Y7 choose Latin or Spanish

[jelliebelly]

ds(11) attends a private prep school. Has been taught French since Yr4 and we've been told he needs to choose either Latin or Spanish to learn alongside French from Y7. Neither dh or I have a clue about languages and I'm seeking some views on which would be more beneficial in the long run. Any thoughts/insight welcomed!

I'd go for Latin on the basis that your DS is unlikely to be able to pick it up in future outside of school - Spanish can be started later in secondary school or out of school.

Ooh, I'd pick Latin too. I love it, and it's great for developing logical thinking, and just an understanding of language in general. Not that many schools do it now, whereas loads do Spanish, so I think it stands out a bit more too on application forms etc.

DS started Latin this year. He is 'grammar policeman' so is loving it. Since French and Spanish are both Latin based languages it will help if he picks up Spanish later on. It's all about grammar so also helps with English.

I agree - Latin all the way. He can easily pick Spanish up later on if he so wishes, and Latin is an excellent basis for learning MFLs.

I did GCSE Latin and have no regrets. Have never studied Spanish so cannot compare.

DS1 has minimal aptitude for foreign languages but managed an A in GCSE Latin, with comparatively little effort.

DS2 likes Latin because the grammar is predictable and there aren't many irregularities. Just over a year until his GCSE exam and he is hoping for a grade 7 or 8.

DD likes Latin because unlike MFL there's no speaking or listening element (she has auditory processing disorder).

DS3 enjoys Latin, but is not planning to carry on with it until GCSE.

Oh I'd say Latin too, for the reasons above (and I'm a Spanish teacher!)

I learned Latin at school and loved it - lots of social history tied up with it, not to mention the ability to translate random tombstones all over Europe! It has definitely helped me with Italian, French and Spanish, not to mention English grammar.

I did French and German at A Level.

My daughter did Spanish and Latin at GSCE.

I would choose Latin. I always wish I had been given the opportunity to study it. People (on MN) always seem to say that you come across as "more intelligent" if you have a Latin qualification on your CV. No idea if this is true, but I would be impressed!

Definitely Latin. I studied French, German, Latin and Ancient Greek at school. Since then I've studied Spanish and Japanese. I found Spanish easy to pick up and knowledge of grammar helped with Japanese. I'm also able to comprehend basic Italian.

Does your DS have a view?

I cant see one being inherently better than the other to be honest. Nothing special about Latin. Just another language IMO. All languages are complex, rich and rewarding qnd will open particular doors.

I would have loved to have done Latin at school.

What does he fancy.

Dd really wanted to do Latin but it wasn't offered at her school.

DS on the other hand absolutely hates it & is counting the days until he can drop it.

Latin because it's harder to find lessons elsewhere, and also because when I was doing GCSE Latin, I could translate Spanish political newspaper articles better than my friends who were studying Spanish, whereas they were stumped by my Cicero texts.

I did Latin on the basis I wouldn't be so likely to have the chance later - I did French and Latin to A-level, and I could more or less read Spanish and Italian as a result. I've since done Spanish and German (which would have been my non-Latin school alternative) to AS-level at evening classes (there weren't enough people interested in A2 in either case.)

I loved Latin. I found it really intuitive and if nothing else gives you a fun party trick when you can decipher inscriptions. In fact Latin was my favourite subject at school and I did it for A Level.

If he does Latin, it might avoid some embarrassing misunderstandings

Latin is the foundation of most modern European languages so it will be an aide to further learning.

Disclaimer: I read Classics at uni.

A vote for Latin here too

Also voting for Latin (I took it to A Level). It's a great foundation for modern languages and grammar as well as ancient history. It's a good intellectual challenge and something hard to pick up later in life due to lack of opportunity. Once you have Latin, basic Spanish should be a doddle to pick up.

wow thanks for all the responses - just coming back to this after a busy few days. They will be having taster sessions on both spanish and latin at school this week to help them decide but the responses on here are pretty unanimous ( a mn rarity!).

let me offer an alternative opinion then - I studied French & Spanish at uni and have never studied Latin in my life. French and Spanish already have a lot of synergies so adding Spanish in after several years of French will mean it is comparatively easy to pick up.

I agree Latin is an academically interesting subject - and one I may have a go at learning in my later years! - but Spanish is something that has an immediate application.

At the end of the day any dc needs to buy into whatever decision is made - no point choosing Latin if all his mates are studying Spanish and get to go on a great Spanish exchange for example?

DH studied Latin, he very quickly got to grips with French, Spanish and Portuguese. I have taken years to learn those languages!

I did both and enjoyed both. I'd say it's very much a question of what your dc wants to get out of the lessons.

Latin does more or less presuppose an interest in the past and is great for somebody who likes to see patterns and apply logical thinking. You can hardly do it without a lot of thinking about languages and the skillset you get from that will help you with any further language studies later.

What it won't give you, of course, is the chance to actually get out there and talk to people. If that is what he wants, or if he has a specific interest in modern Mediterranean culture, then Spanish would be the way to go.