French or Spanish

babyoush

想請問一下各位, 如果有意思比小朋友學外語, 你地會選擇法文定西班牙文同埋點解?? thx~

Mighty

Good question!! FRENCH　好聴、　SPANISH用的人多過FRENCH。　　講CLASSY,就当然選択FRENCH！！　　I didnt answer yr question, did i?

babyoush

原文章由 Mighty 於 08-5-19 19:44 發表
Good question!! FRENCH　好聴、　SPANISH用的人多過FRENCH。　　講CLASSY,就当然選択FRENCH！！　　I didnt answer yr question, did i?

但我有朋友話法文多人用喎, 咁到底係只有香港多人用法文, 還是外國都多, 定係相反??

mow-mow

Globally, there are far more Spanish speakers than French speakers.
That is because Spain used to have more colonies than France.
The entire South America continent (other than Brazil) speaks Spanish.
In some parts of USA (eg Miami), there are arguably more Spanish speakers than even English speakers.

Mighty

我賛成MOWーMOW。　　人口計算、当然是用SPANISH 的人多！！　　選択就在於学習這２種語言的目的。　　SPANISH同ITALIAN類似、我丈夫識ITALIAN的、聴到SPANISH也大概理解得到。　　但個人又覚得識講FRENCH的女孩子很吸引！！　　

mow-mow

Acoustically, French does sound much more pleasant than Spanish.
But if the decision is for kids, I'll vote for Spanish.
When the Asian markets plateau in 20 years time, thhe next emerging market could well be South America. Those who can speak Spanish may have a head start on others.
Just my obscure thinking!

babyoush

原文章由 Mighty 於 08-5-19 20:47 發表
我賛成MOWーMOW。　　人口計算、当然是用SPANISH 的人多！！　　選択就在於学習這２種語言的目的。　　SPANISH同ITALIAN類似、我丈夫識ITALIAN的、聴到SPANISH也大概理解得到。　　但個人又覚得識講FRENCH的女孩子很吸引！！　 ...

如果聽你地咁講, 想小朋友識實用率高Do既語言就應該選擇西班牙文, 但係少有D就應該學法文, 咁如果識法文又會唔會矜貴/吃香D呢??

Mighty

亜洲人面孔、但又能説一種流利欧州語言、無論FRENCH也好、SPANISH也好、我個人覚得都非常吸引。　　但我也会選択SPANISH,原因是発音較FRENCH容易（以香港人来説）。　可否給小朋友自己選択、這様可能会維持較久。　　還是学校本身的選科？

babyoush

原文章由 Mighty 於 08-5-19 21:55 發表
亜洲人面孔、但又能説一種流利欧州語言、無論FRENCH也好、SPANISH也好、我個人覚得都非常吸引。　　但我也会選択SPANISH,原因是発音較FRENCH容易（以香港人来説）。　可否給小朋友自己選択、這様可能会維持較久。　　還 ...

唔係學校選科, 只係自己想搜集一下資料, 雖然小朋友還細, 但因為將來希望小朋友可以識多一種語言, 自己都想同小朋友一齊學, 但一路都唔知邊樣好d, 所以為自己又為小朋友就問下各位, 問多d到真係要選擇時就冇咁手足無措啦嘛, 我都會比小朋友自己選擇, 不過佢未選擇之前, 我覺得自己都要對2者有一定認識, 咁先可以比意見佢, 因為始終佢都冇接觸過2種語言, 好多謝2位寶貴意見, 我覺得對我將來選擇好有用, 多謝

FYLSK

Apart from spanish and French, how about German? I choose German because I forecast German cos will occupy a big share in the business market.

NLai

識法文既人好多都識西班牙文, 反之則不是. 因為法文難D, 小女2人及本人都係過來人, 小朋友細學セ都一樣, 學法文先, 大个咗自己再去西班牙話, no problem 的, 我好多friends 都係甘學.

babyoush

原文章由 NLai 於 08-5-20 16:56 發表
識法文既人好多都識西班牙文, 反之則不是. 因為法文難D, 小女2人及本人都係過來人, 小朋友細學セ都一樣, 學法文先, 大个咗自己再去西班牙話, no problem 的, 我好多friends 都係甘學. ...

即係話學法文先再學西班牙文會易D?? 咁2樣其實似唔似架呢?? 小朋友又應該幾大開始學法文會好D呢??

almom

Agree with some who posted comments earlier.
Spanish is more widely used worldwide. The total population that speak Spanish as a first language is huge. Consider the population in South America (Brazil uses Portugese though) and the US. Also, consider the fact that many Spanish speakers do not speak any English at all, even within the US (they are mostly grassroot working class), knowing Spanish is probably very advantageous for some jobs or business. So it is considered a practical skills in the US to learn Spanish.

