HS foreign language - Spanish? Latin?

[MommyThrice]

I've failed miserably in the foreign language department with my oldest ds. (The good news is that his younger brothers are benefitting from what I've learned :) - Don't quit Latin!!!)

 

Anyway, he made it through about 3/4 of Henle I, but hasn't looked at latin in over a year now. I'm trying to plan his last 4 years of school and I'm now ready to admit defeat and farm out foreign language to an online class. But, which one? I'm tempted to start him over again in Latin I and have him take 2 years before switching to Spanish for the last 2 year. If I do that, his Spanish will be dual-credit college courses.

 

So, is there any reason to take any HS Spanish classes if he plans to take 2 years of dual credit Spanish? Is there any benefit to taking only 2 years of Latin before we move on to Spanish? Is there a better way to sequence HS foreign language? Is it better to take 4 years of any one language? What are your thoughts?

 

Thanks!

[Samuel]

I would have him take four years of Spanish, with as much as possible at the college level. Learning a foreign language well is hard and takes a number of years. Latin is very useful, but the marginal utility of a little bit of Latin and little bit of Spanish is not very high. I would explore what options exist beyond College Spanish I and II. Sometimes ccs have literature courses or conversation classes--in particular, learning a good accent through conversation is very useful. Going to college with a good command of a modern language (good grammatical foundation and understanding, and ability to speak) is a great advantage in any number of possible majors

[MommyThrice]

So, if he takes two years of Spanish online (high school) then moves on to dual credit classes, won't he have to start over in Spanish I? I don't know much about dual credit (obviously!) Can you start in Spanish II if you've had the equivalent of year one in high school?

[Matryoshka]

So, if he takes two years of Spanish online (high school) then moves on to dual credit classes, won't he have to start over in Spanish I? I don't know much about dual credit (obviously!) Can you start in Spanish II if you've had the equivalent of year one in high school?

 

Shouldn't have to. I'd think they'd have some kind of test. I tested out of the first four semesters of college-level Spanish (basically all the grammar classes) and went right into literature classes. One year high school typically equals one semester college level.

[Kareni]

I would also recommend that your child get as many years as possible of one language under his belt. (Some colleges recommend/require three or four years study of a single language.)

 

Does your son favor one language over the other? If so, I would go with that language as there is more motivation to progress.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[G5052]

I always thought that I would manage the languages at home myself because I have a solid background in languages myself, but I am finding that mine seem to learn more and are more motivated in a group situation for languages for 7th and up.

 

So the plan is that I may teach Biology lab and H.S. Latin I at the co-op so they can take languages from other people during the teen years :001_smile:.

 

Right now I'm planning for a minimum of two years of H.S. credit Latin and four of Spanish for my oldest who excels at languages, and at least two of Latin and two of Spanish for my younger one whose skills are in other areas. Time will tell.

Edited January 30, 2010 by GVA

[MommyThrice]

Does your son favor one language over the other?

 

Well, he has a rather passionate "dislike" of Latin! I'm still concerned about dual credit classes. Do you have to take a test to go into Spanish II? Or do they just leave that up to you to decide which class you need to take?

[kiana]

Well, he has a rather passionate "dislike" of Latin! I'm still concerned about dual credit classes. Do you have to take a test to go into Spanish II? Or do they just leave that up to you to decide which class you need to take?

 

Usually they give a placement test. If the high school spanish is thorough, you would *expect* (not always true) that 1 yr hs spanish = 1 semester college spanish.

[Kareni]

I'd be inclined to agree with Kiana that it is quite likely he would be given a placement test. You might ask the high school Spanish teacher what generally happens when their students who have completed Spanish 2 move on to the community college. You might also ask at the community college what the process is when a student begins foreign language classes there.

 

And, yes, if he dislikes Latin, I'd suggest he do Spanish.

 

Regards,

Kareni

[K-FL]

 

So, is there any reason to take any HS Spanish classes if he plans to take 2 years of dual credit Spanish?

 

Thanks!

 

Dd#2 is dual-enrolling Spanish I w/o any For. Lang. experience. She made a B in her 1st semester. I'd just start @ the cc & go as far as you can. Dd#1 needs 3 semesters of FL to graduate w/an Eng. major & my niece needs 1 yr for bio/med major.

[MommyThrice]

Well, would you believe I asked him which he would rather take next year and he said Latin! :willy_nilly: Must be the teenage hormones.

 

Anyway, he doesn't want the little Latin he has had to be wasted. And he doesn't want to study Spanish for 4 whole years and end up with 6 years worth of HS credit. He would like to do 2 years of HS Latin online, then 2 years of dual-credit Spanish at the cc. Is this crazy? I mentioned that if he really enjoyed the Latin and felt like he was dropping it right before it "gets good" (actually reading Latin) we can continue on, or try doing both for one year.

 

Are we making a big mistake?

[K-FL]

Sounds like a plan to me. If he majors in the sciences or FL, he'll be ahead of the curve knowing the Latin, plus it will make the Spanish easier. He'll still end up w/ lots of hs language credit--2 Latin & 4 Spanish.

[kiana]

Sounds good -- I myself started in Spanish at the university after having taken about a year of Latin at home (we flaked after a year) and found the knowledge I'd gained in even a year plus the knowledge of word roots and grammar in English gave me a huge leg up on the rest of the students in the class. :)