Spanish- what should I do?

[choirfarm]

My oldest did some of Rosetta Stone off and on in junior high. He started SOS Spanish I this year and at first really liked it. I think he is on unit 3 and is really struggling. He likes to do well and is a perfectionist. He made a 71 on the last quiz and doesn't understand some of what he got wrong. He isn't even sure where some of it was covered. He says most of what he has done well on he already learned from Rosetta Stone. I don't know Spanish at all, so I am no help. I'm not sure what to do.. Someone said you were supposed to do SOS Secondary Spanish before this? If so, should I get that?? Also we have a microphone but it won't record him. I know they require 2 years of foreign language. We have a CC that had a great Spanish teacher that homeschoolers take. I guess I thought he should have some under his belt before he takes it. Plus, I thought he should take a course that would make him feel successful first. I just don't know what to do.

 

Christine

[Susan C.]

Hi Christine,

I'm there with you...oldest did Rosetta Stone for two years, I awarded the two credits, he is now taking beginning Spanish at college (and it is going well). He said Rosetta Stone helped a little (we did an older version of it). Starting over is why he is doing fine, he said it wouldn't have been pretty to come in the middle at college with just RS.

 

So, for dd, who is in 10th grade this year, so far, I am just doing a Spanish workbook and having her watch the first two dvds of Standard Deviants. She loves this, and it is a good first exposure for her. I don't speak Spanish, so she has to go on her own. She has tried Mango, it was good for fun for a few weeks, but she needed some grammar structure and rules to work with. She also gets on facebook with friends who are further along in Spanish and they correct her mistakes. They have commented how much better she is doing, and that has happened since we went to Standard Deviants. She watches each lesson twice over two days, does their quizzes, and reports to me what she got. Both dvds under $40 on Amazon, we got The Basics, and Beyond the Basics. I am not sure what we will do next, but I am hoping to get her far enough so she can do Breaking The Barrier on her own.

[Kareni]

You might also want to take a look at William Linney's Getting Started with Spanish: Beginning Spanish for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age. His Latin book of a similar title has received much praise. The link I've included has a preview of the book and some free audio downloads. And the price, at just under $21.00, is hard to beat.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[Susan C.]

Kareni,

Hmmmm, how would your recommendation compare to Breaking the Barrier? Would it be considered Spanish 1?

[Julie in MN]

Usually the shocker is when you move from words to sentences. Few Spanish programs seem to stop & say, "Now we need to use grammar!"

 

Is your child fully familiar with things like different forms of verbs in English? You may want to over-teach this transition, pointing out what's really going on when you use Spanish in sentences.

 

I mean, even if kids have done grammar workbooks, they might not consciously be realizing that he may know say, for instance, the English word "go," but when he speaks he is constantly adjusting the word:

 

I will go to the store.

I went to the store.

He goes to the store.

etc.

Then of course you add in the Spanish genders & such...

 

 

He may have all the info he needs in his brain, regarding English & Spanish both, but could just be missing some simple connection...? It's happened at our house.

Julie

[Miss Marple]

We have a CC that had a great Spanish teacher that homeschoolers take.

 

We did the same thing - Rosetta Stone early then SOS Spanish 1 for 9th/10th. We never really could get into a groove with any of it, partially because of the technology bugs (Spanish keyboard setting, microphone, etc.) and partially because I can't really help. So...we decided to have DSs take Spanish concurrently at our local university. It worked fantastically with my oldest who is now getting a Spanish minor, and Ds#2 is in his first semester doing very well also. He has no interest to do any Spanish beyond the 2 credits required. Neither boy had much Spanish before beginning concurrently.

 

I plan to do the same with the two younger boys when they are able to do concurrent classes. I just can't teach Spanish, and it doesn't get done with those "do it on your own" programs.

