Question re: foreign language options for high school credits?

[mlktwins]

I'm curious if it makes a difference whether a high school student has 4 years of 1 language or 2 years of 2 different languages on their transcripts.  Does anyone have any experience with or knowledge about this?

I'm curious because my boys are heading into their 2nd year of foreign language.  If we are not comfortable meeting in person next year (we are on-line this year even though it is local), it may be easier for them to start a new language with a full on-line class for 11th and 12th grade.

Pre-COVID, our plan was to take 4 years with this awesome local teacher :-(.   Stupid COVID!!!

Any thought would be much appreciated!

[UmmIbrahim]

At some schools, yes, definitely. We just went through the college admissions process with my oldest. We moved mountains to make sure that he got 4 years of high school German (he did some of it DE, but then that didn't work in his schedule for Junior and Senior year, so we were fortunate to find both German 3 and 4 at WTMA.). One of our state schools, William and Mary, was very picky about having 4 years of the same foreign language for homeschoolers ("We like to see students taking 4 high school years of a single foreign language (4 college semesters).  So taking upper intermediate level courses (201 and 202 level) at a community college would be helpful as well." from their website regarding things they like to see in homeschool applicants). They were one of a handful that really wanted to see four years of the same language and stated that explicitly. The vast majority of the other schools where my son applied had a minimum requirement of three years of the same foreign language (i.e. 2 and 2 or 2 and 1 of different languages wouldn't fulfill the requirement)

I think lots of students like the idea of switching or starting something new after a year or two, especially if languages aren't an area of particular interest. As a homeschooler it can sometimes just be difficult to find the third and fourth year of your chosen language! (I feel your pain! We got saved when WTMA was willing to run German 4 for a teeny tiny class size!) The explanation that I heard from admissions officers and college representatives was that they want to see proof that a student can "stick with" one language and achieve a high level of competence in a particular foreign language.

Good luck finding classes that can work for you. Maybe dual enrollment would be an option if you can't find a class for homeschoolers? 

[mlktwins]

5 minutes ago, UmmIbrahim said:

At some schools, yes, definitely. We just went through the college admissions process with my oldest. We moved mountains to make sure that he got 4 years of high school German (he did some of it DE, but then that didn't work in his schedule for Junior and Senior year, so we were fortunate to find both German 3 and 4 at WTMA.). One of our state schools, William and Mary, was very picky about having 4 years of the same foreign language for homeschoolers ("We like to see students taking 4 high school years of a single foreign language (4 college semesters).  So taking upper intermediate level courses (201 and 202 level) at a community college would be helpful as well." from their website regarding things they like to see in homeschool applicants). They were one of a handful that really wanted to see four years of the same language and stated that explicitly. The vast majority of the other schools where my son applied had a minimum requirement of three years of the same foreign language (i.e. 2 and 2 or 2 and 1 of different languages wouldn't fulfill the requirement)

I think lots of students like the idea of switching or starting something new after a year or two, especially if languages aren't an area of particular interest. As a homeschooler it can sometimes just be difficult to find the third and fourth year of your chosen language! (I feel your pain! We got saved when WTMA was willing to run German 4 for a teeny tiny class size!) The explanation that I heard from admissions officers and college representatives was that they want to see proof that a student can "stick with" one language and achieve a high level of competence in a particular foreign language.

Good luck finding classes that can work for you. Maybe dual enrollment would be an option if you can't find a class for homeschoolers? 

Thank you!  We're in VA too.  Our current plan is 4 years of Spanish with our current instructor.  We love her.  Hopefully that pans out with COVID over the next couple of years.  I suppose we could do DE, but I would need it to be virtual.  If we have to meet in-person, we would just stick with our current local provider.

 

[UmmIbrahim]

6 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

Thank you!  We're in VA too.  Our current plan is 4 years of Spanish with our current instructor.  We love her.  Hopefully that pans out with COVID over the next couple of years.  I suppose we could do DE, but I would need it to be virtual.  If we have to meet in-person, we would just stick with our current local provider.

 

I'm glad you found someone you like so well! My younger two boys are actually starting Spanish this coming year and I'm trying something different with each of them (both online). I'll have to see what works. Our local community college (nova) always offers online class options for foreign languages, and we had a friend take online DE foreign language who was happy with it. This year, and for the foreseeable future I assume, there are faaar more online options than usual, of course!

