https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Thu, 14 May 2026 19:34:15 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584437 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 20:09:14 +0000 MediaNaranja 2584437@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied Spanish in high school. While I was in high school I studied abroad in Central America, which helped me get fluent quickly. After college I moved to South America, for a number of years so it was obviously very useful. My husband is also South American so even though we live in the US I still use it every day. And I am starting a new job that will require frequent travel to Mexico and one of the requirements was Spanish fluency. I'm proud that I've worked hard on my language development through my adult life to the point where native speakers are surprised that I don't have an accent! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584285 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 14:59:20 +0000 JenGirl 2584285@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I took Spanish in grades 1-8, Latin from 9-12 and 2 years of Spanish in college. I did a study abroad in Costa Rica, so the Spanish definitely helped then. I could carry out basic conversations, thought my grammar was horrendous. But I could get around and say what I needed to say.</p> <p>Since then it sometimes helps when traveling and random times throughout the year. I can generally read things pretty well in Spanish, which is sometimes helpful at work, but I still need a translator to speak to people. </p> <p>Latin helped with spelling, vocab and medical terms but I think I could have gotten most of that in the first year, so I wish I'd gone back to Spanish or learned another language the other 3 years in high school. It wasn't an option, but Arabic would have been super useful. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584151 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:38:59 +0000 Alivoo01 2584151@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Cantonese - spoke at home and growing up<br /> Mandarin - went to Chinese school since I was 9 until 18<br /> Spanish - from 6th grade till 11th grade</p> <p>I find all 3 of these languages useful! Spanish since I lived in OK and moved to TX for work. Heavy Spanish speaking states! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584130 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 12:08:56 +0000 nana87 2584130@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied Latin from 6th-11th grade, which was incredibly useful both for improving my understanding of English grammar concepts and for making it easier for me to learn Romance languages. From 12th grade on, I've taken between 2 years and 1 semester of a BUNCH of other Romance languages--Italian, Portuguese, French, and Spanish, in that order. I can muddle my way through those enough to get myself around in places where those are spoken, and am much better able to read than speak (which is more useful for me professionally...) but I wish I'd stuck with one longer rather than swithcing around. I started w Italian in high school/college, and took Portuguese because I studied abroad in Brazil, but I wish I had just focused on French because it would be much more useful for my profession, or Spanish becuase I think it's much more prevalent in the US. I really wish I spoke any of them enough to expose lo to them (aside from counting) since it is SO much easier to learn a language in the early years. I regret not being able to speak any other language to her </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584127 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:54:11 +0000 pregnantbee 2584127@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied Spanish through college and now use it as an occasional translator for customer service at my job. It's so useful that I want my children to learn it, too. We had our son in Spanish-immersion daycare and now he is fluent. Since moving him to an English-speaking preschool, he is losing much of it. I'm hoping it's all stuck in there somewhere so that when he starts learning again it will be easy. Spanish is also so helpful to know in California! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584087 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:10:52 +0000 catlady 2584087@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: You are probably right about this (for many things, not just languages!). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584083 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 11:07:37 +0000 looch 2584083@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I think there is a tendency for parents to try to expose thier kids to language, I think sometimes it stems from the fact that the parents desire to be multilingual, not so much the children.</p> <p>I think having the ability to be conversant in more than one language is only ever a benefit, but if my child decided he wasn't interested, I wouldn't push it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584062 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 10:52:13 +0000 catlady 2584062@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@looch: I think your husband's case is different, since there is an obvious use for it. I found her comment refreshing because it seems like everyone I know with kids is always talking about how they want their kids to learn this language or that one, but with no real reason why ("because it might be useful one day" is the main one I hear). As someone who went through an actual immersion program and found it sort of useless, I have always wondered if I should have tried harder to use it or something. I don't have a single family member who speaks French though, so the fact that my family chose to put me in French immersion is perplexing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584042 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 10:35:52 +0000 looch 2584042@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@catlady: I am curious why you find it refreshing...not trying to pick on your comment. The main reason why my husband felt the need to teach our son his native language is because he needs it to communicate with his extended family who still live abroad. It has nothing to do with usefulness in the US. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2584034 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 10:30:09 +0000 BKCaribBaby 2584034@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Latin, Spanish, French, Portuguese (and Xhosa, too). I have used Spanish a lot while traveling and living in a place with a large Spanish-speaking population, it's always nice to know it. I'm pretty decent for an non-native speaker. French I understand more than I speak, and I've actually used some Portuguese. I enjoy learning and speaking different languages. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583968 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 08:43:37 +0000 catlady 2583968@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>French for a very long time (1st grade through college)<br /> Cantonese for 3-4 years in elementary and middle school<br /> 1 year of college German</p> <p>Honestly, none of them have been useful. I still understand French enough so that I can visit a French speaking country and read signs and understand people (mostly) but I can barely speak it anymore. I can order dim sum in Chinese and that's about it. :)</p> <p>I spoke with someone from Europe who is now an American citizen and she hasn't even really started teaching her kids German yet (her native language) because she doesn't feel other languages are very useful in the U.S. Honestly, I found that refreshing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583962 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 08:32:57 +0000 snowjewelz 2583962@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I took French; totally useless haha. I wish I took Spanish! