What's the best foreign language to teach a kid?

[Shanty Oilish]

Say middle school level student. Spanish for social reasons, Chinese for career potential, Arabic because it's easier, or Greek for intellectual benefits? Or something else? I've got books and tapes for all sorts of languages, can't make up our minds.

[Kamika]

1. I'd say spanish

Definetly Spanish


Chinese or Hindu for future job careers

[idlisambar]

7. common mistake

Hindu -- the religion
Hindi -- the language
:)

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

2. The only reason I'd go for Spanish is that

there are so many similar languages that it then makes it easier to become multi lingual as opposed to bilingual.

[Book Lover]

16. In that case, Latin

and Ancient Greek. I agree: multi-lingual is the goal, not just bi...

[LuLu550]

3. Spanish

or French

[GreenArrow]

4. why stop at one?

I'd start with Spanish, simply due to its applicability/practicality.

[Semi_subversive]

5. Don't laugh, but Latin

I have introduced all three of my kids to Latin and it's roots and it has helped them learn Spanish, German, French and Italian on a much more rapid pace.

[Shanty Oilish]

9. Not even in question

Laugh? The kid's been studying Latin for 3 years. She's better at it than I am.

[EstimatedProphet]

6. Latin

So that they can have a good grip on other languages (including English), and so that they can understand their doctor's prescriptions.

[Sandpiper]

8. I'd say Spanish for a couple of reasons

1) It's the most prevalent second language in this country

2) If you can achieve fluency in one Latin based language, it's not difficult to learn the others.

[boobooday]

12. Espanol por favor

It's a fun language, and you get a lot of chances to practice it with real Spanish speakers.

http://www.wgoeshome.com

[Jack_Dawson]

10. Japanese

It's the easiest to learn and draw.

[KCDem]

11. depends where you live

I'm in Houston, and sooooooooooooooo many of the want-ads ask for people bilingual in English/Spanish. I've had a bit of Spanish, but am (was) fluent in Russian and German instead. When I send off a resume, that usually gets me some attention.

If you're also in the South--Spanish can't hurt, by any means. But, when it comes to actually getting a job and standing out, I'd go for Chinese or Arabic, of the languages you listed.

[DuctapeFatwa]

13. Mandarin, Spanish English, are the 3 most popular

so those are all good values. Bahasa Indonesia is a good bargain, you get to talk to people from 9 islands and understand a little bit of a bunch more.

Arabic is a good value in theory but in practice it is so different in different places that you have to be careful not to have your kid ending up like somebody who learned English in Devonshire and then moved to Louisiana and tried to start a conversation.

If you teach them Hindi, you have secretly taught them a whole bunch of Urdu but you should never say that, as it makes people very mad. They use different alphabets and well, long story.

French is popular, and they will be able to talk to lots of people in Africa and in fancy restaurants.

[madrchsod]

14. french

[Deja Q]

15. C

Java
HTML

Then teach him Indian...

</sardonic commentary on the anti-american corporations, traitors to us :-( >

[Lars39]

17. What books and tapes do you have?

:hi:

[Shanty Oilish]

26. You name it, I got it

Encylopedias in Spanish, Italian, French, German. Grammars and dictionaries in Japanese, Mandarin, Cantonese, Catalan, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Malayan, Urdu, Sanskrit, Dutch, Hungarian...grammars plus books and magazines in Arabic, Russian, Spanish...books, tapes, records, you name it. I'm not fluent in all of them, needless to say!

[Lars39]

32. Wow! That's quite a collection!

Lots to choose from, that's for sure. :)

[Florida_Geek]

18. I worked in doing the language support for a major

piece of software. Outside of the Americas Spanish is not used. Spanish is a minor language in Europe. German and French are the major languages. Almost everybodies second language in Europe is English.

[murielm99]

19. Hispanics are the fastest growing segment of our population.

Spanish is the best choice, just to be able to converse with our fellow Americans.

[fleetus]

20. Sign Language (especially if they can't speak yet)

It gets rid of a lot of frustration for very young children.

Oh, but middle school... let the kid decide for themself. I'd say it's more important that they are interested in learning the language.

[Padraig18]

21. Spanish

Over a billion people in our own hemisphere speak it. :)

[Flaxbee]

22. Spanish & Portuguese

...then she'll have the entire Western Hemisphere pretty much covered...

I studied French, Spanish and Italian but became fluent in none (at least not yet!). Spanish and Italian are not interchangeable, but quite complementary.

Russian would be neat to have, or perhaps Mandarin Chinese. China now has the world's biggest economy, and China, Russia & India have a mutual defense pact. If you think your daughter might be at all interested in government/politics one day, a language from one of those three countries might be helpful.

[tigereye]

esperanto?

sorry silly mood

Actually Latin is great, also increases SAT verbal scores, although they probably all do.

[Eumenides]

23. Spanish is the loving tongue.

I prefer French.
:bounce:

[HawkerHurricane]

24. Depends on what the Kid wants, eh?

Middle school age, she should be making some of her own decisions.

Story about learning a language...

Way back in 1983, I had a school buddy, majoring in Theatre with me, who spoke and read fluent Chinese... of several types.

When I last heard from him (1988?), he had gotten his Master's in Theatre Arts, and worked for the CIA... Translating and interpeting Chinese Plays and Movies... Seems that whenever the Chinese government wants to start a trend, they make a movie and/or play about it. If you can figure out the message in the latest plays and movies, you have a idea where the Chinese government is planning to go next. Go figure, a Theatre Major working for the CIA.

[Shanty Oilish]

28. She's very agreeable

Like me, in this regard. "Whatever." Anything short of mortuary science, she's willing to learn it.

[fleetus]

34. Language is worth getting fired up about.

Besides the many practical reasons listed on this post, language is an opportunity to explore another culture. Maybe there is a culture she is interested in learning more about? That might help the choice seem less humdrum to her. Good luck!

On edit, a personal story: I picked German back in Jr. High based on an interest in the culture. I think it was a good justification because I stayed interested in the language for many years. Lots of my friends who took Spanish only because they thought it would "come in handy" saw their school work mostly as a chore.

[SOteric]

25. Since the child has a grounding in Latin, I'd say the next step

is a grounding in Mandarin. Latin provides a grounding in many western languages.

Mandarin will help provide a grounding in many Asian Languages.

[Shanty Oilish]

31. And you never run out of stuff to read

:thumbsup:

[Jersey Devil]

27. umm, teach him to speak Joisey

It always gets a laugh!

[Shanty Oilish]

30. In my youth I went there often

and never heard anyone speak Joisey on their side of the water! You notice little things, like they pronounce "broom" as "brum" rather than "brooom." (Short oo as in hook, not long oo as in moon.)

All that flavorful dialect is on the NY side, or I didn't wander around enough!

[renegade000]

29. chinese and latin....

eom

[The Lone Liberal]

33. Chinese

With the economic policy being pursued and support by the Republicans, China will own this country in the next ten years. So get a head start on qualifying for a house servant position and learn Mandarin Chinese.