Latin as only language?

[Anonymous]

What are people's thoughts about choosing Latin as one's only foreign language? My DC may do this, not for any great love of the language, but because DC started it in middle school and doesn't want to pick up a new language. I am uncomfortable with DC graduating with no foreign language experience, but then again my own lack of fluency in another language has not set me back. Advice? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

How many years would he study it? I think it could work in his favor if he goes to Latin IV or higher. It's harder than Spanish or French. Does he know what he's getting into?

[Anonymous]

I am not a native English speaker. Having lived in several European countries and traveled across the world, I think English is the single most important live language to master. The reason English-speaking children learn something else is to exercise their brains and tout their multilingualism on their resumes.
Latin is a good exercise (my grandfather and his brother conversed fluently in it), but a dead language does not do much for your resume!
I would convince your child to start a live language, and keep or drop Latin.

[Anonymous]

If DC's in high school, the resume isn't the issue. It's the colege admissions folks. I've heard they are impressed with students who take Latin because it's challenging and those who go to high levels learn history, mythology and read great literature. I would love to know whyt OP's child (I assumed it was a boy) is drawn to Latin over, say, Spanish.

[Anonymous]

21:56 here. Interesting perspective, PP. If that is the case, then Latin it is.

[Anonymous]

That's what I did and it was my biggest educational regret (and the mistake I was most eager to correct in DC's education).

Basically, fluency in a language takes a long time and kids are wired for language acquisition in a way that adults aren't. Start on a second language early and you can develop a skill that you use for a lifetime. Conversely, by the time you get to college you're at a point where it seem like kind of a waste to start learning a foreign language (vs. take more advanced courses in your major or even other courses you can only take in college).

Much as I loved Latin, I ended up monolingual by focussing on it. By the time DC's out of high school, she'll be fluent in French.

[Anonymous]

Can DC take two languages?

If DC has already started Latin, switching to a Romance language should be a snap--DC should not worry about having to "start" a new language. Language acquisition is not just about slogging through HS, it's about gaining a life competency. I would seriously consider taking a foreign language that DC can use conversationally and for travel.

[Anonymous]

No, Latin should not be the only foreign language a child in the US learns.

[Anonymous]

Latin can be extremely helpful, both in learning other Romance languages, but also in understanding English far better (not to mention, being a huge leg up in diverse fields like law and medicine).

That having been said, having established a basis in Latin, I too would strongly recommend moving on to a different - perhaps related - language. Even better, continue with Latin while taking up a second language.

[Anonymous]

OP,

If your child doesn't love Latin, why continue? It gets really hard!

[Anonymous]

Also, if your child is not a natural at math you may want to reconsider Latin since a "math mind" is required to master the work of Honors Latin III and AP

[Anonymous]

You should note that some colleges and universities will not use Latin as a foreign language credit and [i]most]/i] colleges require 2-3 years of a modern foreign language at minimum... So by taking Latin as his only foreign language, he may be limiting himself for college admissions.

[Anonymous]

OP,
Talk to your child's school. I know Latin only students who've gotten into good schools.

[Anonymous]

I don't see any problem with it. I found Latin to be a very logical language and more helpful with English than French or Spanish, which I also studied. I think just the exercise of learning a second language is extremely helpful and will help an individual pick up additional languages later if s/he wants to.

[Anonymous]

Picking up a modern language (French) was decidedly harder for me after 4 years of Latin in MS/ HS. The familiarity with the Latin roots wasn't enough to make up for the vastly different pedagogical styles that were used to teach each language. I was lost in my college's French 101-102 immersion program -- I wanted the security of vocab lists, declensions and conjugations, poetry translations, etc.

I think there's something to the fact that Latin isn't used to communicate, so instruction focusses on translation. I never learned to think in Latin, only to translate to Latin. And it's this "think in English and translate to X" that is a stumbling block to fluency in a modern language (according to my French prof, at least). While my experience may have been at the extreme ends of the spectrum (my Latin teacher was particularly rigid, and my French instruction particularly organic) I think, at least for me, that I should have taken a modern language (in addition to? instead of?) Latin in HS.