Posted by
scootercat
12 yrs ago
My daughter will enter secondary at CIS this fall and we have to choose now to take either French or Spanish for a 3rd language. I've talked with friends/family about pros/cons of these languages and the consensus is that there is no clear winner. So I'm writing here to ask two things:
1. Does anyone have any experience with the French or Spanish program/teachers at CIS that they can share with me?
2. French or Spanish...which one do you think is a better language to learn as a 3rd language (English, Mandarin are 1&2)? We are from the USA but have been in HK for 7 yrs now.
Thanks in advance for your comments.
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Agree with Malka if your daughter plans to go back to US in the future. But if she stays in HK, French has "more chance" to be "useful" to her one day, since the French community is bigger and there are more French companies in HK than Spanish ones.
But another point to take into account: French is much more difficult to learn than Spanish.
Despite the above, if your daughter chooses French over Spanish and needs some help someday, you can contact me. I can help for IGCSE until IB.
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petit
12 yrs ago
1. No coment
2. Spanish, because about 400 million people speak this language, it is the official language of 22 countries in four continents. After Chinese, English and Hindustani is the forth most spoken language in the world. You are from the USA where more than 50 million people speak Spanish. If your child learns to speak Spanish she will easily learn Portuguese, Italian and French as it is a Latin based language.
In Hong Kong, thousands of students are choosing Spanish as the alternative language to learn.
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Thanks for all your replies. Today was the decision day and we went with....
Spanish!
The final decision rested with my daughter. She thinks Spanish is more interesting. She took French as an extracurricular activity about a year or so ago (once a week for 3 months). Maybe the accent was hard for her. It sure is for me! Spanish seems easier to pronounce. I took French when I was in middle & high school and although I can't speak it, I can understand some of the written French and it comes in handy for the many words/phrases that have seeped into the English vernacular. Now I look forward to learning some Spanish with my daughter!
It seems French is more popular at CIS (3 classes vs. 1 for Spanish).
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We also faced similar question three years ago....consulted several people...and we made the decison in favour of Spanish....will not lay out the reasons as they have been discussed in the previous posts.
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petit
11 yrs ago
Hi, I tend to disagree with expertadone, I believe that any age is good to learn a language, there is not scientific proof to the statement "It will be easier for children to learn when they are young, best age would be 5-7"
Our brain is capable of learning any new skill if we keep it active not matter the age.I have adult Spanish students who are doing great even though is true, Spanish grammar is quite difficult. Tks
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Petit, are you available to teach Spanish in the evening? Price per hour? Group price?
We are six adults, will you come to our ofice?
Please advise.
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petit
11 yrs ago
Hi, yes, I am available. I will send you a private message with details.
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Hello Petit!
I tried to PM you but dont know If it worked.
I am also looking for private Spanish lesson. Could you contact me as well pls
Thank you!
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petit
11 yrs ago
Hi Polzah,
I did not receive your PM but just wrote to you directly. Hope it works.
Thanks!
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petit
11 yrs ago
Hola Luckylad and Polzah, please contact me on chitarera@gmail.com since the PM is not working. Gracias
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I've always recommended "Berlitz" to my friends! My kids are having fun there learning Spanish & German. Teachers are nice although it's not always easy to book additional lessons. Worth a try!
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