I have been trying to figure out for some time when to start a foreign language and how many languages to teach my child. It seems there is so much out there that could and may be beneficial to teach but not enough time to do it all in. So I must pick and choose as we all must.

There are a few questions you should ask yourself when deciding on when to teach, what to teach, etc... 

• What  are your goals are for these languages?  
• What are your reasons for learning them?  
• Do you have an idea as to what you plan to use?
• What materials do you want to use and what ages/grades are they designed to be used with.

For us, we have 5 languages that we plan on learning about in addition to English. 

ASL -- our goal with this is to be able to communicate with mother-in-law. She is an interpreter. We want to have a good vocabulary and I am hoping that someday we will all become fluent in this language. If not -- that's okay as well. This is not a language that they have to be fluent in. The program that I have chosen is geared toward young children and ASL is a great way for toddlers to first communicate with others. Hence -- the age when we begin this study.

Spanish -- I think this is something the kids HAVE to be fluent in just because of where we live. Spanish is used at least as often as English and sometimes even more often. 

Latin & Greek -- A lot of our words come from these two languages. By studying these they will understand their native tongue better. Also a lot of other languages are based off of these as well. With a firm foundation in these they will be more easily be able to learn other languages and succeed in college and future careers.

 At the high school level, I let my child choose a language to learn. I think this makes for great practice for planning their college education and also gets them started on a move individualized education. Up until this point - for the most part, I have decided what they will learn. They will be studying this language for high school credit.

The United States seems to be behind in language teaching compared to a lot of other countries where a child is required to be fluent in several languages upon graduation. I feel that this is important due to the global society we live in today. 

This chart shows what I plan to teach and at what grade level in addition to English.  I hope this helps you as well. 

Copyright © 2006 Tuscan Sun Academy
Last modified: June 26, 2006