or german...its similar to english

 

[momof3disneyholics]

My oldest son learned some sign language in Kindergarten and First Grade, and my daughter has been learning some Spanish. My youngest son has been learning sign language as his primary language since he was 3.

 

[liamandcaili]

DS is in first grade and has a Spanish class every week. I think he may know more than I do at this point, and I took Spanish in HS and one semester in college. If nothing else, he certainly remembers it better!

However, if I had my choice of languages for my children to learn, it would be French. I would love to learn French. I know it is not as practical as Spanish, but French is part of my ethnic background. Irish wouldn't be a bad choice either.

That said, I have the Rosetta Stone program for Spanish. I haven't started it yet, but I will...DS and DD included.

Really, I think that it doesn't matter what language they learn as long as they start early. It is much easier to learn additional languages if you already have a proficiency in two.

 

[Cantw8]

I taught my kids pig latin They are quite the experts and are often sought out for their linguistic talents

 

[Froggyswife]

I pick french as well, also french and spanish are pretty similar so if they pick up one now the other will be easier to learn later. Frog speaks a bit of french but can understand spanish even though he has never studied the language.

 

[Pooh67_68]

Don't know about Philly, but up here Spanish is now a required course in school.

 

[mylilnikita]

It is so much easier when small kids learn a second language then when they get older. My DF was stationed in the Azores islands twice-it is a island chain off of Portugal-and the second we stayed until it was almost time to start kindergarten. We lived off base and had a Portuguese nanny and I played with the Portuguese kids so I was very fluent in Portugeuse when we came back that the kindergarten teacher told my parents I had to brush up on my English. But now I can hardly remember any of it, no one else to speak it with.
In 8th grade, I was in a class that taught Spanish, German, Latin and French each language for a semester. I liked Spanish and German.
This may seem bad, but at my old job we hired a few really non English speaking people and I didn't let my job know that I can understand somewhat, but the workers knew if they said certain words of a bad word nature that I understood.

 

[Talking Hands]

I guess the obvious one would be Spanish, but if you were going to start young children learning a second language that wasn't Spanish, which would you choose and why?

I have read a few things that say that NOW is the time to start teaching them a second language as they will absorb it like a sponge..... they are 5.

American Sign Language because if they become good at it it can become a career. Also kids are fascinated by it.
My oldest speaks ASL, Spanish, French and English. The younger one speaks English, Spanish and German.

 

[Talking Hands]

My oldest son learned some sign language in Kindergarten and First Grade, and my daughter has been learning some Spanish. My youngest son has been learning sign language as his primary language since he was 3.

Is your son deaf? Are you learning it as well? Just curious.

 

[zulaya]

Spanish is a given...not just because of the Hispanic population in the US, but because of the number of Hispanic countries in the world that will develop into industrial nations in the next 50 years.

I don't know about where you live, but being a bilingual Spanish/English speaker is a huge skill to have...I see so many jobs in the want-ads saying that's a preferred qualification.

The other language that would be ideal is Mandarin Chinese. 1 billion people...they are going through their version of the industrial revolution, ready to break out soon as a major industrial power. If you can speak Chinese, you can be invaluable to businesses and governments in many capacities.

My kids go to a Spanish immersion elementary charter school. At some point, the directors are interested in exploring the possibility of having an immersion Chinese wing at the school and possibly other languages as well dependent on interest.

Learning languages early is easier for kids when they are younger. I'm all for it.

 

[WDWFAN9]

How about Chinese? Huge, huge, huge Chinese population!

 

[kendall]

It really doesn't matter which second language - whatever the learner can do in the first language, they can also do in the second language. The younger the better! And once you learn a second language, the third (or fourth, fifth..) is even easier.

 

[scrump]

It will be Japanese for us, but I would also consider French or German, simply because I learned those when I was a child. Other than that, I would also consider Chinese or even Arabic. I think there are plenty of opportunities in either business or government for those languages. After that, I'd probably just leave it up to the kid, when they get older.

 

[Mskanga]

It really doesn't matter which second language - whatever the learner can do in the first language, they can also do in the second language. The younger the better! And once you learn a second language, the third (or fourth, fifth..) is even easier.

I agree with that .