AP Spanish for bilingual speaker?

[Brad S]

DS is in 8th grade and is a native bilingual Spanish-English speaker (Mom speaks exclusively Spanish to DS, Dad speaks English to DS), but almost all of his education has been in English due to the far broader availability of homeschool-friendly materials in English.  DS can speak Spanish as well as a typical 8th grader in a Spanish-speaking country but has had minimal written or literature experience in Spanish beyond a basic elementary school level (maybe, 4th-5th grade level?).  We'd like for DS to be fully functional in Spanish at the adult or college level.

 

Does anyone know of materials for a young high school student in Spanish who's a native speaker?  Santillana USA offers course materials for each grade through 12th, but it seems designed for classroom use and at a pretty slow pace for self-learning when a lot of the basic language arts have already been learned in English (in the sample text, which is for 7th grade, the grammar lessons cover things that I haven't heard DS make errors for several years, and spelling and punctuation aren't a problem either); I can't see spending four years going through this or just buying texts at $70 a pop to see if there's a later grade that would be a good match.  For a different approach, there is an AP Spanish Language and Culture course and test.  DS may be ready for that in terms of his Spanish, or may need a year before that, but we could take as long or little time as needed -- but the sample materials online are both for native English speakers, and apparently more problematic, for classrooms.  The AP Language and Culture approach would still probably be better for bilingual speakers like us than the Santillana USA materials.  In addition, it would seem to be useful to include in college applications to demonstrate proficiency.

 

There is an AP Spanish Literature and Culture course and test, and we could find some literature from lists for this course and test, such as that by Santillana.  After a class in AP Spanish Language and Culture, the Literature and Culture course and exam would seem to flow naturally for native bilinguals or those who've learned Spanish as a second language.  So, my questions really come down to: (1) does what I've written above make sense? (2) are there materials for something like an AP Spanish Language and Culture course that would work well in a homeschool environment?; and (3) does anyone know of good reading lists in Spanish beyond the Santillana list and the AP Spanish Literature and Culture course required reading list?  Thanks!

 

Update: There is currently a free EdX.org course on Spanish Language and Culture which at least partially prepares or familiarizes the student with the corresponding AP exam. It appears that EdX has had a similar course(s) in the past.

[Renai]

Good question. My dd is in the same boat, almost, which means I have no answers. She is also bilingual and we used native Spanish materials (most bought locally, some translated Rod and Staff, some Santillana) for her through the 5th grade. She went to 7th in a dual-language school and she placed in the native Spanish language class. She skipped 8th. Now, in the 9th grade at the performing arts school, they don't have classes for native speakers, only those learning Spanish. The other Spanish speakers we know at the school were placed in those classes, but higher levels. I told them I considered it an insult and equivalent to placing an English speaker in ESL classes.

 

A fuerza, she needs a foreign language class, so they offered her the AP Spanish for 10th grade. We're still pondering it. I'd rather she take the heritage Spanish classes at the community college. None of the classes work with her schedule though, and I haven't found a single equivalent class online. Our state recently passed a bilingual seal option on the diploma, and I'd like her to have it. It doesn't look possible at this school, though.

 

I haven't found that materials geared to a classroom to be a problem. That's a good thing, because I haven't found native Spanish materials written for homeschoolers yet. The thing to remember about Santillana USA (which I often forget), is they are based in the USA, and materials produced are with the intention that the students are learning English, and will be fluent in English (maybe even dominant) at the same time. I never considered the materials might move slower.

 

Are you part of the yahoo group Educando en Familia? Homeschoolers all over the world in that one. They might also be on fb. Homeschoolers Hispanas is on fb, but I don't know how many are doing dual language at our kids' ages. These are probably good places to look for answers as well.

 

So, no answers, but commiseration. 

[Brad S]

Thanks, Renai!  We hadn't heard of those two groups for homeschooling parents, and have applied to join the yahoo group.  Your DD's situation with Spanish classes must be frustrating to say the least.  I've seen so many cases of kids who speak Spanish at home (and speak Spanish well) steered to beginning Spanish classes, which is such a waste, but I haven't heard of your situation (9th grade) before -- most of the kids the ages of my kids were recent-enough immigrants that either their English wasn't great and they felt uncomfortable talking to school officials, or they had misplaced faith that the schools would automatically do the right thing by their kids; in the end, neither the schools nor the parents seemed to know what to do for these kids, and they just wasted time in inappropriate classes.

 

The heritage Spanish speaker classes sound nice, but is there a reason you don't want the AP Spanish as a backup (presumably the AP Spanish Language and Culture class)?  Your DD seems to have more background with educational materials in Spanish so may be more advanced -- we've been much more ad hoc, so I don't have a great sense where our DS is in some areas -- but the cultural study, if taught well, seems to have some value.  The AP Spanish Literature and Culture class would definitely seem to have value for your DD and my DS, but I don't think my DS would be ready for that second AP course yet.

