Almost unrestricted choice of Modern Language for yr9. How to choose? Help!

[SpecialistSubject]

So - you're 13 and about to move from prep to senior school. You have to choose one ML to take alongside French. (Grammar reasonably advanced so far, vocab somewhat neglected ...) After yr9 you can carry on with both to GCSE or drop the new ML. (No late changes of mind possible.)

The options are Spanish, Italian, German, Russian, Japanese, Mandarin.

You like, and will continue with, Latin. You're neutral (and damn lazy) on Greek. If your choice doesn't work out you'll have only one ML GCSE / IGCSE (not certain which exam atm.) And you're currently 13 less unenthusiastic about Arts than Sciences so languages are more likely to feature in your future school career.

Your family are dithering. Pros / cons blah blah blah ...

Please advise.

Spanish (as so many people globally speak it) or mandarin

Spanish. German isn't a UN language I think and anything with a new alphabet seems to much hard slog to get to GCSE standard in 3 years.

Spanish.I found knowing Latin and French really helped when learning Spanish. Alternatively, mandarin, much sought after apparently.

Spanish

Hmm DD's school has a very advanced mandarin program and the grades are excellent,but if you don't take it in year 7 you can not take it at GCSE. Even then the pace is fast and furious and all who take it are warned how much hard work is required.
French, Italian, Spanish and German you can pick up in years 8 and 9.
This is a school that is very successful at languages .

Spanish due to it's similarities with French and Latin.

Any vague career ideas yet?

Spanish will be v easy to pick up later for anyone who already has French and Latin, so I'd say Mandarin or possibly Russian.

This is so not going the way I want.

Ds has a free choice of languages for year 7. He will have to take this language for gcse. He has chosen Spanish as he goes on holiday to Spanish countries & becsuse his favourite footballers are Spanish.

Dd wanted to choose German as there are lots of jobs for dancers in Germany. Unfortunately the school she ended up going to offers only french.

I think it's important for a child to choose the language they will be motivated to do well in even if their reasons are strange.

Not the foggiest idea Irene. (Education wasted on the young etc.) I agree it would be more canny to take advantage of superb teaching at school to learn a language that would be hard as an adult.

I've just read something that says Japanese would be good if you're interested in Robotics. Now I'm all excited. But it's not my decision.

Still dithering.

Spanish. Spoken in loads of countries all over the world.

Another one for Spanish. Mandarin would be incredibly difficult. German is only spoken in Germany, Austria and a tiny bit if Switzerland. Italian would be my second choice because it's easy

italian would be a really easy language plus nice holiday excuse

russian handy for m16

We are also dithering.

DS can do French OR Spanish (with the option of picking French back up in Yr 10) and German OR Italian.

No Mandarin or Japanese on offer, Russian from scratch in Year 10.

DS's current plan is to give French a rest and start Spanish (the Common Entrance French is practically GCSE already) and to try German (Dad speaks good German, so can help with prep!). He will probably swap one of them back to French in Yr 10, but who knows...

However, he had a very glamorous Italian ski instructor last week, so things may change...

Mandarin.

Spanish. If DC is already pretty good at French and Latin it will be pretty easy and a quickly banked GCSE...

To be fair a GCSE in a language is hardly going to lead you to the level of fluency you'd need to do Japanese robotics so unless your child is prepared to study languages at degree level and beyond and live and work abroad, the choice they face now is almost irrelevant.

Excellent point Jean. (Dash it!)

Or if you're saying DC might want to make a career out of languages, Mandarin. It's a shame they're not offering Arabic. I think the world needs more Westerners who can speak Arabic.

Italian, because its lovely

Does it really matter at GCSE level? Whichever she chooses will be part of the rounded education that is expected at this level.

If there is likely to be a career in languages then obviously she should go for the one most spoken or of use.

Mandarin is great if interested in business or as a translator for businesses.
Spanish is very widely spoken, German is supposed to be quite easy if she has other ambitions and language is just because there is no option.

Japanese, for the novelty value and of course quite unique as many won't be offered this language.

Luckily French is compulsory as it's been studied throught prep. I would be dismayed at the thought of an English teen not having the opportunity to study French literature in the original at least from GCSE level.

Who are all these people who found German easy?

I completely agree on Arabic. I have a feeling it might be offered at A' Level but I'm nowhere near the bumph and the website is down atm so I can't check.

specialist any language with a different alphabet or characters for mandarin and Japanese requires an extra level of graft and rote learning before it becomes second nature. I do think that despite the basic level acquired at GCSE it does allow an insight into the different cultures that may spark a further interest. If your DS prefers the easier options Spanish and German are pretty equal but I think German is easier for a logical thinker.
Perhaps more opportunities to do Italian ab initio at university.

German.

Actually, it really doesn't matter at this stage. Motivation is key, really. A good linguist will pick up other languages easily, and most languages can these days be studied ab initio at university.

With French and Latin, Spanish and Italian should be relatively easy to pick up. So if your ds is not particularly motivated, they would be the easiest option.
If he likes the logic of Latin, then German may suit him well ( and it's a good language to know for business).

If he fancies something a bit different, then give Japanese, Mandarin or Russian a go.