As a parent how to choose foreign language for your kid

In India we have three boards (mainly): State board, CBSE, ICSE (And there are some other boards like Cambrige and IB). I myself have studied in state board (Maharashtra). My kid is studying in CBSE board. In CBSE board we need to choose foreign language in 6 th standard. My kid had to choose between French, German, Spanish and Sanskrit. Also CBSE students after eighth standard can drop either HIndi or modern language. They need to study only two languages English and one more (HIndi or language chosen in sixth). State board however might not offer this wide variety of languages .I had option only between Sanskrit and Hindi, Whereas Marathi and English were compulsory. We went through this process of ‘ which language to choose’ for my kid. There are many factors to consider and we have to see where our requirements match and what is in best interest for our kid.

Factors to consider:

1. Our child’s strength or weak points: For example: People go for Sanskrit as it is a scoring language. But it is written in Devanagari. Is your child comfortable with ‘kana and matras’? Is their handwriting and speed is good in Devanagari?
2. Higher standard teachers in school: Always be informed about higher standard teachers in your school. A great teacher can make language interesting and that can help kids score better and more importantly learn language more enthusiastically.
3. Coaching availability: If you feel a need to supplement kid with special coaching then please be informed availability in your area of good tutors.
4. Availability in next standards: Is language of your choice is available for study in 11 th and 12 th grade as well? Some colleges might not offer Spanish or Sanskrit (sheer due to lack of demand).
5. Beyond Board exams: Think beyond Board exams. Let just not scoring decide language for your kid. Better think what literature, Movies, music is available for my kid in that language. Every language is a key to treasure.
6. Usability : German is official language of Germany, Austria and Switzerland. French is spoken in France, Belgium, Switzerland and some more countries. Spanish is spoken in Spain, Mexico, Venezuela and some more countries. Sanskrit is used to write Vedas. Ones who aspire to study Ayurveda, it is great to know Sanskrit. In bharatnatyam Sanskrit shlokas are recited. Yoga also uses Sanskrit as a language.
7. Opportunity: Check what is child’s interest. Germany has free education or subsidized education. Germany is known for its technology. Many opportunities for technical based people in Germany. France is known for its Art and Patisseries. Sanskrit is used for things mentioned in point 6. Yoga, Ayurveda or Bharatnatyam or even Sanskrit as language is very much in demand outside India.
8. Essence of a Language: Every language is beautiful, rich with its literature and history. But they differ in one or other way. French is considered as nice sounding language; but French pronunciations are different from spellings. German words are long but spellings are same as pronunciation. Sanskrit needs lot of byhearting of grammar. We have to choose according to what interests you more or what you find simpler.
9. Start learning yourself: May be you have learned foreign language in your school or college, may be not. Its not late. Start learning now a little bit with your kid. Its fun to learn a language. And small conversation at home in different language is definitely good.

Kids start learning language at early age so they can grasp any language really fast, so no need to worry about that. You can consider above elements to decide language for kids. We chose German for my kid. German grammar is considered to be difficult. I will write another article to tell about German and Sanskrit language and their nitty-gritties. I hope you guys find it helpful.