How hard is it to learn German? Latin?
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
| My DS is in 8th grade and has taken Spanish for 3 years. Soon, he has to choose which language to take next year in high school. He doesn't love Spanish and wants to try something different. The other choices are French, Latin and German. He is trying to decide between German and Latin. How difficult are these languages to learn? Spanish is the only one I could help him with. TIA! |
Anonymous
|
Latin will be made easier by of the similarity to Spanish.
German vocabulary is quite similar to English and thus German is easy for Americans to understand, but the grammar is a challenge. I understand slowly spoken German quite well after a hearing it spoken a lot and taking a semester in college, but my grammar is so bad that I don't try to speak unless I really have to. |
Anonymous
| French and German are easy, French will be most familiar to Spanish learner. Latin is not easy. My kids have studies a range of languages and all say Latin was the most difficult. |
Anonymous
|
German is the easiest language for a native English speaker to learn.
|
Anonymous
|
My kid had the hardest time with Spanish II & she just couldn't pick up on it. It brought her GPA way down & something needed to be done.
We were against latin because we wanted a language that she'd actually use, so we felt German would probably be out also & with most colleges requiring at least 2 years of a language, we were very nervous. That's when her guidance counselor suggested sign language! We were happy to hear this because sign language is something she could always use & she will ALWAYS for the rest of her life be able to use it as her chosen career or as a fall back job, as sign language interpreters are in great demand. Well, as much as she struggled in Spanish, she's THRIVED in didn language! It's a much smaller class, she gets more individualized attention & she's already had job offers even in high school. It was truly the greatest decision she could make for herself. Good luck with your son! |
Anonymous
| * sign (not didn, lol). |
Anonymous
Definitely not. |
Anonymous
I love sign language as an option and didn't even know it was offered! |
Anonymous
| Latin might be good for a kid who is uncomfortable with the speaking or pronunciation part of learning a language. I think much of the instruction focuses on reading and writing. |
Anonymous
Not according to the State Deparment Foreign Service Institute, which has ranked languages according to difficulty for native English speakers. The easiest languages for a native English speaker to learn (category 1) are Danish, Dutch, French, Italian, Norwegian, Portuguese, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish The next level is German (category 2 in difficulty) plus a few others. https://www.state.gov/m/fsi/sls/c78549.htm |
Anonymous
|
They're both heavy on the grammar (which I think is a great thing because it really helps students understand English grammar). Does your son like to speak languages or the idea of speaking one? Then Latin is not quite the right choice. If active command of a language through speaking is hard for him rather than passive understanding, then maybe Latin a good choice.
Latin students tend to get a ton of ancient Roman history, if your son is interested in that. |
Anonymous
Lol no. There are similarities sure, but the grammar structure of German is incredibly difficult. Spanish is easiest. And if he has Spanish, French will be easier. Germans speak English better than we do so I’d suggest French. |
Anonymous
| Studying Latin is very different from other languages. My oldest did not care for Spanish elementary school and switched to Latin in 7th grade. He loved it. Latin is very rule based, and it is not generally taught as a spoken language. Kids with have trouble picking up sounds / oral receptive or expressive language will have difficulty with most foreign languages, but that is not an obstacle to Lain. Latin is heavier on reading of classics. It launched my DS's interest in history, philosophy, and even poetry. Latin classes also tend to be tighter knit because they tend to be smaller, and when my DS went to college there was always an instant connection with other kids who studied Latin in high school. There was no similar connection for my younger son who excelled at Spanish in high school. |
Anonymous
I also disagree, having taken Spanishand German. The declensions are rough and the fact that all nouns have gender but seemingly randomly assigned... really hard. OP, my kid took German in Arlington and the on-line class is not an easy format for learning. It isn’t so bad for the introverted because it is a quiet break in the day. But that aside, it takes some maturity and self-discipline to succeed. That said, it did solve the problem of crappy Spanish instruction. |
Anonymous
This is laughably incorrect. |