 

It's nice to hear of another family who's kept up bilingual schooling to high school.  Are there some materials in Spanish that you and DD liked (esp. at the late middle school or early high school level)??  Thanks!

 

P.S. For middle school for a native speaker, Gabriel Garcia Marquez's novela "El coronel no tiene quien le escriba" appears to be an interesting and worthwhile piece to read (~40-75 pages, depending upon format).

[Renai]

I have absolutely no logical reason for not wanting AP Spanish, other than the fact it was designed for SLL. As a bilingual student, I feel she should have other (better) options. But, then that's just being snobby, isn't it? Our state just passed legislation for a bilingual seal on the high school diploma. One of the nearby counties has been doing that anyway, and they accept the AP Spanish as a viable course in the lineup. So, why shouldn't I?

 

I will have to come back to answer the rest of the question about materials. It has been a modge podge over the years.

[chiguirre]

Amazon.com (not amazon.es) has a few textbooks that look like they're from Spain. Search Lengua Castellana y Literatura and you'll get several options and levels. Amazon.es has boatloads, of course, but they're more expensive and you have to pay shipping. I was planning to get my in laws to buy the text T's cousins use in school once we get to that level. We couldn't implement a bilingual family because of my sons' communication issues, but T is slowly but surely learning grammar and vocabulary. I hope that Venezuela calms down and we'll be able to send her for at least the summer soon.

[Renai]

I just typed up a long response and lost it all, That sucks. I'll re-do after my appointment this afternoon.

[Renai]

Wow. I forgot about this thread. The more I think about it, the more I realize what a hodge-podge of materials I used in middle school. I used some Rod and Staff materials as they go through 8th grade. But I found myself trying to find more authentic literature for subjects. Whatever subject we studied, I made sure to have books in Spanish on the topic. Literature/language arts was a mix of translated and native materials - whatever could be found.

 

I started homeschooling 9th grade before she auditioned and was accepted at the performing arts school. Some of the literature in the language arts I subbed out for Spanish. SantillanaUSA had a world history text I wanted to buy, but I don't see it on the website now, unless I'm overlooking it. I bought their En Espanol 9th grade from ebay. The grammar book, reading literature, and writing in Spanish was going to make up her SLA credit. She requested science in all English. She'd like math with a Spanish back-up, but I just can't do it. Spanish is my second language.

 

My daughter took readily to Spanish, it was her stronger language for a long time. Now, because of circumstances she says that English is stronger, but of course she is speaking daily. She also tells me she helps her peers in their Spanish 3 class, which her school wants her to take. (Learn Spanish, not native Spanish, class). I might go ahead and let her take it, 4, then AP. I'd like her to take the CLEP this summer though and see how she does first. (I haven't talked to her about it yet...)

[Brad S]

FYI, here is a list of readings we've found useful for a 9th grade native Spanish speaker, or roughly something like high school Spanish 4:

 

1. Andrade, Marcel (ed.) Classic Spanish Stories and Plays (in Spanish), on the easier side of this list.  Nice, brief introductions and vocabulary footnotes.
2. Varona-Lacey, G. (ed.) Contemporary Latin American Literature (in Spanish). Nice, brief introductions and vocabulary footnotes.
3. Quevedo, F. Aventura Caribe, maybe more middle school level for native speaker?
4. Sepúlveda, F and L Díaz (eds.) Cuentos Latinoamericanos   
5. Garcia-Marquez El Coronel No Tiene Nadie Con Escribir    
6. Bastidas Padilla, C. Quetzalcóatl y Otras Leyendas de América  
7. Cuentos latinoamericanos (Prologue by Conrado Zuluaga, analysis by Maria Candelaria Posada; Publisher: Alfaguara Juvenil/Santanilla). Appears to be for solid high school students in Latin America

Two other notes: (A) Of AP Spanish Language and Literature textbooks, Temas by Vista Higher Learning seems the most recommended.  I find it to be a bit "textbooky" and perhaps designed more for a classbook supplement than for a native speaker; supposedly the accompanying online site requiring a code, which only comes when specifically promised, has a lot of audiovisual materials; (B) there's a great highly abridged, paraphrased graphic novel of Don Quijote de la Macha by Oceano press, which is really late elementary school level but could be used later.  Highly entertaining and you get some of the main storyline.

 

If anyone else has additional suggestions for this level or the level of AP Spanish Language and Culture (or AP Spanish Literature and Culture), I'd love to hear them.

 

ETA: edited for format and to add the 7th text and two other notes.

Edited February 28, 2016 by Brad S