Reply to Which "world language" would you steer your child toward?

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[quote=Anonymous]If you will be living in the U.S., I say Spanish will have the widest applicability.  If you want to work in diplomacy or intelligence, then so-called in demand or hard languages set you up, i.e. Chinese, Arabic, Russian, Urdu, Pashto, etc.

The teachers of any of the languages will need to focus on building your child's conversational ability.  I recently learned Polish (already speak Russian) at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI).  This was my first time in language learning since joining the Foreign Service 15 years ago as most of my career has been in Russian - speaking or non-language designated jobs, and I have to say I was very impressed with the emphasis on practical speaking and comprehension skills.  That is where the focus needs to be in order for your child to begin to develop fluency.  It does no good, IMHO, to learn declensions, verb conjugations, etc.  That can come in the rubric of learning to speak.  If the language learning can occur in small groups or one-on-one even better.

As your kids get older, they should be put in positions - work, volunteer, etc. - where they can use their langugage skills. When I was learning Russian I volunteered at the JCC to help resettle Soviet Jews in the U.S.  It helped tremendously with the Russian.

Good luck! [/quote]

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