My dd grew up bilingual (English/Spanish) and is a great translator. Since day one I would speak to her in English and than repeat the same thing in Spanish. I just wished I knew a third language. Her school offers French, Latin, Spanish and I believe we will be getting Chinese next year, but not until middle school (6th grade). The only option for lower school is Spanish. She is learning how to write Spanish now.
My XH's new wife is German. I recently hinted that maybe she could teach her German. We will see where that goes...
When my nephew was a little boy they moved to a neighborhood that was predominantly chinese. He had to either learn chinese quickly or not have any friends. Before long he was fluent in Chinese. I think this is the best way to learn a language.
