BIG NEWS: SOS Spanish I and II vs Secondary Spanish

[Jean in Wisc]

I finally decided I wanted to talk to Alpha Omega about their Secondary Spanish CD. There have been some changes from when I started using it!!!!!

They no longer carry the Power Glide based program. Their Secondary Spanish CD is something different than what they had available when my family started studying Spanish with SOS.

 

The Elementary Spanish is meant for 3rd-6th graders as in intro to Spanish.

 

Their Secondary program, according to the phone operator is what they consider to be Spanish I--1 credit of 1st year Spanish. It is vocabulary, pronunciation, parts of speech, sentence patterns, reading comprehension--I'd guess that it is extremely limited in its grammar study.

 

SOS Spanish I would now be Spanish II--1 credit of 2nd year Spanish.

 

SOS Spanish II would be Spanish III--1 credit of 3rd year Spanish.

 

NO WONDER my daughter tested out of the equivalent of 3 years by doing Spanish I and and part of Spanish II. I did not ask, but I wonder if this is their way of making their program more equivalent to the current high school work (dumbed-down comes to mind). One can ponder that one...

 

I'm sure I talked to them several years ago...this is something different than I recall.

 

So....that explains why getting started in Spanish I takes a little determination...they assume a body of knowledge. That said, my 2 older students had no problem doing Spanish I without the Secondary Spanish. Perhaps it was their experience in Latin that made the transition easy.

 

Hm.....VERY INTERESTING.

 

Jean

[Janet in WA]

Well it seems that AO is now confirming the decision I made to award my son credits for Spanish I and II when he had completed SOS Spanish 1 and just over half of SOS Spanish 2. This equivalency was apparent when I compared the material covered in SOS to other Spanish texts and/or courses, including the cc Spanish courses our older son took.

[LoriM]

That makes SO much sense...when my younger dd did SOS Spanish I, she commented many times that she was glad we'd already done "Spanish I lite" with www.studyspanish.com and a Mom-designed course during her 6th and 7th grade years before she tried to do SOS Spanish I in 9th grade. She completed it, and is taking Spanish 111 at the CC, where she has yet to learn anything new (grin) but is still making a B due to not keeping up with the online component of the course. Ah, the differences in my children...

[Sparkle]

Thanks for posting this, Jean! I was just getting ready to order SOS Spanish 1 for my ds, and now I may need to rethink this. I'm so glad you shared this info so we don't end up being frustrated :)

[Quiver0f10]

Thank you! We are doing Spanish I and I am glad to know we can safely award high school credit for this program. We plan to do II next year and I think I am going to add secondary before hand to the rest of my upcoming kids.

[Michelle in GA]

I am curious. Do think one could transition from BJU Spanish (we did the DVD program) to SOS Spanish I easily, and could I count it as Spanish II? Also, are the Life Pacs the same thing in workbook form?

 

Thanks!

[Jean in Wisc]

I am curious. Do think one could transition from BJU Spanish (we did the DVD program) to SOS Spanish I easily, and could I count it as Spanish II? Also, are the Life Pacs the same thing in workbook form?

 

Thanks!

 

I've not done BJU or the Life Pacs.

 

Does BJU have a list of the grammar covered for each year? I might be able to roughly compare them. I would think, however, that if you did a year of BJU, SOS would be easy enough to transfer into. My son had no Spanish and, although the beginning was steep, he is doing SOS I.

 

AO should be able to tell you if the Life Pacs and the CD's are equivalent.

 

Jean

[Frontier Mom]

Thanks. I was going to get Spanish I at the conference but now I will have to rethink that. I think I'll budget more time at their vendor table.

[HSKLNG]

I can see that a lot of people here like SOS. I was intrigued too by it, but I have a little trouble with all these Spanish programs....which Spanish are they using and teaching? Not all Spanish languages are the same and accent is not the only difference.

 

I want my dd to learn Spanish, but SOS, BJU and other small ones are teaching Mexican Spanish...which is fine is that what you want and know for sure that you will never encounter and eastern american Spanish speaker, 'cause you will face some challenges.

 

The program Teach Me More and Rosetta Stone are the only ones I know so far that offer the option of Latin or even Spanish from Spain...because they are different.

 

Now, judge by your knowledge and your opinion, which kind of Spanish would be the best to learn?

 

I always had my eyes on SOS (eventhough I know is Mexican-Spanish), but Rosetta offers the Latin America Spanish one...what would you do?

