Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 My son is finishing up BJU distance learning Spanish 1, but he won't complete it and I think I'm wanting him to retake it as an full online class, not anything that requires me. (I would consider him just continuing it into next year until he finishes, but I have to return it to BJU within a certain amount of time or buy it all over again for another year, which isn't desireable or necessary). I'm only having him do 2 years of FL. He will be a 10th grader, so even if I wanted him to take 3 years he would still have time. What Spanish classes are offered online and just basic and not intimidating, but a full class. We are just needing to fulfill a credit. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Not online, but a software program download we've had good success with is Visual Link Spanish. It's self-directed and required nothing from me, and DSs have both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Oldest has done levels I-III over 2 years and youngest is in level I. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Not online, but a software program download we've had good success with is Visual Link Spanish. It's self-directed and required nothing from me, and DSs have both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Oldest has done levels I-III over 2 years and youngest is in level I. Thank you. Does it do assessments (assignments, tests, quizzes) and give grades at the end? Or, is it just a program to use and learn? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Not online, but a software program download we've had good success with is Visual Link Spanish. It's self-directed and required nothing from me, and DSs have both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Oldest has done levels I-III over 2 years and youngest is in level I. I guess I'm wondering how will I know that this will fulfill a credit? Thanks again for the suggestion. I've not heard of this program and it looks affordable. Important! :) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
swimmermom3 Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 What are your goals in having your student take Spanish? Are you just checking boxes or do you want him to attain a certain level of fluency? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 We went from BJU Spanish 1 (not finishing) to Homeschool Spanish Academy. He placed part way through their first year, but moved quickly through the rest of the first year. That might be a way to not lose the whole year. We did 36 weeks and he only had one more lesson in the end of the year 2 program. It is Skype lessons from Guatemala and geared to the student. It was exactly what my non-enthusiastic Spanish student (and I!) needed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 What are your goals in having your student take Spanish? Are you just checking boxes or do you want him to attain a certain level of fluency? Just need to fulfill a FL credit and give him a college ready transcript. He is not interested in Spanish as his college major, but having a good understanding and ability to speak it is always a good thing. We live in Texas and there is a large hispanic population here, so it would also be a good speaking skill to have. I want more than just a fun program, but not too intimidating or rigorous. Fun is okay as long as he is learning vocabulary, sentence structure/grammar, practical conversation practice, but I would also like assessments to garner a grade and also if he's understanding. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 We went from BJU Spanish 1 (not finishing) to Homeschool Spanish Academy. He placed part way through their first year, but moved quickly through the rest of the first year. That might be a way to not lose the whole year. We did 36 weeks and he only had one more lesson in the end of the year 2 program. It is Skype lessons from Guatemala and geared to the student. It was exactly what my non-enthusiastic Spanish student (and I!) needed. Did you do the individual class option ($340)? How many classes is needed to complete level 1? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 6, 2016 Author Share Posted July 6, 2016 Just need to fulfill a FL credit and give him a college ready transcript. He is not interested in Spanish as his college major, but having a good understanding and ability to speak it is always a good thing. We live in Texas and there is a large hispanic population here, so it would also be a good speaking skill to have. I want more than just a fun program, but not too intimidating or rigorous. Fun is okay as long as he is learning vocabulary, sentence structure/grammar, practical conversation practice, but I would also like assessments to garner a grade and also if he's understanding. Thanks. Their pricing is confusing me. :confused1: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKDmom Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 We are going to try BYU independent Study this year for Spanish. https://is.byu.edu/site/courses/index.cfm?school=hs#course=Spanish%7Cuniversity=false%7Chigh-school=on%7Cmiddle-school=false%7Ccontinuing-education=false%7Cig=on%7Conline=on%7Cpaper=on I can't give you reviews, since haven't done it yet, but my experience with BYU IS in college was that it was totally self-paced. We had 9 months to complete a semester course, with the option to extend for another 3 months. DD did The Potter School for the last two years of Spanish and it was tough. She wants to do a 3rd year of Spanish, but