Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We chose Chinese. I'm Asian. Parents and relatives live in Asia. The entire Pacific Rim and Australia is learning Mandarin. China is our #1 trading partner surpassing the U.S. I don't know anyone who speaks Spanish except a cousin and my brother who speak a little from treating patients at large teaching hospitals. I speak French in addition to English and my native language. My DH speaks French so we would prefer French as a third language for DC. We like to vacation in Asia and/or mostly French speaking countries. Like pp said, it depends on the context.

You don't know anyone who speaks Spanish? Where do you live? Kansas? If you are in DC, go outside - and behold, a Spanish-speaking person is around you.

Most of my friends speak French, Italian and/or Chinese in addition to English. Most people from my country choose French as a second European language after English rarely Spanish - we like French culture. I used to live in NYC and Texas so I pass many Spanish speakers on the street but I don't speak Spanish. I have a lot of Brazilian friends but they speak portuguese. Similar so does that count?

Anonymous wrote:SPANISH! No brainer - more people use French than Chinese in the U.S. - what does that tell you?

I don't know ANYBODY who speaks Chinese. I know ONE Chinese person (my Dr. in Chinatown). WASTE - OF - TIME.

Almost the entire Western hemisphere speaks Spanish - plus half of Europe.

+100

Anonymous wrote:We chose Chinese. I'm Asian. Parents and relatives live in Asia. The entire Pacific Rim and Australia is learning Mandarin. China is our #1 trading partner surpassing the U.S. I don't know anyone who speaks Spanish except a cousin and my brother who speak a little from treating patients at large teaching hospitals. I speak French in addition to English and my native language. My DH speaks French so we would prefer French as a third language for DC. We like to vacation in Asia and/or mostly French speaking countries. Like pp said, it depends on the context.

You don't know anyone who speaks Spanish? Where do you live? Kansas? If you are in DC, go outside - and behold, a Spanish-speaking person is around you.

Anonymous wrote:We chose Chinese. I'm Asian. Parents and relatives live in Asia. The entire Pacific Rim and Australia is learning Mandarin. China is our #1 trading partner surpassing the U.S. I don't know anyone who speaks Spanish except a cousin and my brother who speak a little from treating patients at large teaching hospitals. I speak French in addition to English and my native language. My DH speaks French so we would prefer French as a third language for DC. We like to vacation in Asia and/or mostly French speaking countries. Like pp said, it depends on the context.

i lived 10 years in australia and did not observe that students are learning mandarin, At least not in schools. In fact, language immersion, in general is almost impossible to find (within the School system). I have done a ton of research because i would love to move back and i am trying desperately to find a mandarin language immersion program For my son. Pls let me know if you are aware of these types of schools within australia, thank you!!

Whatever you chose, please do so quickly and help move the WL at YY.

We chose Chinese. I'm Asian. Parents and relatives live in Asia. The entire Pacific Rim and Australia is learning Mandarin. China is our #1 trading partner surpassing the U.S. I don't know anyone who speaks Spanish except a cousin and my brother who speak a little from treating patients at large teaching hospitals. I speak French in addition to English and my native language. My DH speaks French so we would prefer French as a third language for DC. We like to vacation in Asia and/or mostly French speaking countries. Like pp said, it depends on the context.

It all depends on you/your family/interest, etc. Much easier to practice Spanish and use it daily, less so with Chinese. But as a tonal language (and speaking from the experience of learning Chinese as an adult), Chinese is much easier to learn when young. Though one's accent in Spanish would also be presumably better if learned as a child. I really think it depends on the parents and how much effort they want to put in... Spanish is more effortless - a ton of opportunities all around us to practice. Chinese requires more of an effort. My DC is at YY and I chose Chinese over Spanish because of my own connections to the language and culture. You can't really go wrong with Spanish so I would only choose Chinese if you /your family has a singular desire for your children to learn that language.

Spanish. The argument that there are more Chinese speakers than Spanish speakers is beside the point. You can only speak Chinese in one country. You're limiting your choices. It's true most Chinese do not speak English, but my sense is that will change.

SPANISH! No brainer - more people use French than Chinese in the U.S. - what does that tell you?

I don't know ANYBODY who speaks Chinese. I know ONE Chinese person (my Dr. in Chinatown). WASTE - OF - TIME.

Almost the entire Western hemisphere speaks Spanish - plus half of Europe.

Anonymous wrote:Only you can answer this question for your child...

I think that's right on point. In acquiring (by whatever means, immersion, second language acquisition, at whatever age) it's really important to leverage whatever exposure your family can bring to bear, be that where you vacation, friends you have, where you live, your family heritage, where you were born/grew up, countries and places you dream of. It will be so much more effective. The effective acquisition of a non-native language depends greatly on context.

Spanish doesn't have the same cache as Chinese but there are many more opportunities to practice Spanish on a daily basis outside of the school environment, and that is how one truly becomes fluent. Think about travels. Realistically, will you take vacations to China or are you more likely to travel to many of the nearby countries and islands where Spanish is spoken? In DC I hear Spanish being spoken every day and that translates into more opportunities for my child to practice or participate in Spanish summer camps, dance classes, sports, play groups, etc. Good luck - it is a tough decision. Both schools are very good and I don't think you'll go wrong with either one. But if you want to try and acquire fluency, I would select Spanish.

The way the U.S. is headed, I hope they teach them how to say "You want fries with that?" in Chinese....

Just look around you and what to you see?

Only you can answer this question for your child...

I was all about Chinese language emersion, but have read articles that Spanish is likely to be a lot more valuable. My Ds got into MVand is close on the wait list for Yu Ying..