 

:confused: Hope I did not confuse or discourage no one. I happend to be in the same boat, just on the other side of the boat, bear with me.

[choirfarm]

Well, I bought SOS Spanish I a couple of weeks ago and the boys started it (6th and 8th). My oldest boy is doing fine. He said it is tough. However, he made it through 3/4 of the first year of Rosetta STone. My other boy only made it through a couple of units of Rosetta Stone and is struggling. I told him to just do a little of it at a time and review, review, review. My plan was for my oldest was to have Spanish I finished by May of 2010. Then he could do Spanish II for 10th grade. But I'm not sure what to do about my middle one? Should I get him Secondary Spanish??

 

And as far as Mexican/Spain Spanish that is a good point. Since 1/3 of our town's population is Mexican, I figure that is what I want and it will still help us on our mission trips to Central America.

 

Christine

[Jean in Wisc]

I can see that a lot of people here like SOS. I was intrigued too by it, but I have a little trouble with all these Spanish programs....which Spanish are they using and teaching? Not all Spanish languages are the same and accent is not the only difference.

 

I want my dd to learn Spanish, but SOS, BJU and other small ones are teaching Mexican Spanish...which is fine is that what you want and know for sure that you will never encounter and eastern american Spanish speaker, 'cause you will face some challenges.

 

The program Teach Me More and Rosetta Stone are the only ones I know so far that offer the option of Latin or even Spanish from Spain...because they are different.

 

Now, judge by your knowledge and your opinion, which kind of Spanish would be the best to learn?

 

I always had my eyes on SOS (eventhough I know is Mexican-Spanish), but Rosetta offers the Latin America Spanish one...what would you do?

 

:confused: Hope I did not confuse or discourage no one. I happend to be in the same boat, just on the other side of the boat, bear with me.

 

I do not see that SOS is purely Mexican Spanish: it teaches the vosotros form that is used in Spain--this is something my Spanish class in high school never taught (and I NEEDED it when I was in Spain!). They have multiple speakers from various countries doing the speaking throughout the program so that the children get use to hearing the different dialectal pronunciations.

 

I cannot say if they vary the vocabulary or if it is mostly Mexican Spanish--but I find that each group of Spanish speaking people have a wide range of differences in this, and anytime one works as a translator, one benefits by keeping a record of the vocab that each dialectic group uses--not an easy thing. There is no way one could include the full range of vocabulary differences.

 

SOS does not give the option of which dialect to study, but it does, in my opinion, include grammar differences and includes dialectal differences through their dialogs.

 

HTH,

Jean

[Jean in Wisc]

Well, I bought SOS Spanish I a couple of weeks ago and the boys started it (6th and 8th). My oldest boy is doing fine. He said it is tough. However, he made it through 3/4 of the first year of Rosetta STone. My other boy only made it through a couple of units of Rosetta Stone and is struggling. I told him to just do a little of it at a time and review, review, review. My plan was for my oldest was to have Spanish I finished by May of 2010. Then he could do Spanish II for 10th grade. But I'm not sure what to do about my middle one? Should I get him Secondary Spanish??

 

And as far as Mexican/Spain Spanish that is a good point. Since 1/3 of our town's population is Mexican, I figure that is what I want and it will still help us on our mission trips to Central America.

 

Christine

 

I wonder if you want to let him work through RS a little longer. 6th grade is young for Spanish I. They do have Elementary Spanish (3-6), or you could try Secondary (7th and up)O.

 

BTW, I always had my kids do the work open notebook. If they had taken notes on the lessons, they could use those notes for quizzes and tests. The vocabulary is SO EXTENSIVE that I don't know how a child would learn it all each week and remember the spelling etc., etc. There is so much review--over and over--in the SOS, and my daughter did very well in college with her Spanish (which was the proof of the pudding, imo).

 

Just a thought...

Jean

[brendafromtenn]

With this new information, would you recommend starting with Secondary Spanish first??

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda:001_smile:

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

Edited April 24, 2013 by Paisley Hedgehog
Garbled computer-ese in quote!

[Jean in Wisc]

With this new information, would you recommend starting with Secondary Spanish first??

 

Blessings,

 

Brenda:001_smile:

 

Hard question :001_smile:

 

If a child has had no other foreign language, yes, I would start with Secondary. If you want a gentle introduction prior to getting into the thick of the grammar, then yes, Secondary would be the right way to go. If your child struggles with language study--yes, again.

