Astdua

The younger the possible. A child's mind is amazing and can absorb a ton of information at a very rapid rate, so that should be taken advantage of. I wouldn't push my children to learn too much or have them get the grammatical part of it, but simply expose them to foreign languages and culture, be it through children's books, movies or toys, and let them get an early start on linguistics. They will thank me later.

Everybody would of course prefer to study languages, or most other things, alone with a tutor or something similar, as there is not enough individual attention paid to all of the students, usually. Well that depends on the quality of the course, but during high school Spanish, I barely got anything from my semesters due to the majority of the class not taking the language seriously, thus leading the teacher to pretty much not push it and let it flow on an easy level, just so we could be out of his classroom faster.

Hola Charli, como estas? Welcome and enjoy your stay. This seems like just the right place to be for your purpose. As I too, have taken a great interest in learning Spanish, I am happy there are more enthusiasts of it here. So see you around!

A Christmas Carol, if that counts, is one of my all-time childhood favorites, I believe it perfectly captures Dickens' mastery of the language on the backdrop of the magical Christmas atmosphere, as well as the deeper philosophical symbolism has caught me all those years back as a kid, and has since never let me go. Appropriate for December too.

I like to shorten my Hola, at least in written variant, to a little cute "Ola", and then immediately followed by a polite "como estas?". Occasionally I'd mix it up and use Buenos Dias!

English is already considered the de facto global language, so if even more people knew it, it would benefit the world greatly. In a globalized world, us humans need more than ever to be able to understand and communicate with each other, and the language is mother of all that, so I see it as necessary for something like the English language exist. Of course, that doesn't mean that any old linguistic traditions and spoken languages should be eliminated or replaced, but simply if everyone knew their mother tongue, and then English, everything is perfect.

I don't have children myself, but I am speaking from general knowledge here, and it's a fact that when you are young and developing, the mind is a very powerful tool, and I hear of cases where children growing up can learn 3-4 languages at a native level, if their household provides them! So while I wouldn't "force" my own kids, I'd like to expose them to a varieties of linguistic paths, and they would develop on their own, a simple push towards that direction will give them a stable ground.

Instead of Latin specifically, as it is quite of a niche, hobbyist type of language, I propose we have perhaps have a general Ancient Languages type of forum, for all the other ancient/dead language goodies in one place. I see a lot of potential for a fruitful interesting discussion myself.

I think that online tutorials are a great starting point for beginners, but they will in no way give you the full scope of things. It depends on how much you are willing to focus on it, and the tutorials themselves. I've found that some video tutors are really good teachers.

That channel looks interesting, thanks! Bad words often have a very long and complex history, they have a sort of dark cloud above them, negative connotations. It's a matter of culture, displayed by the fact that a word to some may be completely fine, while to others it can be the worst(as also shown in some borrowed words in European languages)

Ancient languages such as Latin and Sumerian have their place in modern society, in the form of hobbies and/or professional fields, such as History and Archaeology. As a major fan if ancient history myself, I would find it fascinating to learn at least a little bit from them. But then again, I do know some basic roman phrases(obviously famous ones that everybody knows but still...)

Hello everyone, I am new here. I am an enthusiastic language learner, and since I was a little kid I've had sort of a natural ability for linguistics. It has shaped my interest, and my current focus is on learning Spanish, which is a simple, but elegant start. ; ) Glad to be here.

When I switch to a secondary language, I feel like the new rules and possibilities shape the way I express myself. and expressing yourself, or different parts of you, can be very different on different languages, although there are core universal basics. I guess it's more of a thing where you explore the way you perceive and express different aspects of yourself, rather than being a whole new person.

The wrong way in my opinion is either focusing on proper grammar and structure too much, or focusing on casual conversation too much. In both cases you are missing out on something and your level of fluency will be deficient of progress. Basically if you put a guy who has been in Colombia for 5 years in-front of a textbook, he will be struggling, and if you put someone who has been reading too much Spanish in Colombia, he will again be struggling. What I like to do is mix up grammar lessons with courses and conversing with native speakers to get a perfect blend.

Sweet, this seems to be just simple enough for me, yet helpful and well structured. I've been recently struggling with my Spanish, and looking for new resources can be intimidating. Gonna give it a shot.

I'm almost certain that language influences the way we perceive things, as well as other cognitive functions. I remember an interesting study about some kind of a tribe that doesn't have a concept of certain things simply because they don't have the necessary linguistic development to explain them, yet it's possible that just the reverse opposite is true, which seems to bring it into a chicken-egg kind of conversation.

Spanish is a beautiful and elegant language, yet simple and easy to learn, which is actually quite a rarity in linguistics. I am interested in both Spanish European and Latin American culture, cinema, literature and music, therefore it's a no-brainer. For more practical reasoning, Spanish is one of the most widely spoken languages in the world, and can be useful in business and a plethora of other things worldwide.

Don Quixote I think is the first obvious classic choice to get a younger mind into Spanish. Although that's more for adolescents and teenagers, not children's literature first choice. If you could specify your nephew's age, I could give more relevant suggestions.

One Hundred Years of Solitude aka Cien anos de Soledad, by acclaimed Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It's not only my favorite Spanish-language book, but also one of my all-time favorites, as it also displays the Latin American presence in modernism and relevant world literature.