11 Plus Exams Forum

I have just found out that at my DS new school he will have a choice of
Russian,Latin or Mandarin chinese in year 7 ,alongside French,German or Spanish.
Wondered if anyone has any experiences of Russian or Mandarin as we have no ideas how to choose !
Do many grammars/independents offer this choice,I know my daughters doesn't !
Any thoughts or advise!
Thanks Pensby

More and more independents are offering Mandarin but often as a club. I think Mandarin is the best choice as it is the fastest growing economy and may be advantageous for her to speak it. I also think Spanish is a good option because Geographically it is the second most spoken language. Unfortunately my son is stuck with French, Latin and Greek - what good that will do, I do not know! In saying that if he goes to school in South Africa he'll be learning Zulu and Afrikaans, which are totally non-transferable!

Goodness Tipsy, that's the first time I've heard you mention the possibility of S Africa - that adds an extra complication to your Eton/Winchester/Choir school dilemmas

My DD's school (a Language College, comprehensive) does French or German in Yr 7 and then offers an additional range in Yr 8 including Spanish, Italian and Mandarin - there's an exchange trip to China etc and they've been running some Chinese language teaching for several years now. None of my children have opted for it, although I know a few others that have. I believe it is quite difficult for non-native speakers (as you would expect ) but certainly a fascinating option to have. I can just about manage "Ni hao"

I tried learning russian as an adult - absolutley loved it! Am no good at all but still enjoy having a go. There are quite a few cross overs with French and German words and the words are pronounced as they are written (once you get to grips with the alphabet that is.....)

Hi Pensby

This topic has come up in different forms before. There are some serious and not-so-serious comments about Mandarin here:

http://www.elevenplusexams.co.uk/forum/ ... nese#18256

Russian has never been debated before, but I have a feeling that it is "yesterday's language choice", perhaps in the way that German is increasingly being sidelined in some schools in favour of Spanish. It was popular at one time because of the Cold War, oddly enough, and was a reasonably well subscribed course at my Uni, but they seem to have dropped it completely.

The only person I ever knew who used Russian in his future career went to work for GCHQ. Of course, he couldn't actually tell me that he used Russian in his work, but I sort of made the connection for myself!

Personally I am a huge fan of Latin as the root of so many other languages.

Sally-Anne

Pensby - my sons' grammar has compulsory Mandarin Chinese in Year 7, alongside French. In year 8 they can swap Mandarin for German if they want. At GCSE they can choose from a range of other languages. My eldest dropped Mandarin like a hot brick at the end of Year 7, but I understand that about half his year wanted to continue with it. It seemed very hard to me, and the small number of students who are doing it at a higher level at my sons' school seem to have a specific reason for doing so (have family connections to China, want to go and work there etc).

Unfortunately they don't offer Latin, which I think is a huge shame. Having done Latin, German and French at school myself, while the French is always handy on holidays, on an intellectual level Latin has been the most useful language to have studied.

BUT it depends entirely on your son. It's unfortunate that he has to make the choice himself for year 7 as presumably he won't have had any experience of Russian, Latin and Chinese. Further up the school you'll probably find they do taster sessions in languages before any decisions have to be made.

My son loves Latin and I think it is valuable in understanding where many of our words come from, unfortunately it is not seen as valuable in the working world, unless you want to be a historian/archaeologist/linguist etc...

Thanks for all you replys,will give choice to DS ultimately,I think he favours german coz big sis does it ,but we'll see!
I work in a uni with lots of chinese students and I think it looks pretty scarey,DH did latin and enjoyed so maybe that will sway us !
Will read other linkt tomorrow when got more time
Pensby

Latin is also useful for those with a scientific bent - helps to work out what all those complicated words and abbreviations mean. For example, 'Pb' as the symbol for 'lead' is easier if you know that the Latin for lead is 'plumbum'; and then there is the link to French 'plomb' (lead); and what about the expression 'plumb line' - a line (originally) weighted with lead.

Russian was an option at my school. I thought all schools did it until I twigged that it was because we were in the same place as GCHQ..

Duhh