Language
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Language
My dd's school gave slip to choose one of the languages from German ,Spanish and Latin to study from year8 . She already learn French from yr7 and she enjoyed very much.I don't have any idea. Please give any advice if wold be appreciate. THank You
Re: Language
French and Spanish are widely spoken around the world and have a large area of overlap, so would go well together.
Latin provides a great understanding of both French and English, however, the grammar is tough and obviously there is no spoken element. The chances of studying Latin in later life are probably slimmer than those of Spanish and German.
German is only spoken in parts of Europe, but has overlaps with English. German grammar is very structured and suits a logical mind.
Do the school do taster lessons?
Latin provides a great understanding of both French and English, however, the grammar is tough and obviously there is no spoken element. The chances of studying Latin in later life are probably slimmer than those of Spanish and German.
German is only spoken in parts of Europe, but has overlaps with English. German grammar is very structured and suits a logical mind.
Do the school do taster lessons?
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hermanmunster
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Re: Language
German and Latin are becoming increasingly rare subjects amongst university students - hordes of people doing French and Spanish - whereas the german students can all fit on one bus.
Having said that at the local GS there are plenty of A level german students and a number less than 3 taking french!
Depends what your DD wants to do - if keen on languages then maybe try a little latin - however would probably need to try spanish or german later.
Having said that at the local GS there are plenty of A level german students and a number less than 3 taking french!
Depends what your DD wants to do - if keen on languages then maybe try a little latin - however would probably need to try spanish or german later.
Re: Language
Thank you for your replies. I don't think any taster lessons in the school anyway I am going to speak to the school on Monday.
Re: Language
If possible it's worth checking with students further up the school to find out what the teachers are like. Our limited experience suggests that a good teacher can make a big difference to learning a language easily and well!
There's also something to be said for looking at the grades gained by youngsters in each language at GCSE. These things can give you a hint on how well particular languages are taught at your DD's school.
There's also something to be said for looking at the grades gained by youngsters in each language at GCSE. These things can give you a hint on how well particular languages are taught at your DD's school.
Re: Language
a sad but not surprising article... though I know that many on this forum have wonderful children who excel in languages... if they are not bilingual or mastering even more languages...
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/2 ... n-monoglot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ds and I have recently been speechless by a video we watched on you tube about a young man who can speak fluently 11 languages (look for the title: How did I become fluent in 11 languages). Of course, I can’t judge his accent in many languages, but I can say that in French, he is ‘pretty’ good though we can hear that he is not native!!! Some children are so gifted!! I am not surprised he is studying at Oxford.
http://www.economist.com/news/britain/2 ... n-monoglot" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Ds and I have recently been speechless by a video we watched on you tube about a young man who can speak fluently 11 languages (look for the title: How did I become fluent in 11 languages). Of course, I can’t judge his accent in many languages, but I can say that in French, he is ‘pretty’ good though we can hear that he is not native!!! Some children are so gifted!! I am not surprised he is studying at Oxford.
Re: Language
and just a quick comment (feel free to tell me I'm wrong), but the main reason that German was originally taught in schools was that because it was the language of science and if you wanted to be a scientist you did German.
Steve
Steve
Re: Language
SteveDH wrote:and just a quick comment (feel free to tell me I'm wrong), but the main reason that German was originally taught in schools was that because it was the language of science and if you wanted to be a scientist you did German.
Steve
I got told that too, and as an engineer I can safely say not knowing German has not been a problem, not professionally any way.
However I do think it suits the more logical mind and apparently the second most spoken language in Europe.
However I did marry someone part German, and there are frequent family get togethers. Knowing German would be useful. Thankfully DD has just started learning and is really motivated. She wants to be able to speak to her German relatives. MIL wasn't brought up speaking German as she was born in the UK just before WWII, so DH only knows what he learnt at evening classes. No chance to learn it at school.
Re: Language
At the grammar stream in our comp they do French and German.
At the grammar school dc do French, Spanish and Latin. No German because, as they put it, more countries speak Spanish than German and most Germans speak English. I find it a little sweeping they consider "most German people speak English". The school did not seem to consider Latin a language.
Dd1 is doing German and doing well, I can see it is logical. Ds1 is doing French and also doing well.
Dd2 at gs is enjoying Spanish, she says it is "easy" but she has only had two lessons so who knows
At the grammar school dc do French, Spanish and Latin. No German because, as they put it, more countries speak Spanish than German and most Germans speak English. I find it a little sweeping they consider "most German people speak English". The school did not seem to consider Latin a language.
Dd1 is doing German and doing well, I can see it is logical. Ds1 is doing French and also doing well.
Dd2 at gs is enjoying Spanish, she says it is "easy" but she has only had two lessons so who knows
Re: Language
ginx wrote:No German because, as they put it, more countries speak Spanish than German and most Germans speak English.
Marylou