 

If a child has had a lot of Latin or has done a lot of another language, or has studied a little Spanish in the elementary years, or is mature and willing to push through the first few chapters of SOS (especially if there is someone there to answer his questions), I honestly believe that he could start with Spanish I. Mine oldest two did with straight A's.

 

And me? My 3rd child, slightly dyslexic, struggled valiantly through LC and 1/2 of Henle Latin. I had wondered how well SOS would suit him or if it would be too much of a leap--and yes...I've ordered Secondary Spanish for him. My gut tells me that it is not going to be as much Spanish as I'd like in year 1. Even SOS Spanish I does not cover the past tenses; they wait until Spanish II...but obviously this is not being done in schools any more....so there you have it. :confused:

 

I do not like the concept of spending a year doing pre-Spanish. Ugh. Yet, I don't see my youngest doing well by jumping directly into SOS Spanish I. So....the best option I see is to get Secondary Spanish and give it a try. It is on sale now :)

 

Jean

[LatinTea]

This information contradicts what I was told from AOP about a month ago. Here was their response to my inquiry:

 

Subject: RE: AOP Customer Service Contact Form

 

The Elementary and Secondary were developed to follow the Power-Glide format. They are great for the beginner. Many students will go from Secondary Spanish into our Spanish 1 & 2. You can use just one SOS elective if you want. You do not have to do all the classes on the computer. If you have any other questions give us a call.

 

 

Was your question to AOP in regards to high school? I mean, did you ask what would you do for credits (Secondary Spanish - 1 credit, Spanish 1 - another credit, and so on)? Thanks for asking this; I'm trying to decide which one to buy too! I have a 9th grader doing Latin so maybe I should just start with Secondary Spanish, as it's less intense (?)

[Jean in Wisc]

Was your question to AOP in regards to high school? I mean, did you ask what would you do for credits (Secondary Spanish - 1 credit, Spanish 1 - another credit, and so on)? Thanks for asking this; I'm trying to decide which one to buy too! I have a 9th grader doing Latin so maybe I should just start with Secondary Spanish, as it's less intense (?)

 

Well, I did wonder if I should call a 2nd time and see if a 2nd operator gave me a different answer....

 

But yes. I asked about credits and she said they have the equivalent to 3 years of high school Spanish now: Secondary, Spanish I, and Spanish II.

 

Would you all like to give them a call today and see what the other operators give for responses? That would give us a good variety of answers and we would be more certain of the results.

 

:)

Jean

 

Alpha Omega:

Homeschool Orders and Customer Service Inquiries: 800-622-3070

(I called them this morning--see in the thread below)

Edited April 21, 2009 by Jean in Wisc

[Paisley Hedgehog]

nm

[Jean in Wisc]

I talked with someone at Alpha Omega. She took the time to talk to one of the teachers who teaches Spanish there.

 

Her comment: Secondary is a credit. If you plan to test into a college Spanish class, they recommend you have at least 2 years of Spanish (Secondary and Spanish I). But they DO considered Secondary a full high school Spanish credit.

 

There you go.

Jean

[Jean in Wisc]

I forgot to add that I also asked about the Life Pacs. Life Pacs have Spanish I and Spanish II. Since they do not have Secondary (or any other introductory Spanish program), the Life Pacs cover the introductory material that is skipped in SOS PLUS the grammar of SOS Spanish I.

 

Hope that it clear.

Jean

[LatinTea]

I talked with someone at Alpha Omega. She took the time to talk to one of the teachers who teaches Spanish there.

 

Her comment: Secondary is a credit. If you plan to test into a college Spanish class, they recommend you have at least 2 years of Spanish (Secondary and Spanish I). But they DO considered Secondary a full high school Spanish credit.

 

There you go.

Jean

 

That is exactly what I needed to know! Thanks for taking the time to check into this for us all. I'll order Secondary Spanish first. :)

[Tammyla]

Another thank you, Jean.

[Sylvia in CA]

Just a quick comment ...

The Spanish vocabulary in SOS is from the varied regions of Latin America, not just Mexican Spanish. I thought I would make that clear for everyone/anyone concerned that it only covers Mexican Spanish. And as it turns out, many of the vocab words from other Latin American regions are the same as those from Spain.