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583924 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 06:52:10 +0000 ElbieKay 2583924@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>French and Spanish. Both have been helpful on vacation, but not in any other context. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583922 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 06:47:05 +0000 erinbaderin 2583922@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>French - I took it through university. It's been useful for travel, plus I work for the federal government and sometimes our meetings are in French. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583919 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 06:42:36 +0000 looch 2583919@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Interesting read this thread! </p> <p>I learned Italian at home, Spanish from grades 6-9, Latin from grades 9-12, French my first year of college, German just recently, in the past 5 years or so.</p> <p>I am the most conversant in German, which is interesting because it's the language I've studied the least, but I hear it the most because it's my husband's native language. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583916 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 06:28:27 +0000 SugarplumsMom 2583916@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied to learn a couple of languages, both in school and on my own, but I never really got fluent enough to say I know them. </p> <p>Filipino: I took classes in Jr. high school. It was really beneficial because although I am Filipino and my parents spoke to me in Tagalog, I had no other practice outside the home. It really gave me confidence and I felt like it connected me to my roots.</p> <p>Spanish: I took classes in high school and college. I grew up in SoCal, so it's an essential! But honestly, I've gotten no practice and have since lost my knowledge almost entirely.</p> <p>Korean: I lived there as a teacher for a year and continued teaching online (for the same district) for 6 years after. I never took any formal classes, but I can read without actually knowing what the words mean. My knowledge is limited to a few basic phrases and songs. I like K-drama, so I find it's beneficial.</p> <p>Swedish: I took some classes and I'm supposedly at an elementary level. But I highly doubt it. It's what my tests show, but written Swedish is very different from spoken Swedish and I'm finding it very difficult to learn. I live here, so it's beneficial. But outside of Sweden, it's not so useful. But now that DD speaks, it's given me more incentive to learn. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583907 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 05:03:28 +0000 Andrea 2583907@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I know Cantonese and some Mandarin so I can communicate with the elders in my family that do not speak English. DD1 has been learning Mandarin and she was able to speak to them, too, when we visited so that was awesome. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583901 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 02:15:24 +0000 mrsbubbletea 2583901@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Spanish, 4 years in HS, and I speak it every single day working at a children's hospital in California! My mom is a Spanish teacher but she didn't teach it to us:( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583898 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 01:43:55 +0000 Cherrybee 2583898@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>German and, no, it hasn't been useful. I didn't even use it when I visited Germany because everyone insisted on speaking English to me and apparently nobody cares how many brothers and sisters I have or whether I have a wellensittich (FYI, I dont). </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583895 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 00:45:23 +0000 sunny 2583895@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I learned Cantonese at home and took French up to a highschool level. I can order in a Chinese restaurant but that's about it. Most people here speak mandarin so I can't communicate with them. I've been using a bit of French with my husband if we are trying to be secretive about something we don't want the kids to know about. :silly: I think Spanish would have been much more useful in America and I'll encourage my LOs to study Spanish in school. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583889 Mon, 11 Jul 2016 00:05:58 +0000 travelgirl1 2583889@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>German and Russian at high school and they have been no use to me whatsoever.<br /> I briefly studied Spanish at sixth form and that has been far more useful, since I married into a Spanish family and use it whenever we visit my husband's aunts and uncles, and on holiday in Spain. I need to get much better though. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583884 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 23:21:36 +0000 808love 2583884@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Corduroy: I took muchos anos of espanol and I couldn't understand an authentic accent to save my life or get into a respectable level of college placement. Pretty much anyone can teach it in middle school. @mrbee: I would love for LO to learn Japanese. I need a translator for future trips. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583883 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 23:18:35 +0000 Corduroy 2583883@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@mrbee: I also took Latin. </p> <p>I don't think it did much for me but I think my school's program was pretty poor. 3rd year we had a teacher from Italy that was aghast by how little we knew and our pronunciation. She kept screaming "stupid American children" at us. I learned more Spanish than Latin just by reading all the Spanish posted around the classroom. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583880 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 23:08:44 +0000 lamariniere 2583880@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>French. I married a Frenchman and currently work as a translator. All of my previous jobs have been for French or Swiss companies that required French to be spoken, and it was even the working language for one of them, so yes, it was exceedingly helpful. :happy: I don't think studying language is ever a waste. Even if you don't use it, it will open you up to another culture and give you some understanding of other people. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583809 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 18:05:11 +0000 808love 2583809@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Spanish! Helped me while watching Dora, visiting Mexico and eating at Mexican restaurants. Also I'm sure there is some kind of global cultural appreciation and linguistical knowledge that has helped me with other languages indirectly. Definitely not a waste. LO has a Compassion pen pal from Mexico that is her age so I'm sure it will come in handy as they get older. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/what-languages-did-you-learn-and-have-they-been-useful#post-2583807 Sun, 10 Jul 2016 17:55:40 +0000 mrbee 2583807@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I studied Latin in high school, partly because I've always loved Ancient Rome but mostly because it was so useful when studying for the SATs! If I were to do it again, I would study a language that people actually speak!</p> <p>I studied Japanese, mostly because my mom is Japanese but didn't speak it to me growing up. I made great friends and connected to my roots, but always figured I'd use Japanese in business! It looked like Japan was taking over the world back then. But then Japan went into a big depression and their economy hasn't been very dynamic. So it never was useful in my career like I thought it would be... </p>