I think several PPs had the right idea: choose the one your child wants to take. Any language makes it easier to learn another one, and as someone else said, motivation makes it much easier to learn. (BTW for those who say a language can't be learned well past childhood, that's just wrong; I speak three languages other than English fluently, all of which I learned past college.) If your child truly has no preference, then go with the one with the better teacher.

PP, that's a pretty amusing article, but clearly facetious--at least, it should be if it isn't, LOL. Not learn French because of French politics? Huh? In that case, my child will never learn Chinese, Arabic, etc. Pretty silly IMO.

Anonymous wrote:"My children won’t learn French. If their school tries to force the issue, I’ll fight tooth and nail. There’ll be the mother of all Agincourts before I let it happen...

...It’s just that, in the great marketplace of language, French looks such an unattractive investment. German is going places. Mandarin will be indispensable. Spanish has few irregular verbs and is spoken in a multitude of fascinating countries with positive economic outlooks."

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9169081/why-i-wont-let-my-children-learn-french/

Compared to what? Spanish has plenty of irregular verbs.

"My children won’t learn French. If their school tries to force the issue, I’ll fight tooth and nail. There’ll be the mother of all Agincourts before I let it happen...

...It’s just that, in the great marketplace of language, French looks such an unattractive investment. German is going places. Mandarin will be indispensable. Spanish has few irregular verbs and is spoken in a multitude of fascinating countries with positive economic outlooks."

http://www.spectator.co.uk/features/9169081/why-i-wont-let-my-children-learn-french/

Anonymous wrote:

French is the Official language in 29 countries. It is the first language for only 75M because in the majority of the other countries the population has a dialect as a first language and French as their "common" language. I.e all over West Africa for ex..

Plus, if you want to work for the UN, the 2 official languages are English and French. French is still required or at least an asset for jobs at the UN, World Bank, International dev NGOs, foreign diplomacy etc..

Aka a language as a first language.

My aunt is German and she always reminds me about the millions of Europeans (including French and Spaniards) and people from all over the world moving to Germany to get jobs there. In Europe the real shortage is people speaking German.

She says that in Europe French has been completely taken over by English first and German second. In Germany itself, students most often learn English first and Spanish second.

NP here. Haven't read the whole thread, but I teach high school (not Spanish or French, so have no dog in this fight). Recently we had an assembly at which there was a guest speaker from an agency that does lobbying for language education/funding, and who also works as a translator/language headhunter. She said that French is in far more demand than many other languages and that there is actually a shortage of French speakers in the U.S. business world. I was surprised to hear this. Someone asked specifically about Chinese, and she said French is a better bet than Chinese, job-wise. She said a lot of people think that French's era is over, but it isn't at all. FWIW.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You mean in London, where many high-class and entrepreneurial Parisians have been migrating to in order to escape high taxes.

French is the new Latin. Pretty dead other than for specialized purposes.

Number of people who are native French speakers: 75 million
Number of people who are native Latin speakesr: 0

Number of people who are native Spanish speakers: 405 million.

French is indeed closer to Latin than to Spanish. Sorry.

French is the Official language in 29 countries. It is the first language for only 75M because in the majority of the other countries the population has a dialect as a first language and French as their "common" language. I.e all over West Africa for ex..

Plus, if you want to work for the UN, the 2 official languages are English and French. French is still required or at least an asset for jobs at the UN, World Bank, International dev NGOs, foreign diplomacy etc..

I know that at the World Bank for ex. they lack French speakers and it is a big asset to speak French

If you're prioritizing what the World Bank is lacking, the decision is obvious: have your kids learn Mandarin.

If you're prioritizing your kid's future career in Algeria or Togo, have your kids learn French.

For most other reasons, Spanish is a better bet than French.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You mean in London, where many high-class and entrepreneurial Parisians have been migrating to in order to escape high taxes.

French is the new Latin. Pretty dead other than for specialized purposes.

Number of people who are native French speakers: 75 million
Number of people who are native Latin speakesr: 0

Number of people who are native Spanish speakers: 405 million.

French is indeed closer to Latin than to Spanish. Sorry.

French is the Official language in 29 countries. It is the first language for only 75M because in the majority of the other countries the population has a dialect as a first language and French as their "common" language. I.e all over West Africa for ex..

Plus, if you want to work for the UN, the 2 official languages are English and French. French is still required or at least an asset for jobs at the UN, World Bank, International dev NGOs, foreign diplomacy etc..

I know that at the World Bank for ex. they lack French speakers and it is a big asset to speak French

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

You mean in London, where many high-class and entrepreneurial Parisians have been migrating to in order to escape high taxes.

French is the new Latin. Pretty dead other than for specialized purposes.

Number of people who are native French speakers: 75 million
Number of people who are native Latin speakesr: 0

Number of people who are native Spanish speakers: 405 million.

French is indeed closer to Latin than to Spanish. Sorry.

French is the Official language in 29 countries. It is the first language for only 75M because in the majority of the other countries the population has a dialect as a first language and French as their "common" language. I.e all over West Africa for ex..

Plus, if you want to work for the UN, the 2 official languages are English and French. French is still required or at least an asset for jobs at the UN, World Bank, International dev NGOs, foreign diplomacy etc..

Anonymous wrote:Our neighbors speak Spanish. Not French...

Canadian neighbors?

Anonymous wrote:Learning a second language makes it much easier to learn a third and so on. The reason why most Americans only speak one language is because we start second language learning way too late. We start in middle school typically. Overseas, they start as early as kindergarten. All the research shows starting late is a missed opportunity. Much harder to learn a language as you get older. Unless that changes, Americans will remain monolingual. It's a shame.

Every relative I have that was educated overseas speaks at minimum two languages fluently. Most speak 3- fluently and effortlessly. And we are supposed to be so advanced here in the US? Who is making decisions about how kids are educated here, because those people need to be educated about how kids learn languages.

Learning a second language makes it much easier to learn a third and so on. The reason why most Americans only speak one language is because we start second language learning way too late. We start in middle school typically. Overseas, they start as early as kindergarten. All the research shows starting late is a missed opportunity. Much harder to learn a language as you get older. Unless that changes, Americans will remain monolingual. It's a shame.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I studied Spanish and loved it. But I learned French while working abroad as an adult. I wish I'd learned French first. French is so much harder. My adult brain could only get so far. In comparison you could pick up Spanish in your sleep.

Spanish is an easy language to learn badly -- like English, which is also an easy language to learn badly. Learning Spanish well is not easy.

Absolutely true! My point is Spanish -- in my opinion -- is easier to learn than French. I would suggest having a child start with French and learn Spanish afterwards. And why are we discussing learning French OR Spanish. I truly hope my child learns French AND Spanish AND something else. Outside of the U.S. people are multilingual not just bilingual.

Then how come every immigrant from Central America can't speak English? Why do we have ESOL. Why do we have "For English, press 1" in our own country? Give me a break on most people are multilingual. Maybe in a few rich areas of the world but it is not the norm.

It is possible to be multilingual and not speak English. True fact.

Also, I'm laughing at the idea that "every immigrant from Central America can't speak English". Every immigrant, huh? I'll have to tell that (in English) to my co-worker from El Salvador.