 

:001_smile:

 

Sylvia

[rwalizer]

Just FYI-a native spanish speaker from latin america ( I forget which country now, it's been a few years) once told me that the differences between latin american and south american (I think I've seen it referred to as Castillian)spanish are like the differences between english in the US and english in England. The accents are different and some of the words are different but both can understand each other.Has anyone else heard this? I'm curious. We have many Mexican immigrants here so I think we will go with Latin American if we have a choice.

[Sylvia in CA]

It is true that we sometimes compare British English/US English to Spain Spanish/Latin American Spanish. The pronunciations are different. There is a distinct difference in the way we speak as opposed to how they speak in Spain. But we definitely understand each other very well, although we have some differences in vocab.

 

In Latin America, we find lots of variances of vocab., even slight differences among the Mexican regions. And don't they speak Basque in some areas of Spain? But Spanish is the main language.

 

Sylvia

[Maverick]

Thank you so much Jean and everyone who contributed to this thread. I was planning SOS Spanish I for ds next year and now I will look at possibly doing Secondary instead. He will probably have a heavy load of other classes and doesn't enjoy language study so I don't want to kill him. ;-) I'm glad to know I can give a credit for secondary and then do SOS I the following year and call it Spanish II if we want to go the less challenging route.

[Twelham]

For those of you who have used it; what do you think? I've been asked to teach Spanish I and II and so far they've not been happy with past curriculum choices. Having a computer based program to do at home 4 days with 1 day of classroom time seems like the best of both worlds, no?

TIA, Trish

[Jean in Wisc]

For those of you who have used it; what do you think? I've been asked to teach Spanish I and II and so far they've not been happy with past curriculum choices. Having a computer based program to do at home 4 days with 1 day of classroom time seems like the best of both worlds, no?

TIA, Trish

 

There are only about 130 days of work in the computer program for each year--they assume you will need days for review and memory work. If the children would do 4 lessons/week, they could still finish in 33 weeks of school. I think this could work, and the parents would have a rather hassle free language program.

 

Jean

[Spock]

Just FYI-a native spanish speaker from latin america ( I forget which country now, it's been a few years) once told me that the differences between latin american and south american (I think I've seen it referred to as Castillian)spanish are like the differences between english in the US and english in England. The accents are different and some of the words are different but both can understand each other.Has anyone else heard this? I'm curious. We have many Mexican immigrants here so I think we will go with Latin American if we have a choice.

 

My husband is Guatemalan. We attend a Spanish language church in NC, with members/staff from pretty much every Spanish speaking country (Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Columbia, and Peru, to mention some of the countries with the largest representation, with one or more people from many other nations). There are a few minor differences in vocabulary and accent, but no one has trouble understanding anyone else. If someone uses a word that is used only in their home country, anyone who doesn't understand just asks, and is told an alternate word.

 

I would not worry about this in selecting a Spanish program. Since our problem has always been to find programs that are neither designed for children with little to no Spanish background (not suited to our children who have grown up hearing Spanish) nor designed for fluent native speakers (which also does not describe our children, though I wish it did), I really couldn't say what you should look for in a beginning program.

[Annie Laurie]

Adding my thank you to Jean for posting about this. I bought Secondary Spanish based on this thread, I think it will be a good fit for my ds.

[Brindee]

My husband is Guatemalan. We attend a Spanish language church in NC, with members/staff from pretty much every Spanish speaking country (Mexico, Honduras, Argentina, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Columbia, and Peru, to mention some of the countries with the largest representation, with one or more people from many other nations). There are a few minor differences in vocabulary and accent, but no one has trouble understanding anyone else. If someone uses a word that is used only in their home country, anyone who doesn't understand just asks, and is told an alternate word.

I agree about not worrying. I always considered some of the differences (instead of like American and British English) as Australian and American English. There seem to be more words that are different, and the accents are certainly different, but I have no trouble understanding what they're saying! :001_smile:

 

Jean, thanks for all the info.!

[Twelham]

Thanks for the input Jean. It would be so nice if SOS had some way of demo-ing the product at home like RS. The hard part is choosing which level to use for the kids coming back for Spanish II. On the AO website you can look at a pdf of the lesson objectives for each level. It's under the Resources tab for the product. Here's the link for the secondary spanish level. HTH someone.

 

http://www.aophomeschooling.com/media/pdf/products/lesson_objectives/sos_objectives_sosssp.pdf