Rosetta Stone advice needed...

[nancypants]

I posted this on the General board too because I post everything there! But thought I might as well post it here too since it's probably more apropos here. :)

We have decided that we want to get started with languages now. We did one year of Latin with my oldest (last year). We have pretty much skipped it this year though. As a (relaxed) "classical homeschooler" I do want to teach (and learn with them) Latin. But then I think I would like to maybe focus more on a language that could be used more commonly.

My husband is voting that we get Rosetta Stone French because French is Canada's second official language for one thing (not that many speak it where we live) and because it is spoken in so many countries around the world. I tend to lean towards Latin because... well, because it's the classical thing to do among other reasons. LOL

I am trying to figure out just how classical I really am though if I'm not so terribly determined to teach Latin that I would consider forgoing it for French. (Doing both is not an option for my sanity at this point! LOL Maybe when the kids are older.)

Which would you choose if you weren't already married to Latin? And why? (And if you are married to Latin, you can tell me why too! If you divorced Latin you can tell me why too.) AND does anyone know how the Rosetta Stone Lingua Latina is anyways? Worth every penny?

[StephanieZ]

and this is a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population. So, for anyone with political, religious, or, probably medical, ambitions, I think spanish is a no-brainer choice in the U.S. I'd think it would be frustrating to practice medicine in many areas w/o spanish skills and I'd think anyone wanting to lead in politics, ministry, or many other fields should have spanish competency as well. Many of my M.D. friends learned spanish before med school or hired a tutor to learn it early on in their practice lives. . . For these reasons, my dc are learning spanish (as well as latin for very different reasons).

[Hillary in KS]

We study 2 languages here, and are adding a third next year.

We started with Rosetta Stone Spanish on the computer, and later added a written program to complement it.

After a year of Spanish, we started Latina Christiana 1. So far, there's been no confusion and it has worked really well.

I don't see why you couldn't study both French and Latin, so long as you don't start them at the same time. Maybe start French first (since your dh feels so strongly) and then add Latin next year.

I think another important thing would be to choose programs that aren't high maintenance. Latina Christiana is very straightforward, and easy to follow, as is Rosetta Stone. As a parent, those two programs are pretty simple to manage.

I've never heard anything good about Rosetta Stone's Latin course, but I haven't done it, either. SO, no first hand experience here. Sorry!

[nancypants]

and this is a rapidly growing segment of the U.S. population. So, for anyone with political, religious, or, probably medical, ambitions, I think spanish is a no-brainer choice in the U.S. I'd think it would be frustrating to practice medicine in many areas w/o spanish skills and I'd think anyone wanting to lead in politics, ministry, or many other fields should have spanish competency as well. Many of my M.D. friends learned spanish before med school or hired a tutor to learn it early on in their practice lives. . . For these reasons, my dc are learning spanish (as well as latin for very different reasons).

I was thinking exactly this too because though we live in Canada, we are Americans and it's quite likely that (even if we don't) our kids will end up back in the States eventually. But then he said, "Well, Spanish is a mere hop, skip and a jump away from Latin." (No, he didn't really say exactly that... but you know what I mean.) :tongue_smilie:

Ultimately we'd probably want them to learn all three... And later my hubby can teach them Greek and Hebrew even. So I guess we just have to figure out which to do first and have a somewhat systematic approach to the progression. And... well, systematic is my opposite! LOL