Foreign language for children - which would you choose?

[mintcc]

I think French is more commonly spoken… but German might be useful if you have plans to sent her to Germany for tertiary education?

[mrswongtuition]

I personally will pick German.

Why?

1. My secondary school senior took German as 3rd language (she only started learning it in S1) and she actually went on to further her studies in Germany. She's now teaching at MOELC. I've seen how she pick up the language with relative ease though she did not have anyone to communicate with at that time (but her teacher hooked her up with some German penpals and she did go there on a trip to visit).

2. 5 of my friends are currently working in Germany and they told me that they really enjoy working there. Short working hours, great experienced gained from working there. They are only there to gain experience, no intentions of settling down there. 3 of them did mention that they had some communication probs because they did not know a word of German but now they are very comfortable there.

3. You can converse with her. It will be like a 'secret' language between your child and you. It's a special bonding time for mother and child. I'm trying to teach my boy how to speak Thai (picked it up on my numerous mission trips there). It's rather fun to teach him new words. However, my hubs also knows some simple Thai, so unless we converse with more advanced vocab/sentence structure, my hubs can still guess what we are talking about


However, I will not official lessons on that. Just some simple basic convo at home cos I want my boy to master English and Chinese first. 3rd lang can come later

[coralie]

What’s important is the one gets to practice/use the language that one learns. If not, it would deem a waste of time & effect. This is my personal thots


My hubby emigrated to Mauritius as a child. Took French as a 2nd language. Came to SG for uni & settled down here. Due to the lack of use, he thinks & responds slower in French as compared to when he 1st set foot in SG.

[chic_savvy]

dimsum:

chic_savvy:

I have decided on either French, which is one of the sought after and useful languages in the world OR German which she only can order beers and sausages during Oktoberfest when she turns 18 (sorry I really couldn't think of its \"usefulness\" at this point of time).


.....I used to think German was a difficult language to master cos at times it could sound like you're dispelling the phlegm from your throat (no offense Germans!) but after learning, I thought it's even easier than Spanish!

IMO, French is no longer a \"sought after\" in the world. If u are living in Europe, German is a more common and useful language. It's also easier to master as compared to French.

Yap agree. After reading more info on the net

[chic_savvy]

deminc:

German is closer to English and easier to pick up. But French is harder to pick up at an older age because of the intonation.


Why not let her try holiday classes for both and then decide?

In terms of usefulness, ocos Chinese is more useful. But every major language is a window to a rich cultural tradition and thoughts. Affinity should come before practical considerations since the foreign language that you don't love, you won't use.

French is one of the UN languages, many african nations use it as well. To be honest, I don't think there's such a thing as a useless language. Ultimately, you have to like the language and the culture that it represents.

DITTO

[chic_savvy]

mrswongtuition:

I personally will pick German.

Why?

1. My secondary school senior took German as 3rd language (she only started learning it in S1) and she actually went on to further her studies in Germany. She's now teaching at MOELC. I've seen how she pick up the language with relative ease though she did not have anyone to communicate with at that time (but her teacher hooked her up with some German penpals and she did go there on a trip to visit).

2. 5 of my friends are currently working in Germany and they told me that they really enjoy working there. Short working hours, great experienced gained from working there. They are only there to gain experience, no intentions of settling down there. 3 of them did mention that they had some communication probs because they did not know a word of German but now they are very comfortable there.

3. You can converse with her. It will be like a 'secret' language between your child and you. It's a special bonding time for mother and child. I'm trying to teach my boy how to speak Thai (picked it up on my numerous mission trips there). It's rather fun to teach him new words. However, my hubs also knows some simple Thai, so unless we converse with more advanced vocab/sentence structure, my hubs can still guess what we are talking about

That's what I have in mind


However, I will not official lessons on that. Just some simple basic convo at home cos I want my boy to master English and Chinese first. 3rd lang can come later

That's EXACTLY what I have in mind

[chic_savvy]

coralie:

What's important is the one gets to practice/use the language that one learns. If not, it would deem a waste of time & effect. This is my personal thots


My hubby emigrated to Mauritius as a child. Took French as a 2nd language. Came to SG for uni & settled down here. Due to the lack of use, he thinks & responds slower in French as compared to when he 1st set foot in SG.

TRUE

[Agape]

mrswongtuition:

I personally will pick German.

Why?

1. My secondary school senior took German as 3rd language (she only started learning it in S1) and she actually went on to further her studies in Germany. She's now teaching at MOELC. I've seen how she pick up the language with relative ease though she did not have anyone to communicate with at that time (but her teacher hooked her up with some German penpals and she did go there on a trip to visit).

2. 5 of my friends are currently working in Germany and they told me that they really enjoy working there. Short working hours, great experienced gained from working there. They are only there to gain experience, no intentions of settling down there. 3 of them did mention that they had some communication probs because they did not know a word of German but now they are very comfortable there.

3. You can converse with her. It will be like a 'secret' language between your child and you. It's a special bonding time for mother and child. I'm trying to teach my boy how to speak Thai (picked it up on my numerous mission trips there). It's rather fun to teach him new words. However, my hubs also knows some simple Thai, so unless we converse with more advanced vocab/sentence structure, my hubs can still guess what we are talking about


However, I will not official lessons on that. Just some simple basic convo at home cos I want my boy to master English and Chinese first. 3rd lang can come later

Hi,

I am a Singaporean Chinese who speaks French. I don't think it's a very difficult language to learn but as for all languages, it takes time, effort and practice and lots of practice.

If I were to choose for my own kids, I will make sure they know English and Chinese (the next language that will be commercially important) well first. Japanese has a lot of commercial value (just turn to Recruit section of the Sat papers you can tell) and I think German has more value over French in Singapore and in most parts of Europe. However, the French language sounds better while German is \"rougher\".

At the end of the day, it's the passion and interest that will sustain one from learning the language. Today I still speak French and make every attempt to communicate with any French-speaking people I encounter and it's always pleasant to make a new friend just like that.

These are my personal views.

[chic_savvy]

Personally I've always felt that learning a language begins a form of communication with people. Apart from being able to understand the cultures and living (that is if you want to know), it also helps to bond people together when you speak the same language. It is that human bond and warmth between people that I want my daughter to experience.


It always intrigues me when I speak bahasa Melayu (fluently ok ;)) to those maciks at nasi padang stalls and put a surprising yet pleasant look on their faces (after that I get extra chicken keke). I mean it's just warmth lah.

I think Languages is a good ice breaker and just make ppl welcome you to their society and it's more than that.

I believe every parent wants their children to excel in some ways that's why you send them to abacus classes, speech & dramas etc. and like if you ask me, I wouldn't send her to piano or ballet classes. It like WT... I think I'm more of a \"practical\" parent.

If my child still can remember the 3rd (4th, 5th) languages she learns when she's grown, and put into good use, whether an engineer or just selling frankfurters, it's still for life.

:celebrate:

[chic_savvy]

Having said that, back to German or French, I can't seem to find German group classes for kids French a lot!