I'd like DD1 (aged 5) to learn a foreign language and believe the earlier the better.
Today I saw a flier for lessons in our local area - French, Italian, Spanish or Mandarin.
I'm torn.
I know French quite well and have a smattering of Italian and Spanish (but feel confident I could pick it up pretty quickly). So the advantage is that we could have conversations at home in those languages and/or I could give her a hand if she had questions. But really, they'd be of limited use to her apart from travelling.
I don't know any Mandarin. I'm not sure I could 'pick it up' unless I had lessons myself (whereas with the European languages, I could teach myself because I have the foundations). I think Mandarin could possibly be useful to her in the future given China's increasing role in the world economy.
But, I also feel silly for choosing a language based on increasing her employment prospects. She's FIVE for goodness sake.
The other thing is that our area is not at all multicultural. It would be awesome if she learnt some Mandarin and then struck up some conversations with Mandarin-speakers when we visit the city (she's very, very outgoing).
So I guess what I'm saying is that I think she 'should' learn Mandarin but learning a European language would be much easier from my point of view and something we could share.
I've no idea what languages the local schools offer.
I don't think it matter what language she learns. Any language is an asset.
I would argue that employment is probably not an issue that you need to worry about. There are plenty of jobs for people who are fluent in European languages and if she learns one language then learning a 3rd language will be easier if she does decide that she needs it later. Also because European languages share a common root being fluent in one will make it much easier for her to understand another.
If you are fluent in French then maybe that is the best language because you can practice together between lessons. I think that in any language where learning is based on 1 or 2 hours formal instruction a week what happens between the lessons is very important. If you don't practice your vocab etc then you won't progress fast.
I've always favored learning European languages because they are linguistically related to English, and it strengthens English use as well. For example, knowing French and Spanish, I can often decode unknown words with roman root words in them. Handy in medical and academic settings. It was also very handy when I worked for a business with lots of Italian speakers as I could understand most of what they were saying. I'm not sure that mandarin would allow you to decode other "close" languages or whether there even are other close languages?
I don't think it matters which language you learn, learning a language unlocks your brain in a certain way to help you in all sorts of things! It is a very good way to use and train your brain. There is lots of research into the benefits of being bilingual that are far more important than employability. I think you should choose a language you will be able to assist and brush up on because nothing helps in learning than having someone to practise with.
I am fluent in German and I've basically never used it besides when traveling in Germany but I know it was an invaluable tool to learn and would never think of it as a waste to have done.
ETA: I do think it is really important to have someone to keep your skills near the surface, I lost so much of my ability just from having no reason to use it. I then made a German friend so that keeps it relevant and forces my brain to retain it all haha although I know I used to know things a lot more or faster mostly... I did learn about 15yrs ago now... when I was young, about 7 I think? Until year 10 so many, many years of learning.
OK, think you've all persuaded me to go European. Thank you. Now I'm excited about chatting away with my little munchkin in another language.
Jellyfish, if they offered German it would be a no-brainer. I'm much more fluent in German (7years of study) than French (2 years of study) and my French accent is appalling.
I say Italian, because I love it It's the language of music and also because i adore Italy. Otherwise Spanish, because so much of the world speaks Spanish. Obviously more people speak Mandarin, but she'll probably learn that at school anyway.
Mandarin is a very hard language to learn. Party because it is tonal. One word can be said four different ways. To learn to hear that tone and be able to make the tones is a great thing. Many adults can't do it myself inc. Another reason is the sentence structure is very different. Ie we would ask "what do you want to eat?" in Mandarin you ask "you want eat what?" so the brain switches around a lot. Once you get round the grammar and can hear the tones it gets easier. My kids don't have much difficulty switching between languages but the 1st year the start school (school is in Mandarin) they have a few mistakes.
Mandarin is in the top 3 most spoken languages.
European languages are much easier to learn as an adult and perhaps easier for you to help with.
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European Language or Mandarin?
It's the language of music and also because i adore Italy. Otherwise Spanish, because so much of the world speaks Spanish. Obviously more people speak Mandarin, but she'll probably learn that at school anyway.
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