Languages

[Tw1nkle]

Hi,
All the high schools by us teach either French or German.

I was taught spanish at school.

I would like to start introducing my DD to a language, but not too sure which one!
I have no idea why the high schools don't offer Spanish, as that would be my first choice.
Which would you pick? Spanish/French/German?
Thanks!

Spanish is much easier than French or German and more widely spoken.

Once schools invest in courses, they tend to stick with them. In the UK there are also far more teachers who know French, because that was traditionally the main foreign language. It took a while to replace Latin.

I would go with Spanish - it might not be taught at her senior school but that doesn't matter IMO.

sadly I actually think Latin is probably more use than French in the real world, at least you end up very good at English grammar and spelling.

Whichever you are most comfortable with, and will most be able to interact and support your child's learning.
Bilingual household here, but really struggled with YR French songs which came home last term!

I am not sure how it works where you live but unfortunately we can't decide which language your child gets to learn at secondary or primary for that matter.

So I would teach my DD something that I know pretty well. But any extra language you learn at a young age is supposed to help you learn more languages iykwim.

According to the GCSE options info provided to us by DD school, Latin seems to be the one which is most sought after by universities. No Spanish in our school either so DD has decided she wants to do the GCSE at our local adult education centre. If you really want Spanish it may be worth going it outside school.

Latin is not sought after if you want to study Spanish and French at University. The Universities will want Spanish and French! Latin helps with most languages but it is not necessary for many courses and, as few schools offer it, it is not very sought after.

According to the literature given by our school
Latin continues to be one of the most highly regarded subjects in the academic world being such a traditional, stimulating and diverse subject. On account of its non-English word structure and sentence patterns, Latin has for centuries stimulated such mental qualities as being observant, accurate, analytical and logical. Therefore the mind is challenged in demanding and practical ways. Those who study Latin are able to define and solve problems, think on their feet and arrive at sound and effective solutions. A qualification in Latin enables candidates to stand out from their peers and presents them to be very intelligent, diverse

I'm happy to take their word for it.

Some secondary schools in our area teach Spanish to GCSE and A level. If there is a school local to you with a Language specialism they may offer a wider range of languages e.g. Russian or Mandarin.
The language offered usually depends on which languages the teachers have studied so sometimes a "rare" language may be taught by one teacher.
At dds primary school there was a KS1 teacher who was Spanish so they did have one Spanish lesson a week.
dds secondary school teaches French and German but Spanish is offered as a lunch-time club. HTH

Merlinfromcamelot, Russian and German offer the same benefits as Latin in terms of having highly complex and logical grammar, with the additional advantage that they are spoken by live people. I'd chose them over Latin in a shot if they are available.

Both subjects are also in decline in schools, so sadly, they would also help you to stand out.