Your kid's school offers three foreign language options. Pick one.

[OmahaBlueDog]

The kid can't decide.

I told her I'd ask what DU thinks.

[SKKY]

1. By virtue of being station in Spain, I'm fluent and find Spanish very, very useful.

[Xipe Totec]

2. My local school has a French immersion program

On the other hand, I went to elementary and high school in Mexico, where English was a required course.

Not an elective, a required course.

For which, obviously, I am grateful.

[flvegan]

3. Living in Florida, I'd have to say Spanish.

I took 5 years of French. Didn't know I'd be in Florida one day, though.

[mike_c]

4. the majority of this hemisphere speaks spanish...

...so I'd think that's most likely to be directly useful, provides cultural insights into our neighbor's lives and societies, and so on.

[OmahaBlueDog]

9. True, but we're closer to Canada than Mexico

OTOH, there is a fair Spanish-speaking population here in Omaha.

[Dappleganger]

23. If she goes outside of this hemisphere...

to Europe and Africa, there is a fair amount of people who speak French.

[Flaxbee]

5. German or Spanish

Kid'll probably have more chance to use it / become and stay fluent in Spanish. But German could be really useful; French is beautiful but probably the last one I'd choose.

[KitchenWitch]

6. If your child is into chemistry or science, German would be most helpful

otherwise Spanish, because more people speak it.

[OmahaBlueDog]

8. That's my Dad's argument

...about German being a great technical language.

Truth be told, I think she wants to take French. I think this was reinforeced by the French sequence in "Sicko".

[datasuspect]

28. chemistry, science, or the humanities

[FloridaJudy]

7. Spanish

Not only is it the most useful, but I found it easier for me as an English-speaker to learn than the others.

[DeepBlueC]

10. Spanish would probably be the most useful within our own borders

It could be an employment asset in the future.

[NV Whino]

11. I opted for Spanish

Which in California has come in really handy, but I do regret not taking French for literary reasons.

Um, I don't suppose Latin is an option? From Latin you can go in any direction easily.

[mnhtnbb]

12. What age is the student? Have any affinity for language? Any preference?

My oldest son took Spanish. My youngest took German; as a freshman at UNC-Chapel Hill he is close to declaring a double major: German/international studies. He started Spanish this semester and wants
to study abroad his junior year.

[OmahaBlueDog]

15. What they did was pretty cool

In Nebraska, a foreign language is mandatory. Elder OBD kid is currently 11, and she is in 6th grade. This year, they did a foreign language survey. 6 weeks of German; 6 weeks of French; 6 weeks of Spanish. Nothing fancy -- just counting, greetings, and some simple phrases. For 7th and 8th, she'll take one of those three languages for a class every other day.

[mnhtnbb]

38. My possible German professor to be started elementary school in Lincoln (NE)

He had exposure to Japanese, sign language, Spanish and I think, some German.

We moved to Chapel Hill when he was in 5th grade. He took German in middle school and had an excellent
high school German teacher. When he entered UNC Chapel Hill, he blew away the placement exam and
got as many credits as they will give an entering freshman for his German.

His HS teacher sponsors a German exchange student program every other year; we hosted a boy for 3 weeks
and my son lived with that boy's family in Germany for 3 weeks. He's also traveled with the Global Young Leaders program to Vienna, Budapest and Prague where he had a chance to use his German for a couple of weeks.

Starting language early is a great idea, especially for kids who have an ear and an inclination
to learn another language.

[skygazer]

13. Spanish is probably most useful

German imo is the most fun. The neat thing about German is that almost anything spoken in it sounds like a curse word. :P

[XemaSab]

14. I really wish I'd taken Spanish in school

:(

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. Which did she enjoy the most?

While it may sound impractical, I suspect she'll have greater success with the language she likes the best. Once she's learned a second language, it'll be much easier for her to study others.

[OmahaBlueDog]

17. My sense is French

She liked German at first, but she seemed to sour on it a little towards the end of the six weeks, and I don't get a clear sense of how she likes Spanish.

[Lethe]

18. French!

because you can always leave your life of sin and enlist in the French Foreign Legion (still taking applicants as of today)

not only do you get to serve in the toughest military service in the world, you get to change your name and after 3 years get french citizenship

[Quantess]

19. Spanish is the most useful of the three.

It's also the easiest to learn.

[Common Sense Party]

20. I find knowing Spanish to be very useful when I travel in the U.S.

I need it for my job once in a while, but it has gotten me great service in some hotels and restaurants. Plus, I was able to nip a problem with the neighbors in the bud by just talking things out.

