Is Latin a good choice for a for a foreign language elective for a 9th grader?

Question

My son can choose from Spanish, French, German, and Latin. He chose Latin. We live in the Midwest and really don't have a lot of opportunity to use any foreign language, unless a person chooses to pursue that field. However, I took 3 years of Spanish and feel that he could gain so much more from studying a 'real' language, especially Spanish, as that culture is so predominant in today's society. Any opinions?

He's interested in engineering. So, I guess as an aspiring scientist, maybe Latin would be better, although engineering is more mathematics than language. The suggestion of learning Chinese is interesting; we probably have more Chinese people in our town that any other culture, as we have a large engineering university!

Answer 1

I am also a ninth grader and I am taking Latin. Alot of people don't see the point but it is unbelievably helpful. My English grade improved because the vocabulary from literature and the lesson plan traced back to Latin roots. Also its been proven that Latin students score better on SATs. I love it because you not only learn about the language but you get an insight into Roman culture, the foundation of our society. It has also been proven that people who know Latin are more capable of learning a new language. My parents were also concerned with my choice, but they now are impressed with what knowledge I have obtained in that class and are happy that I chose it.

Answer 2

From my experience with Latin and Spanish in high school right now, I would go with Spanish. It is much easier, useful, and practical. Or at least I would start with Spanish, and then go with Latin later on if I still wanted to take it. Learning languages becomes easier once you know one foreign langauge. Latin can be more interesting as far as cultural wise, but Spanish would be (to me) easier to acquire. Even if you do not have a lot of opportunity to use a foreign language where you live, a second language would still be useful nevertheless, and there would obviously be more people speaking Spanish than Latin.
It's hard to say, you'd probably do better at something you like though. Latin would be good for certain careers, but even then (and I speak from ignorance) I do not think you would need the whole language down for it. So if he does not want to actually learn a second language for the long run, but learn something more for the time being and fun, I would go with Latin. For the long run, Spanish would be more useful.

Answer 3

Latin was popular as an "intellectual" choice in the past. I studied it for five years in high school and have honestly never used it. Unless he is interested in archaeology, I wouldn't bother. Spanish is spoken by more people than any other language except Chinese, it would be a good choice. Spanish is also much easier than Latin, since Latin grammer is very tight and takes a long time to learn.

Answer 4

Latin is a good choice if he's considering a career in the medical field or just to understand the origin of a lot of words we use in our every day language. I think Latin would help him a lot more in the long run than Spanish.

Answer 5

I personally would love to take Latin at some point in life. Your child may have better foresight than many may think. Latin is the core of many languages including Spanish and should significantly improve his English skills. If he choses to take Spanish later on it will become much easier for him. I am currently taking Spanish and if he is not motivated in Spanish he would not learn enough to make a difference in today's society. I have heard from many people who have taken some Spanish or French during high school and most do not remember anything useful today. It depends on your child. I believe that whatever he may be motivated in would best suit him because if you are not motivated to learn then you will not learn.

Answer 6

Latin is good for three areas of study- medicine, Christianity, and language. All encompass fairly large areas, when you think about it. However, if he is more of a people person, and more likely to be a teacher or a social worker, Spanish may be a better way to go. Of course, if he is really into language, perhaps his teacher would help him begin to learn Chinese. ...just a thought....

Answer 7

I would say that Latin is a good choice. Italian, French, and Spanish are all directly descended from Latin. There is a lot of Latin influence in Romanian, German, English, and even Russian. (Think about it: 'czar' is just another form of 'caesar'.) All scientific nomeclature (names of bones, plants, animals, etc.) is pure Latin. Even as simple a term as 'jury-rig', meaning something put together in a hurry as a temporary solution, comes from the Latin 'adjucare', meaning to help.

Once your son has Latin under his belt, learning other languages will be a piece of cake. Besides, even though Spanish gets a lot of press, there's increasing use of Arabic, Hindi, Chinese, and other languages in the US, and they're becoming just as prevalent as Spanish.

Answer 8

Although not a language that your son can use directly in communicating with others, Latin has its advantages. Namely, it will help him learn the roots of many words and terminology (i.e. memorizing complex biological terms is much easier if you understand the Latin meaning behind them)

Answer 9

Well Latin is a great choice for someone who goes in to medicine, language, farming, law or the church. It really depends on what he wants to do with his life. Hopefully his school doesn't limit the number of foreign language classes a student can take, so if he's creating his schedule now for next year, he can sign up for both. That way he can be prepared for the future along with being able to communicate with the growing number of hispanics in our country. I wish I had taken both but I took French.

Answer 10

Latin is a GREAT choice! Spanish is based on Latin. So are a bunch of other European languages. If you learn Latin learning all of those languages will be a snap!