Spanish III - keep going with what we're using or change it up?

[Momto6inIN]

DS (11th) is currently using Destinos for Spanish III. He used Visual Link levels 1-3 for Spanish I and II and has a decent vocabulary and does OK with verb tenses, but definitely isn't fluent. Visual Link followed by Destinos worked great for my oldest DS because he's a very sequential logical thinker and the grammar aspect really appealed to him and he has a fantastic memory. But this DS is a totally different learner. He is much more right brained and intuitive and his goals are different than 1st DS. 1st DS wanted to master the grammar so he could CLEP out of Spanish entirely at college (which he did). 2nd DS is much more of a relational guy and just wants to be able to converse with people in Spanish. He's not concerned about prestigious schools, is considering a CC, and wouldn't mind having to take more Spanish in college.

Anyway, he's getting bogged down by Destinos. He doesn't like all the written exercises and the focus on grammar is frustrating for him. I know that typically a "Spanish III" course would be heavy on grammar, so maybe he should just suck it up and do it anyway.

But maybe something like Rosetta Stone to get him speaking quickly would be a good change for him and get him more excited about the language? Then I could call it something like Conversational Spanish instead of Spanish III to convey that it wasn't a grammar heavy course? If I decide to go this route is there anything other than Rosetta Stone that would be good at getting him more fluent and comprehending conversational Spanish?

Pros and cons to each direction are welcome ... or additional ideas as well ...

Thanks!

[RootAnn]

What's your budget? I ask because while DD is taking an online German class, she's really picked up her conversational German skills through an italki tutor. The Spanish "community tutors" aren't very expensive on italki ($7/hr) and even just an hour a week is helpful if your son's goal is being able to understand spoken Spanish & respond.

If you don't have the budget for that (you know, like you have a freshman in college AND you're expecting a baby...), I'd look for conversational spanish opportunities in your community. If we lived in a community with more hispanics, I'd see if my DD could volunteer serving meals at the homeless shelter or the thrift store. (Often other volunteers also speak Spanish in the Big City an hour & a half from us.) There's also a weekly Spanish service at a church about 30 minutes from us that would provide some speaking/listening opportunities.

I'd also encourage him to watch his favorite movies with the Spanish language track on instead of English. Listen to the Spanish radio channel. Read one news article each day (or week) in Spanish. Etc. Get him a favorite book -- in Spanish. Have him work through it. These are all less cost opportunities for him to increase his fluency and have it count for Spanish 3 time.

[Momto6inIN]

Yes, life is not cooperating well budgetwise these days lol! So I don't want to spend a ton. But I don't want him to end up hating Spanish either, so I'm willing to lay out some cash.

I'd thought about a tutor but the only one I'd really heard of is Homeschool Spanish Academy and it's pretty pricey and the website looks like you have to enroll in the whole class. I'll look into italki!

If I go that route, do you think I should continue the Destinos too? Or just fill in with things like movies with subtitles and Spanish novels?

[Momto6inIN]

Unfortunately we do not have a very diverse population around here and finding a local fluent speaker would be difficult. And no big cities nearby either.

[RootAnn]

4 hours ago, Momto5inIN said:

If I go that route, do you think I should continue the Destinos too? Or just fill in with things like movies with subtitles and Spanish novels?

I'd keep going with Destinos, but less. Like only once per week, because he'll (eventually) find that it is helpful to keep up with the worksheets & the grammar. But, he likely needs something to make him feel connection with the language and his goal. If he's the type that will take the ball & run with it, challenge him to find his own practice - what movie is he going to watch completely in Spanish dub this week? Which favorite book are you going to find for his ereader (or borrow/buy a used copy of)? [I like e-reader because, at least on Kindle, they can highlight a word & get a dictionary translation - either the English translation or the dictionary definition in Spanish (my favorite). But, I also like the feel of an actual book in my hands. Its a trade-off.]

On italki, let him watch the intro videos for some of the community tutors. (Teachers are good, but more expensive sometimes.) Look at the reviews. You can try some of the people for free to get a feel for them. After they get popular, they raise their rates, so DD's had 3-4 different italki tutors for Spanish. Italki isn't a formal class like HSA. They can teach somewhat systematically, but I think their real strength is just getting the kids talking & interacting. (Which, if you have native speakers in your area, is best done organically & without the cost of an online tutor. However, we live in a rural area, so I totally get not having the opportunities that a bigger city might provide for free.)