<p>I am in high school, currently in IB Spanish 4. Next year I have the opportunity to go into IB Spanish 5. I am very good at Spanish and have been told by both my private tutor and teacher that I am virtually (93%) fluent. </p>
<p>Being so proficient in Spanish and wanting to go into the SFS at Georgetown, I am seriously considering taking PIB Italian 2 (don't worry about how I'll skip Italian 1) instead of Span. 5 to show that I am learning/have learned more than 1 foreign language.</p>
<p>If I take IB Spanish 5 next year, I will have to take either the SL or (more likely) the HL IB Spanish exam. I am taking the SL Spanish exam this year. I have also heard from friends that IB Span. 5 is a grade killer and next to impossible to succeed in.</p>
<p>Question 1: Would it look better to have five years of one language and be very good at it OR to have done 4 years of one and be just beginning a second? </p>
<p>I have already established that I want to go into the SFS at Georgetown (okay, I know that I haven't been accepted yet, but I want some input in the event I am accepted. Just please answer the question. Please.=]). </p>
<p>Question 2: If I am accepted (and for the sake of arguments lets say I went ahead and did Spanish 5 instead of Italian 2) should I continue in the SFS with Spanish OR switch to a different, completely new language that I have no background in (like Arabic)?</p>
<p>Thanks in advance for your input! =)</p>
<ol>
<li>If you are truly virtually fluent, then IB Spanish 5 should not be the grade killer/virtually impossible to succeed in class for you that it is for others. And succeeding in it, if such a rarity, could lead to a particularly strong recommendation.</li>
</ol>
<p>More directly: one doesn’t look inherently better than the other. If you did go with Italian, you would want to elaborate somewhere on your application as to why you made this choice.</p>
<ol>
<li>Well, you could do both. But more importantly, would there be a valid/pressing reason for you to start a new language? Can you articulate this reason, or is it more of a “wouldn’t it be cool if…” feeling that may be fleeting?</li>
</ol>
<p>First, What does 93% fluent mean? How did you arrive at such a precise figure?</p>
<p>As for question 1, go ahead and finish out IB Spanish 5. From an admissions perspective, it’s generally better to finish things you start and take the highest level courses available (in this case Spanish 5). More importantly, another year can probably get you to a very high level of fluency, which is always helpful.</p>
<h1>2. If you really are as fluent as you say, then you should be able to pass the proficiency exam in Spanish after one semester. I would do that - take one Spanish class and then have the exam out of the way. After that, you can decide whether or not to take another language like Arabic but you have the security of knowing that the whole proficiency thing is taken care of. A lot of people start Arabic or Chinese and then quit, so I personally think it’s better to have some flexibility. Personally, I went into SFS essentially fluent in French took one class and passed the exam. I’m glad I did because I started Russian next, hated it, and quit after one semester.</h1>
<p>I base the percentage on what teachers, tutors, and other native speakers have told me about my speaking and my own perception of how good I am at comprehension (both spoken and written), my abilities at speaking, and my abilities at writing. If I had to go tomorrow to live in Mexico or Spain, I could get around and do well without a problem however I’m not exactly on the “educated native speaker”/“spanish teacher” level. I live in Texas and have to use Spanish a lot just in daily life, which has also made me better. That’s basically what I based the percentage on. </p>
<p>Thanks a lot for the insight and advice. It’s really helpful. =)</p>
<p>I took 5 years of french (2 in middle school, 3 in high school)
by the end of my junior year, I had maxed out the french courses in my school. I didnt take any languages senior year and i still got in</p>