[EKS]

You might also want to take a look at William Linney's Getting Started with Spanish: Beginning Spanish for Homeschoolers and Self-Taught Students of Any Age. His Latin book of a similar title has received much praise. The link I've included has a preview of the book and some free audio downloads. And the price, at just under $21.00, is hard to beat.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

THANK YOU so much for this suggestion! I too have been struggling with Spanish for my oldest this year. We used Getting Started with Latin a few years ago and it was by far the best foreign language experience we've had. I didn't realize he had a Spanish one out. I just ordered it. I wish he would make a series of these that go to the equivalent of two high school years. That would solve all of my problems.

[Jean in Wisc]

My oldest did some of Rosetta Stone off and on in junior high. He started SOS Spanish I this year and at first really liked it. I think he is on unit 3 and is really struggling. He likes to do well and is a perfectionist. He made a 71 on the last quiz and doesn't understand some of what he got wrong. He isn't even sure where some of it was covered. He says most of what he has done well on he already learned from Rosetta Stone. I don't know Spanish at all, so I am no help. I'm not sure what to do.. Someone said you were supposed to do SOS Secondary Spanish before this? If so, should I get that?? Also we have a microphone but it won't record him. I know they require 2 years of foreign language. We have a CC that had a great Spanish teacher that homeschoolers take. I guess I thought he should have some under his belt before he takes it. Plus, I thought he should take a course that would make him feel successful first. I just don't know what to do.

 

Christine

 

We do SOS open notebook--if the child has it in his notebook, he can use it. My dd did well in college Spanish after doing this--I know she learned a lot.

 

If you want to stay with SOS, yes, he probably would do better by starting with Secondary Spanish, although my 1st 2 kids did not use it. I would think that he could jump into Spanish I after Rosetta Stone, but I am sure the two do not line up as well as Secondary Spanish would.

 

The problem with the program is that there are more correct ways of answering the question than the computer allows. If you are willing to put your questions here or on the Spanish board, people are more than willing to help you. Type the question, his answer, and the computer's answer, and we will be able to tell you if his answer is okay (i.e. the computer did not give that as a good answer, but it is still grammatically correct) or if he made a mistake. Several of us have the program, so we might even be able to go in and see what the problem is.

 

The program gives way too much vocabulary and memorization, imo. That is why we do it open notebook. The child still needs to understand the grammar and usage in order to do well in the program.

 

I majored in Spanish in college, but am not a native speaker--and I've forgotten a whole lot of the language. But there are many native speakers here who are more than willing to help. Sometimes a few explanations of what he does not understand is all that is needed to get the child to move forward.

 

HTH,

Jean

 

P.S. I don't frequent the boards as often as I use to--if you want to get a hold of me, send me a pm.

[StephanieZ]

I hit a wall a couple weeks ago with dd12 having trouble with her spanish. . .I called our local university and found a great tutor. It was super easy to find a very qualified tutor for very reasonable fee. We're meeting every 2 weeks for her to answer questions on recent exercises, preview upcoming materials, and practice verbal skills. So far, it's GREAT!

 

Foreign language is one area where I am pretty much useless, having struggled through college french with mediocre grades and an atrocious accent. I've always known I'd have to out source foreign language, and for me using a tutor is much more flexible than taking a course, and it allows us to continue using the books/programs I have chosen and we are comfortable with.

[Kareni]

... We used Getting Started with Latin a few years ago and it was by far the best foreign language experience we've had. I didn't realize he had a Spanish one out. I just ordered it. I wish he would make a series of these that go to the equivalent of two high school years. That would solve all of my problems.

 

So, Kai, given your experience with GSWL are you able to answer Susan C.'s question above: "Would it be considered Spanish 1?" I have no firsthand knowledge so cannot.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[EKS]

So, Kai, given your experience with GSWL are you able to answer Susan C.'s question above: "Would it be considered Spanish 1?" I have no firsthand knowledge so cannot.

 

Regards,

Kareni

 

GSWL (according to the author) is about a semester of Latin. Having done GSWL as well as half of SYRWTLL 1, I would say it is probably less than that. I'm assuming that the Spanish is similar.

[Kareni]

Thanks, Kai!

 

Regards,

Kareni