klassiter

I think the earlier you introduce a language to a child the better. Children learn language from imitating you. The more you speak to a child, and read to a child in a specific language, the more language they will learn. We began speaking to our children from birth, and I think if you want your child to learn another language it is also important to start introducing at birth. Gradually your child will learn words and start to use them.

Yes, I had a teacher in high school that inspired me. During my Senior year in high school I was having a very hard time in my Spanish class. The teacher I had at the time was difficult to understand. After tutoring, and still not having much success my parents requested that I be moved to another Spanish class. It was there that I met Mrs. White. Mrs. White was a great teacher, I learned a lot in her class. I remember from the time you stepped in her classroom you could only speak Spanish. If you did not know how to ask for something you had to find out from someone before asking her. By being immersed in the Spanish language this way, I learned so much. I left that classroom knowing so much more than I did from my previous Spanish classes.

I would love to learn sign language. I think that it is so cool that people are able to communicate with each other by using their hands. I use to work with toddlers that had developmental delays. We use to use simple signs with them such as more, milk, thank you, etc. It was great to see them use the signs to communicate with their parents. I would love to know enough signs to be able to have a conversation with some one.

My first word was the word No. My mother says anything that someone asked me I would respond with the word No. I guess I heard the word No too many times. Lol! I remember my son's first word was Hi. He would say hi to anyone that walked by.

I have never tried learning a fictional language. I didn't know fictional languages existed. After reading some of the posts I am curious to find them to see what they sound like. I don't think I would try learning one but it sounds interesting.

I don't know if classroom Spanish is really useful. I had 4 years of Spanish in high school and never did pick up enough of it to hold a conversation with anyone. I think the best way to learn Spanish is actually interacting with someone who speaks the language.

I think that Spanish is a language worth learning because there are many Spanish speaking people in the United States. It is almost just as common as English. One school district that I worked in had such a large spanish speaking community that half of the school day was taught in English and the other half of the day was in Spanish. Knowing both languages would also make you more marketable when seeking employment.

I started to learn a second language in the second grade. My second grade teacher spoke French. Every morning he greeted the class in French and he taught us how to respond. I didn't have anymore experience with learning a second language until I got to middle school. In middle school I also had French. Middle school was my last experience learning French. When I went on to high school I had Spanish all 4 years.

I would love to learn Sign Language. I have always had an interest in it. I have a 3 month old daughter and I plan to start teaching her some signs. From my research signs are great to use with babies. Teaching your baby to sign helps reduce temper tantrums and frustration because your baby has a way of communicating with you before they can talk. I purchased the Signing Times DVD to learn some simple signs to teach my baby. I can't wait to see how well it works.