I never come across French-speaking or German-speaking people, so I guess I'm biased.

[fortyfeetunder]

21. Start with Spanish, can always take French later

There are slight similarities, but Spanish is frequently used in the US.

[Dappleganger]

22. Our teens are taking

one is taking French (she's third year) and the other is taking Spanish. We're in FL so Spanish makes more sense to me, but we're probably going to Ontario so the daughter will be able to use some French.

Let your daughter decide!

[wickerwoman]

24. Spanish is the most likely to be useful.

I took German and have never found any use for it (unless she wants to be an archaeologist and then she won't need it until grad school). French would be useful if she wants to study medieval lit or be a chef or emigrate to Canada.

But really, I don't think it matters that much if there isn't a direct correlation between your first second language and your career path. It's more important to have the experience of studying a foreign language than to worry too much about which one it is.

Spanish is the easiest and the most likely to have a practical application.

[MilesColtrane]

25. Spanish, followed closely by Mandarin

[OmahaBlueDog]

27. If Mandarin were one of the choices, that's what I'd urge

[quakerboy]

26. French or Spanish

Spanish would likely be more useful within US borders. If you still hold hope of universal healthcare and good things happening here, I might go with that.

Otherwise French. I hear France is a decent place to live, and Canada is a handy backup. And French would be potentially handy either place

[moriah]

29. I took German first, then Latin.

I think it's because I have difficulty with accents, and German is more similar to English than a lot of other languages in regard to accent. Latin I didn't need to learn how to speak, soooo....

I also chose two because of wanting to go to medical school to be a psychiatrist -- my goal was to be able to read Jung in the original language. :)

[jmowreader]

30. If she wants a job in management, Spanish is invaluable

Open the classifieds to the Employment section and look in the "management" ads. Many of them are either "bilingual in Spanish preferred" or "must be bilingual in Spanish," which mean the same thing--we want someone who speaks Spanish well, don't bother applying if you don't.

However! If her goal is to be a linguist in the military, choose one of the other two languages. Some of my linguist troops told me the language at DLI with the highest drop rate is Spanish. People get two years of high school Spanish under their belts, decide they know how to speak Spanish when the only people they've ever spoken it to are other students, and get kicked out of the course in the first month. Then again, since there are two wars going on, she should not aspire to join the Army.

[surrealAmerican]

31. I put French, mainly because it's the most challenging of the three.

You'll want your daughter to decide which one she "likes best" though. My children wound up taking French and Japanese because they loved the languages. The one strange thing we found was that very few boys in our school district choose French. My daughter usually wound up in a class that had at most one or two boys in it. My son chose to take Spanish in middle school (when they only offered Spanish or French) mostly because all his friends would be taking it.

[Kali]

32. Who cares?!

Just take one (or more)! Spanish would probably be easiest to start with, but French is also Latin based and gives good fundamentals. German is freaking hard but I bet if one learned it you could probably master others as well.

I can get by with my rudimentary Spanish but I really envy people who are fluent in (any) other languages. It is an area of US education that really pisses me off. It should be mandatory and started in kindergarten.

[OmahaBlueDog]

33. Many private schools do start foreign language education from day 1

I agree - public schools should as well.

[dana_b]

34. In the U.S. the obvious choice is Spanish n/t

[tabbycat31]

35. Spanish

I took it in middle/high school adn to this day I am kicking myself for not paying more attention during class.

If your kid is fluent in both English and Spanish, they are a very valuable asset to employers later on in life.

[JitterbugPerfume]

36. my choice is Spanish

but any second language is a very valuable thing

I took Latin in HS . I still find it to be valuable knowledge , even though I have forgotten most of what I learned

[Lavender Brown]

37. I wouldn't worry over the initial choice-she can choose another later on

if she doesn't like the first class she takes. For now, I would go with whichever she thinks would be the most fun. I took Spanish and French and liked them both.

[Zoigal]

39. French. Learning Spanish is a snap after one knows French IMO.

[SoxFan]

40. Inuktitut

TELL THESE MOFOS KNOCK THIS SHIT OFF DAMN!!1!

[OmahaBlueDog]

41. How about Lakota?

[Left Is Write]

42. Personally, I would choose Spanish.

In fact, I did. I took Spanish classes for seven years. :D

[laconicsax]

43. Quenya or Sindarin.

You may have to find a private tutor, but it'll be worth it.

[OmahaBlueDog]

45. If I could take a language, it'd be Albanian

both Gheg and Tosc dialects

[WinkyDink]

44. French, if studying literature is an option.