French is a more popular language in Europe. French has been offered by a lot local elite secondary school as an additional language for a few decades. So it is quite understandable why it is much more popular here in Hong Kong. However, people that speak French usually do speak some other languages, including English. It is in fact extremely common that people in Europe speak at least 2 European languages (some speak 3 or more, including the less popular languages like Swedish or Dutch etc). So it seems that it is practically not as "needed".

I know both languages and would say that both are probably in par when you compare which is more difficult (or easy) to learn. With good foundation of English, it is quite easy to pick up these 2 languages. With constant classes and exposure, you can pick up these languages pretty well within one year. However, I would not suggest parents to be too aggressive and try to introduce a third language (ie, in additional to English and Chinese) if the child is still struggling with English (particularly those in local schools).

Want to know more of the 2 languages? Listen to pop songs like Living la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin) and La Vie en Rose (probably the most well known French song). Do some google searches or even watch some movies. Culturally, Spanish relates to noise, dance, being sexy and hot. French relates to romance, class, being cool and calm.

I agree that letting children choose is the best way. Let them learn a bit about the culture first and then let them choose a language they want to learn.

[ 本文章最後由 almom 於 08-5-20 20:09 編輯 ]

almom

Both Spanish and French are "closer" when compared to English, because they are both developed from Latin (Italian is also from Latin).
So once you have learned French, it is extremely easy to learn Spanish. And vice versa.
English is another group of language that is not that related to Latin.

German is alien to me. A friend said that it is not easy to learn.

The best time to really seriously learn a third language is after primary school.

[ 本文章最後由 almom 於 08-5-20 18:30 編輯 ]

seec

Unforturely our kids cannot easy to have enough exposure for the third language. Sometimes I really wonder the effectiveness of the after school class per week if they haven't got opportunity to practise.
Anyone would like to share the experiences with us?

babyoush

原文章由 almom 於 08-5-20 18:25 發表
Both Spanish and French are "closer" when compared to English, because they are both developed from Latin (Italian is also from Latin).
So once you have learned French, it is extremely easy to learn S ...

因為我想小朋友學得輕鬆D, 所以我會搵D playgroup比佢地上, 但見到你o既回應, 應該小學之後先開始學, 咁我應唔應該比佢地上外語playgroup呢? 同埋有咩方法可以比佢地接觸到當地文化呢? 如果到小學先比佢地接觸又會唔會冇咁易融合呢? 唔好意思好多野問.

almom

原文章由 babyoush 於 08-5-20 19:35 發表

因為我想小朋友學得輕鬆D, 所以我會搵D playgroup比佢地上, 但見到你o既回應, 應該小學之後先開始學, 咁我應唔應該比佢地上外語playgroup呢? 同埋有咩方法可以比佢地接觸到當地文化呢? 如果到小學先比佢地接觸又會 ...

Are your family local Chinese?
Do you think your priority should be letting your children learn a better second language, ie English, first?
I do not see the point of enrolling French or Spanish playgroups for local Chinese speaking toddlers. (Unless I misunderstood, "playgroups" are usually for pre-school children, or at least that is the "definition" generally used in Hong Kong.)
Unless, of course, you think you would be giving up either Chinese or English totally. And French or Spanish would be their second language.
Introducing a third language (if you are including Chinese in your "recipe") too early is not wise.

[ 本文章最後由 almom 於 08-5-20 20:16 編輯 ]

babyoush

原文章由 almom 於 08-5-20 19:58 發表


Are your family local Chinese?
Do you think your priority should be letting your children learn a better second language, ie English, first?
I do not see the point of enrolling French or Spanish pla ...

我地屋企係100%香港人, 不過小朋友唔識中文, 如果根據你所講, 我係咪應該比佢地學普通話先呢?? 佢地2個都係返緊Pre-school, 請比D意見我, 因為我冇經驗, 屋企人諗法又同我唔同, 比唔到意見我, 所以我都唔知應該點做

mow-mow

Don't you think Chinese should be a higher priority than French / Spanish?
Even if you are thinking of sending the kids to International School, it is still more useful for them to learn Chinese, not to mention easier in a Chinese-predominated environment!

babyoush

原文章由 mow-mow 於 08-5-21 15:51 發表
Don't you think Chinese should be a higher priority than French / Spanish?
Even if you are thinking of sending the kids to International School, it is still more useful for them to learn Chinese, not  ...

其實我已決定會比佢地學普通話架啦, 不過我諗緊將來除咗普通話仲好唔好學多一種其他語言, 可能我真係太心急啦, 我應該比佢地學好普通話先, 但係我應該搵d一個星期一次個d普通話班, 還是有d一個星期返2,3堂呢?? 一個星期一次會唔會太少機會比佢地練習呢?? 仲有, 咁多位有冇d輕鬆d學普通話而feedback又好o既centre可以介紹呀?? 最好係港島區, 中環/銅鑼灣最好, 唔好意思麻煩大家, 我都覺得自己好煩