The nice thing for you is that Spanish is pretty much the easiest foreign language to find anywhere 😄

Even if you end up switching providers, you will have tons of online options!

[mlktwins]

30 minutes ago, UmmIbrahim said:

I'm glad you found someone you like so well! My younger two boys are actually starting Spanish this coming year and I'm trying something different with each of them (both online). I'll have to see what works. Our local community college (nova) always offers online class options for foreign languages, and we had a friend take online DE foreign language who was happy with it. This year, and for the foreseeable future I assume, there are faaar more online options than usual, of course!

The nice thing for you is that Spanish is pretty much the easiest foreign language to find anywhere 😄

Even if you end up switching providers, you will have tons of online options!

I think you are near me 😊.  We are 10 minutes from one of the NOVA campuses.

[fourisenough]

We live in Michigan. At an in-person admissions event a couple of years ago, the U of M ad com rep told us they ‘want’ 4 years of the same language taken during 9-12th grade (so taking first or second year of language in 7-8th grade which is very common in our area) doesn’t fulfill this. I think the requirement is only 2-3 years (haven’t checked recently) but it is competitive to get in, so meeting the minimum isn’t not enough typically. For those who started their language study during middle school, she suggested taking through the AP level and/or DE. 

[EmilyGF]

My son has done Spanish by working through a workbook most days a week, watching videos, reading passages and meeting with an online tutor we found through iTalki 3-4 hours per month.

I have had really good experiences with iTalki tutors personally for German and Hebrew, and there are enough that you can find a good fit. Some tutors will design your curriculum and they of course cost more. If you bring your own materials and plan, you can often find a cheaper tutor who will just work on speaking. For ds15, an obsessive birder and hiker, I was even able to find a Spanish tutor who shared those interests. They even talk about things like how people view wildlife in South America vs North America. For the most part, ds and I have designed his Spanish curriculum and he only does grammar exercises with his tutor if he needs extra support in a certain area.

So, I think it is totally possible to have a solid language learning experience completely online without going broke.

Emily

[Zoo Keeper]

My very average son who applied to very average schools (state U's ) 🙂  was accepted with 2 years of Latin followed by 2 years of Greek. So, 4 years of 1 language wasn't needed for him.

[mlktwins]

18 minutes ago, EmilyGF said:

My son has done Spanish by working through a workbook most days a week, watching videos, reading passages and meeting with an online tutor we found through iTalki 3-4 hours per month.

I have had really good experiences with iTalki tutors personally for German and Hebrew, and there are enough that you can find a good fit. Some tutors will design your curriculum and they of course cost more. If you bring your own materials and plan, you can often find a cheaper tutor who will just work on speaking. For ds15, an obsessive birder and hiker, I was even able to find a Spanish tutor who shared those interests. They even talk about things like how people view wildlife in South America vs North America. For the most part, ds and I have designed his Spanish curriculum and he only does grammar exercises with his tutor if he needs extra support in a certain area.

So, I think it is totally possible to have a solid language learning experience completely online without going broke.

Emily

Emily, what workbook is your son working through - if you don't mind answering :-)?

[EKS]

I would look carefully at the graduation requirements for the schools your student is likely to apply to.  Some only require two years to get in, but will require three or more to get out.  The University of Washington is like this, and so is the University of Wisconsin.  

[EmilyGF]

34 minutes ago, mlktwins said:

Emily, what workbook is your son working through - if you don't mind answering :-)?

He has gone through the first half of Practical Spanish Grammar. He says five chapters equals about one year of high school Spanish (he went to a gifted high school for 9th grade and placed into Spanish 2; it turned out he was about 75% of the way through Spanish 2). He has worked through to the end of Ch 10 and is now looking for the next book because he wants something with more practice. This is definitely a book for a motivated student as it moves quickly with little review, which is why he's now focusing on reading and listening exercises (he's still checking out various YouTubers and doesn't have a favorite yet). His other issue with the book is that there is a lot of specific vocabulary that one really could never learn and be fine, like specific names of sandwiches. That said, he likes the book up until Ch 10.

Emily

[mom2scouts]

Most colleges seem to want at least two years of one language with at least three years total. Some want three years of one language, but that seems to be more competitive colleges. DS has done three years and is planning to do a semester of dual enrollment in that language and then start another language that he's also been interested in learning. I guess he'll have 5 credits, which is more than enough for any college we looked at, but it's a specific interest of his.