Z was always interested in foreign languages ad originally I tried teaching her Spanish since that is what I took in highschool and college and also it seems very practical.
But our family is also very into Japanese culture. I used to take karate and help my dad teach it. I also used to collect manga and I really love anime. Z watched a lot of Japanese anime with subtitles before she could read. (I think watching Sailormoon in Japanese with English subtitles brought her reading speed up very quickly when she was four.)
We also used to host Japanese foreign exchange students. The last one we had, before we moved, was a very young teenager that Z spent a lot of time connecting with. Z was heartbroken when she left.
Though it wasn't all tears :)
(She also has quite a collection of Japanese things)
So after we moved when Z asked if she could start learning Japanese I did what I could to find her a tutor. I ended up finding one on craigslist. This fall Z will have been studying with her for two years.
Last winter I asked Z if she still wanted to study Japanese and she chose to do so. Since she has invested so much time into learning the language I would like her to keep it up. But it is not something she has to do.
My plan is to start on a third language in two years. Z is interested in more langauges. She studied French on her own before we went to France and then tried to get her aunt to teach her while we were there. So maybe she'll have an interest in French or maybe she'll want to go back to Spanish.
2 comments:
Wow!What great opportunities Z had to learn about Japanese culture!
I always thought she "took a class." A private tutor does seem like the most viable option for teaching a difficult language. This gives me hope about finding someone to teach Citcat Chinese. Hmmm.....How did you verify the teacher. I read a story in the NYT about how wealthy families want Chinese nannies to teach their children Chinese but the families go to great lengths to determine if the nanny speaks Mandarian well.
I would love to read about Z's music background and how she came to start piano. Citcat's music teacher is adamant that a child not start learning to play until six year old and while I respect her, I am not sure if this is best for Citcat.
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