Has anyone left foreign language until Jr. High (7th) and regretted it?

[...................]

thoughts welcome....I am considering dropping this for my dd10.  It's a big commitment that we are just struggling with.  My state requires foreign language beginning in 7th grade, but not before.  She was picking up Spanish pretty well and she definitely doesn't struggle with it, in general.  But the problem is, it's a big commitment time-wise for both of us.

 

 

[dewdropfairy]

Well, *I* was public schooled and didn't start FL until 8th grade and it was one of my biggest regrets academically, so I've made it a priority in elementary for my kids. Research indicates younger kids just have a great capacity for learning language. But that may not be what is best for your family.

[Lori D.]

It really depends on what your goals are as far as a foreign language:

Fluency?

Open doors for foreign travel/study?

Make it easier in high school/college due to earlier exposure?

Just get 'er done / knock out required credits?

 

My initial goal for foreign language was just to follow WTM recommendations. We tried several times with several different programs to do Spanish in elementary and middle school, and just had to drop it due to needing that time to focus on remedial work due to some LDs. Also, neither DS ever showed ANY interest in wanting to learn ANY foreign language throughout ANY of our 12 years of homeschooling.

 

So, by high school, due to being worn down by dealing with LDs and attitudes, my goals had shifted from "doing foreign language in elementary/middle school because classical education says to do it" … to: "foreign language = a box to check off to meet high school/college requirements". We ended up saving foreign language for the senior year for each DS and did 2 semesters as dual enrollment. After high school graduation, each DS went on to do another 2 semesters at the Community College (for a total of 4 semesters) while taking other Gen. Ed. classes -- and we all walked away satisfied about foreign language.

 

No one is fluent, but then, no one wanted to be, so I guess no regrets here. It would have been nice, but other things that NEEDED to be taken care of, and things that DSs WANTED to do, all DID happen, so it's ok. I just hit a point where I realized I can't MAKE them want to learn something. Yes, at some point in the future, DSs may regret it, just like they may regret not having learned a musical instrument. But I'm not going to beat myself up for their choices about not wanting to learn more when they had the chance. They need to own that, not me.

 

As far as my own experience with learning a foreign language… I had 5 years of Spanish starting in 8th grade, and was almost reaching a point of almost being able to hold basic conversations without struggle; 6 months of immersion would have probably completed the process. But, I wasn't interested in continuing, and, while it would have been nice to know another language, I preferred to expend my energies in other directions in college. I can live with the consequences of that choice. ;)

 

Just our experience and outlook! Best of luck in finding what works for YOUR family! :) Warmest regards, Lori D.

 

 

PS

Just re-read your post -- disregard my thoughts above...

 

The thing that concerns me from your original post is that it looks you MUST pick foreign language back up again in 7th grade -- so, you're looking at dropping what progress you've made for 1 year, and then you have to start again. I would consider how does that feel? Will that make things harder in 7th? Or will you just be able to start all over and your previous exposure will help make starting back at the beginning of Spanish easier so you can devote more time to other classes?

[Curlymom]

Is Spanish what you are considering dropping, and is it in addition to Latin?  Or is it just one language that she is doing and considering dropping? If she is currently just studying one language, I would keep it.  But if you added Spanish on top of Latin, and want to drop the Spanish, that's a bit different.

 

I don't have experience with kids that old (mine are a little younger), but I personally didn't start a foreign language until high school and I truly regret it.  The particularly ironic part about that is that my mother is fluent in Spanish and just didn't teach us.  But that's a completely different story.

 

Anyways, if you have to add it back in for 7th, I would get a head start.  From your signature it looks like you are really heavy in language arts and might be able to pare back in a few places.   

 

 

 

 

[EndOfOrdinary]

Is there a way you could back burner the Spanish for a while, but not totally drop it? Could you just watch some Gato y Perro for a bit here and there or Salsa once a week? Could you check out one kid's book from the library and read it a few times over a couple weeks and just rotate through new ones?

 

We have taken periods where we slow a language down to just a holding pattern for a couple months instead of stopping. It allows for breath without losing too much.

 

I had Latin early in school, then a huge break of nothing until high school and college. I wish I would have had someone to have helped me keep up the Latin and personally expand into Spanish or French as I had wanted to. My son hit languages way early and they are definitely not something he is willing to drop. I hear you on the major time suck. I mean it is great and all, but our day is definitely affected.

thoughts welcome....I am considering dropping this for my dd10.  It's a big commitment that we are just struggling with.  My state requires foreign language beginning in 7th grade, but not before.  She was picking up Spanish pretty well and she definitely doesn't struggle with it, in general.  But the problem is, it's a big commitment time-wise for both of us.

 

I think it depends on the language.  For spoken languages, getting all the phonemes pronounced correctly is much, much easier when they are in early elementary.  They probably won't learn much grammar or vocab then, especially without immersion, but no amount of practice once they are older will help their accent.  So, I think that spoken language should be taught earlier, but lacking immersion, don't expect much other than good pronunciation and listening skills.

 

Non-spoken languages, like Latin, Greek, and ASL (?), which depend more on memorizing vocab and grammar rules, can easily wait until Jr. High, with very little downside.  I know it is adorable to see the very little ones chanting their Greek or Latin, but these elementary programs can take years to cover what a serious program can cover in a few months.  Why not spend that time instead doing spoken language, or playing in ditches, or anything else that only little kids can do and love to do.

[...................]

OK, we decided to drop Latin but keep going with Spanish using Rosetta Stone and the nice printable workbook.  She seems young enough to not have any trouble at all with pronunciation, and she picks it up very easily and it is very minimal work for me.

[AK_Mom4]

My three older kids didn't start German until high school (9th grade). Two of them are fluent speakers now and the third could be if he wanted to keep in practice. Waiting until 7th grade shouldn't be a problem. DD13 plans to pick up a language in high school but hasn't settled for sure on which one.