Which language would you choose?

[Stokey]

It's pretty early but DD1 in Y7 has to choose which language to do as a second language in Y8. In Y7 the year is split into two streams doing French or German. Dd1 is in the German stream. In Y8 they can choose a second language from whichever one they didn't do, Russian or Latin.

Dd1 is keen on Latin, but it would mean she'd have to do German GCSE as she has to do a MFL. The school doesn't offer Latin A level which I feel is a bit limiting as she wouldn't be able to follow through on one of her A levels subjects, although could leave for 6th form.

She's not keen on Russian. I think French probably makes more sense but she likes ancient history and would have liked to learn Spanish, which isn't an option.

Would you choose a subject for GCSE that you knew you couldn't do for A level?

It's really hard to study a language you're not keen on and I know people who studied Russian have complained that the grammar is very difficult so I think she should choose her first preference.

German and latin at GCSE - she needs to want to study the language. Very few do latin A level and not required for ancient history.

Russian and German have very similar grammar systems so it is easier to pick up from a German foundation, if that helps at all.

If she is unlikely to have much use for an extra language in her further education then pick the one that is easiest to get a higher grade in.

If she's happy to do German gsce than it doesn't matter really

You’re overthinking. Just let her choose what she likes best.

Spanish. 3rd most spoken language in the would.
Im a Spanish speaker by birth.

Why not think of the countries themselves? Which country is she more likely to spend time in, in the future?

Having travelled round Europe once I'd finished school, I realised that I'd wished I'd taken French A-Level instead of German because I like France much more and would have enjoyed the benefit of more easy communication that A-Level would have given me.

Instead I have never been back to Germany since I was 17 where I went, purely to try and learn it a bit better for 1 week. Why? Nothing wrong with Germany but for holidays and fun I prefer France. Better food, nicer beaches, easier access, lots of ferries, Eurostar etc

I've been back to France multiple times...

Sorry Germany but nein danke.

Sorry I see she can't take French. Quelle horreur!

Ah well, Deutschland uber alles it is then!

Wouldn't bother with Latin A-Level. Boris has given Latin generally the kiss of death!

If she wants to do Latin then she should do Latin. I've studied Russian and I loved it, but if you're not keen on it then it would be a hard slog. I can't comment on French, but it sounds like your daughter is set on Latin anyway. If she desperately wants to do Latin post-GCSE she could probably find a way to do so.

@Bluejag Spanish isn't an option, otherwise she would have definitely chosen that.

She's not keen on Russian so it's either Latin or French. It's hard to know whether she will go on to use languages or not. She's only 12 and isn't keen on science so don't want to limit her other options.

@NoMoreFries it's a good point about the countries she'd like to travel to.

@BurbageBrook I think I am overthinking it. I did Latin A level so have a soft spot for it, but will let her decide. They have a taster lesson in each over the next few weeks to help them decide.

I'd go with Latin, for my personal preference.

Quite a bit of ancient history too with Latin, not to mention many law phrases too.

Latin GCSE is great - Latin A Level is hellish (BTDT)

I'd go for German and Latin.

Latin gives a good basis for lots of languages. That said I had French and Latin (and German and English as first language was something else again) and added Spanish at uni and to be honest the Latin completely confused me with Spanish as its very similar but different enough. Just go with whichever language she finds the most interesting.

Latin GCSE is a total doddle compared with a modern language, provided you have a decent memory.

Latin and German complement each other very well. Although there are fewer word root similarities than between eg Latin and French, there is lots of grammatical similarity with things like word order and cases. And if she's interested in the ancient world then I would definitely go for Latin.

Latin! Makes it much rasier to pick up bits of Italian and Spanish later.

Russian would be much harder to study and is very unlikely to be of any use to her.

What a shame the school has such silly options. Ours is similar but Ancient Greek inatead of Latin. What on earth is the point. DD wants to learn Italian (the only language I wish I’d learned) but god forbid they learn something they can actually use 😔

I would have chosen French or Russian, but she will do much better in subjects that she actually wants to do, so she should pick Latin.

@Itonlytakesonetree

Russian and German have very similar grammar systems so it is easier to pick up from a German foundation, if that helps at all.

Native German speaker with an MA in Russian here. No, they really don't have "similar grammar systems".

OP I would advise against Russian unless theres some connection to the wider Slavic area. It takes very long to get to a reasonable level, chiefly because there's very little overlap in vocabulary with other European languages she'll have come across, also the grammar is quite complex.

I did eight years of Latin in secondary school and found it gave me a great grounding for learning modern languages later on. The way Latin is taught it's also great training in text analysis and close reading of sources so valuable for wider academic skills for uni.

If it comes to modern languages I'd go for French over Spanish every time. Iit's considerably more complex so much harder to pick up later, whereas with a grounding in French she can easily pick up Spanish later on with a vacation course or self study (been there done that).

I’m not sure Boris and Latin go together. He’s more into Ancient Greek. Mary Beard is your lady for Latin. It’s not any help for law but some ancient history degrees will require you do do Latin and Greek modules.

Therefore do whatever she feels is best after the taster lessons. MFL and languages are not all about speaking the languages. Culture and literature should be considered too. Not just holidays!

I just did French at school but my husband did Latin and it's noticeable that he has a knowledge of roots of so many words in our vocabulary, particularly noticeable when doing crosswords. Our youngest daughter, who did French and Spanish at University has often said how useful it would have been to have done Latin at school and was envious of her brother who had been able to study it up to GCSE.

Latín will be handy for learning Spanish later on as there are a lot of similarities

@NoMoreFries

Sorry I see she can't take French. Quelle horreur!

Ah well, Deutschland uber alles it is then!

Wouldn't bother with Latin A-Level. Boris has given Latin generally the kiss of death!

How rude!

I did Latin a level. It was a complete waste of time. Id do zger.an. I speak French and German and much prefer German