not with them. I'm hoping the BYU classes will give her the flexibility she needs, so she can focus on the language and not the deadlines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted July 6, 2016 Share Posted July 6, 2016 Thank you. Does it do assessments (assignments, tests, quizzes) and give grades at the end? Or, is it just a program to use and learn? The assignments are games and pronunciation and comprehension exercises. There are quizzes and tests, and the program keeps track of their performance on the games, quizzes, and tests. There is also a pdf of some written exercises, but that is not graded by the program. I counted level I as 1 credit of Spanish I because it covered all the standard topics in a Spanish I textbook. I counted level II and III as 1 credit of Spanish II because he spent about 4 hours a week for 36 weeks to finish it and it involved practice with most of the standard verb conjugations, but no written work. He is now doing another year of Spanish III using Destinos that concentrates more on understanding conversations and using the language in context, and it does have a written component. But Destinos would be very difficult to implement with little parental involvement, it has lots of little components to track down and purchase, and it requires at least some knowledge of Spanish on the teacher's part. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
freesia Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Did you do the individual class option ($340)? How many classes is needed to complete level 1?I do the 60 class option for the year. I think it was 500 something. Each level is split into 2 parts a and b. Each part has about 14 lessons plus quizzes and exams. He probably took about 10 weeks to do the second half of the first year program (some of it was review bc we finished about 3/4 of BJU 1). After that he slowed down to about 1 lesson a week on average. Sometimes he'd cover 2 lessons a week, but another week it would be one lesson and then the next week an exam and a new lesson--so the pacing is hard to truly predict. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 The assignments are games and pronunciation and comprehension exercises. There are quizzes and tests, and the program keeps track of their performance on the games, quizzes, and tests. There is also a pdf of some written exercises, but that is not graded by the program. I counted level I as 1 credit of Spanish I because it covered all the standard topics in a Spanish I textbook. I counted level II and III as 1 credit of Spanish II because he spent about 4 hours a week for 36 weeks to finish it and it involved practice with most of the standard verb conjugations, but no written work. He is now doing another year of Spanish III using Destinos that concentrates more on understanding conversations and using the language in context, and it does have a written component. But Destinos would be very difficult to implement with little parental involvement, it has lots of little components to track down and purchase, and it requires at least some knowledge of Spanish on the teacher's part. Sounds good! Thanks for the input. It's on sale right now, too! :))) 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TiaTia Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 "not too intimidating or rigorous. Fun is okay as long as he is learning vocabulary, sentence structure/grammar, practical conversation practice, but I would also like assessments to garner a grade and also if he's understanding." Dianne, based on those goals, you both might like one of Ray Leven's live, online, small group classes for high school students. You wouldn't have to do anything but make sure DS is at the computer on time. Ray is extraordinarily patient, gentle, and respectful -- while still insisting that students turn in their work on time! He covers grammar, usage, vocabulary, and some cultural context as well as speaking, writing, and listening skills. He uses textbooks by the publisher Vista to supplement what he does with conversation and other materials. You can search on his name here at WTM. He also teaches AP Spanish with PA Homeschoolers. See his site here: https://sites.google.com/site/spanishlearningonline/ Based on our experiences, Ray would place your son in one of his levels after a phone or Skype conversation. Asking him about time commitments and rigor would help you make a good fit. I wouldn't worry about the level designation for the class. Sounds like he has time to get the credits he's aiming for. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dianne-TX Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Not online, but a software program download we've had good success with is Visual Link Spanish. It's self-directed and required nothing from me, and DSs have both enjoyed it and learned a lot from it. Oldest has done levels I-III over 2 years and youngest is in level I. I can't find a Mac compatible program for this? Do you have a Windows or Mac? Do you know if there is a Mac version? A quick search didn't turn anything up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Momto6inIN Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 I can't find a Mac compatible program for this? Do you have a Windows or Mac? Do you know if there is a Mac version? A quick search didn't turn anything up.I use Windows. I don't know if there's a Mac version. Sorry! Sent from my SM-T230NU using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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