Not doing a 2nd language...

[Jess4879]

Oldest is in grade 9 and dyslexic.  I'm very hesitant to study a 2nd language as it was so hard for her to learn the first one!  I know it's possibly unfounded, but I'm just worried that throwing another language in to the mix is going to derail her progress.  We have dabbled with some sign language, but she has no one to converse with and her interest level hasn't been high.  Does anyone else skip a 2nd language?  Am I ruining her for life?  Am I nuts?  lol  

[HomeAgain]

Does your college offer an ASL course?  I would consider that before skipping - even if it meant waiting until her junior year to start.

[Lori D.]

DS#2 has stealth dyslexia (not full-blown dyslexia). We went for 2 semesters of dual enrollment ASL at the community college in 12th grade for his 2 credits of foreign language, and it worked fine. Waiting until 12th grade gave him the most time for brain maturing to have the best shot at learning a new language. Doing it as dual enrollment let him dip a toe in the water of college and reduce overall time of completing 2 credits into 1 year. And the choice of ASL, what with the finger-spelling aspect of signing, actually helped him focus on/improve his spelling overall. So it ended up being a winning choice here, but it could also have been a crash-and-burn situation if circumstances hadn't all come together well for DS.

[EKS]

My dyslexic son did Oak Meadow Latin for two years.  They use Cambridge, so it was doable for him.

[Slache]

Can you let her do Duolingo for a while and see how she takes to the different spelling before making a decision? Or what about studying something like Japanese or Hebrew? I am dyslexic and I suggest Spanish. Do not, under any circumstances, let her take French.

[Rosie_0801]

Try focusing on the non-lexical parts of ASL?

[GoVanGogh]

DS has severe aphasia from cerebral palsy. We found that a foreign language actually helped his English skills. I don’t know if it would be the same with dyslexia. But I would be hesitant to write it off in 9th grade. DS is now continuing his language of choice in community college with accommodations and is doing very well with it. 

[klmama]

I don't think you would be ruining her for life, LOL!  That said, dyslexic students can do well with written Spanish if they are motivated.  The key is to make sure they learn the rules well.  Some students need a slower pace, such as covering half of Spanish 1 in a full year or using a lighter curriculum.  I definitely would NOT recommend enrolling her in college-level Spanish courses, as they usually go at least twice as fast and include double the amount of vocabulary in each chapter.  

[katilac]

By "a second language" you mean one foreign language, correct? 

If so, many colleges do require a foreign language in high school, so that's a consideration. Two years is the most common (two credits). And, if she will have to take a foreign language for her major in college, it is much easier if she already has some exposure. A potential problem with ASL is that most colleges don't offer it, so she'd possibly be required to do a different language with no prior exposure (and of course the college courses move much quicker). 

Starting in her junior year will allow for the two credits, but gives her no wiggle room. I would consider having her start at a slow pace now, potentially taking four years to obtain the two credits. Then, in college, she can start back at the beginning in the same language. 

If college is not a consideration, then I'd choose the classes that are most likely to benefit her, which may or may not include a foreign language. If Spanish would offer an advantage for getting a job, it might be worth the while to have a class that focuses on speaking/understanding and much less on grammar and formal rules. Online tutors are fairly cheap these days (we had a French one for about $15 for 45 minutes) and can be very targeted to work purposes. 

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

I would do something simple just to be able to mark it off...and just for her to have that experience.

Many states/colleges accept ASL as a world language.  My dd took it and she did very well.  She wants to switch to Spanish, and I don't know why, as I think ASL was much less challenging than Spanish has been for her.  ?

[Jess4879]

6 hours ago, klmama said:

I don't think you would be ruining her for life, LOL!  That said, dyslexic students can do well with written Spanish if they are motivated.  The key is to make sure they learn the rules well.  Some students need a slower pace, such as covering half of Spanish 1 in a full year or using a lighter curriculum.  I definitely would NOT recommend enrolling her in college-level Spanish courses, as they usually go at least twice as fast and include double the amount of vocabulary in each chapter.  

Do you have a program you could recommend for Spanish 1?

[klmama]

40 minutes ago, Jess4879 said:

Do you have a program you could recommend for Spanish 1?

The Avancemos series moves a bit slower than some of the other high school texts, and there are some online resources.  You can't just hand it to her, though; she's going to need an instructor who knows the language. 

 

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

FYI there is a good ASL online class at Open Tent Academy using Singing Naturally which is a very good curriculum.

[Carrie12345]

On 8/27/2018 at 11:03 AM, katilac said:

By "a second language" you mean one foreign language, correct? 

If so, many colleges do require a foreign language in high school, so that's a consideration. Two years is the most common (two credits). And, if she will have to take a foreign language for her major in college, it is much easier if she already has some exposure. A potential problem with ASL is that most colleges don't offer it, so she'd possibly be required to do a different language with no prior exposure (and of course the college courses move much quicker). 

Starting in her junior year will allow for the two credits, but gives her no wiggle room. I would consider having her start at a slow pace now, potentially taking four years to obtain the two credits. Then, in college, she can start back at the beginning in the same language. 

If college is not a consideration, then I'd choose the classes that are most likely to benefit her, which may or may not include a foreign language. If Spanish would offer an advantage for getting a job, it might be worth the while to have a class that focuses on speaking/understanding and much less on grammar and formal rules. Online tutors are fairly cheap these days (we had a French one for about $15 for 45 minutes) and can be very targeted to work purposes. 

The bolded would be my concern. 2 years of foreign language is a common requirement for a degree.  Though it looks like I'm going to allow my dds to graduate with 2 years of ASL (outsourced), we've done some Spanish and French over the years, and they've dabbled in Japanese on their own, so I think they'll handle it just fine if they're forced to take a (not ASL) language in college.  As much as I *wanted* them to have solid Spanish in high school, I don't feel I'm ruining them!