Dual language immersion for kindergartner (wanted spanish, got french)

[cal_reacher]

Hello! I posted this to the learning language sub but someone suggested I try here. Our daughter is 5 and will be starting kindergarten in the fall. She got into the French program at a local (free!) dual immersion school that is K-8. The school and program have rave reviews but the kicker is: we have zero connection to French. She is waitlisted for Spanish, and as San Diego residents were surrounded by Spanish constantly. I am also pretty conversationally fluent in the language so it would make a ton of sense, however, chances seem slim she’ll get in.

The question is: do we accept French, knowing her being fluent in French will give her an obvious leg up in life (even though we’d much prefer spanish) or do we keep her at our walkable local elementary (also great - a 9/10 on the greatschools ranking - but doesn’t have the cultural and arts and language benefits of the other school)? Both schools are quite diverse, which we love.

Side note: no, she can’t start in French and then switch to Spanish. And if we ever move out of this area, which is about a 50-50 chance in the next few years, this will all be moot.

 

[paleophyte]

@cal_reacher A language is a language. As I speak both fluently, I can tell you that learning one will benefit her in learning the other. Both languages are remarkably similar.

 

[cal_reacher]

@paleophyte Thank you!! I agree with that.

 

[enfeoffment75]

@cal_reacher My ex-fiancé, whose mother tongue was French, was able to teach himself Spanish in short order right before moving to Southern California. I remember him saying how similar the languages were, and I thought it was so awesome that he was effectively tri-lingual!

 

[enfeoffment75]

@cal_reacher My ex-fiancé, whose mother tongue was French, was able to teach himself Spanish in short order right before moving to Southern California. I remember him saying how similar the languages were, and I thought it was so awesome that he was effectively tri-lingual!

 

[jamesmason10]

@paleophyte Well I don't agree a language is a language, one you have ties to is different, but I also speak both and agree speaking one will help with the other, and bilingual children have much more facility for learning languages.

 

[paleophyte]

@jamesmason10 Hmm, your comment made me think. I actually don’t know how I feel about the language I have the tie to honestly. I’m a heritage speaker of Spanish and can tell you I wouldn’t have chosen it had it not been given to me. I am fully fluent in Spanish and I have no love for it. French I studied to the point that I became fluent, even living in France, and I feel much more connected to it than Spanish. But eh, to each their own. Either way, being bilingual definitely opens doors!

 

[jamesmason10]

@paleophyte The tie doesn't have to be related to your family or anything. Your love for the language and culture is a tie, and it's not an unmoving thing. It doesn't mean someone can't learn a new language, just that it's always going to be easier if you're motivated to do so and have an interest. For children that is often because they hear others speaking the language. I was brought up completely monolingual, i chose to study languages.

 

[corinne1]

@cal_reacher I cannot see a downside to learning French, and there isn't any rule anywhere that says you can't learn another language like Spanish on your own as well. Then again, my kids have been learning French since they were born and are in French school in Preschool and Kindergarten.

I would not hesitate to put my child in an excellent French immersion school. Culture, arts, and language are a priority to me as a parent, so that's where I would feel drawn.

 

[cal_reacher]

@corinne1 Thank you so much! We feel the same way. Really appreciate the insight.

 

[keith7731]

@cal_reacher I would actually prefer French in this circumstance because it is less commonly mastered. Spanish resources are plentiful for both Francophones example: Assimil and Anglophones.

 

[cal_reacher]

@keith7731 Such an interesting perspective and so true. A rarer language for certain! Thank you!!

 

[keith7731]

@cal_reacher I hope it helps. While rarer in the United States, especially the more distant from Quebec or New York, French is valuable as a working language of the United Nations and the European Union.

Bonus, either one will give your child a head start in Portuguese or the other Latin-derrived languages.

 

[cal_reacher]

@keith7731 Absolutely. There’s no wrong way to look at it. Thank you!

 

[littlelou]

@cal_reacher If you're already conversationally fluent in Spanish, why don't you talk and read books to her in Spanish, while she learns French in the French school. Then she'll grow up trilingual. If you're surrounded by Spanish constantly, you can supplement your own Spanish with her with perhaps a babysitter or play-dates with Spanish-speaking kids etc. She'll be able to take Spanish classes anyway starting 6th/7th grade in any public school she goes to. Meanwhile this is the only opportunity to learn French, which is a major international language and a major literary and philosophical language. If she ever decides to study philosophy, French will be much more useful than Spanish. French pronunciation is also much harder than Spanish so it's important to get it down at a young age. Even if you move after a few years, those few years will have provided enough foundation for her to continue autonomously in her French learning given today's online media resources (French kids shows on Youtube, children's audiobooks in French, etc)

 

[cal_reacher]

@littlelou Thanks! Great points. Really appreciate it!!

When I say I’m conversationally fluent I mean I can hold a conversation with a native speaker for the most part (especially after a drink or two) but definitely not anywhere near where I’d need to be to speak to her all the time in Spanish.

 

[littlelou]

@cal_reacher No problem. Also consider that even if she starts Spanish later, say in middle school, she would have access to you as a partner for conversation practice outside of her classes and thus you could accelerate her Spanish that way, even if you're not advanced enough to raise her speaking Spanish when she's younger.

 

[cal_reacher]

@littlelou Yes - amazing point!

 

[machoke47]

@cal_reacher Speaking as a life long french speaker, while I cannot speak spanish (apparently my accent is french AF), I understand a lot of it (especially written spanish) due to the french education. If you keep her exposed, she will pick up on it and have an easier time if she decides to study on her own later.

 

[cal_reacher]

@machoke47 Yes good call! Thank you!!