<p>After reading this thread, I am seriously considering stopping my S’s Spanish after this yr. He’s a sophomore taking Sp 3 and doing poorly (D- right now). In Sp 2 and 1, he got all A’s and B’s. It seems strange that Sp 3 should be considerably harder, but he’s at a different school this yr, and so obviously has a different teacher. (He will be quite happy to stop Spanish, BTW.) From this thread I gather that S will be “safe” as far as generally meeting the FL requirement for college if he stops after SP 3. </p>
<p>If he doens’t take Sp 4 as a Jr, what should he take instead? He’s not a super motivated student and won’t be applying to top tier schools. Having said that, I still want him to maintain some rigor in his courses. I don’t know if he can handle AP’s. </p>
<p>^^In a typical Calif HS, Span 1 is real easy, Span 2 is easy and Lang 3 is where it actually requires some work besides rote memorization. (And perhaps that is why colleges prefer 3 years of Lang?) But the difference is not so drastic as to turn an A/B student into a D – it just ain’t. Perhaps the new school has a different tracking system and if so, see if you can find a tutor to get those grades up. Stopping after a D doesn’t look to good on a college app.</p>
<p>Agree that tutors can work wonders, especially for language. There should be several available at local college that would love to make a few extra $$.</p>
<p>As far as what to take instead of the 4th level, what is he interested in taking? There are a lot of electives at our school; it’s hard to suggest without knowing what he’s taken already. One of my kids took computer programming and technology ed classes (robotics, CAD), another took extra science and social studies electives. I have friends whose children are taking business classes (accounting, marketing, entrepreneurship). Our HS offers journalism and yearbook classes, video production. While not academically the most rigorous, if combined with EC’s in similar areas, they can speak to a “passion”, or at least a concentrated interest.</p>
<p>Well, IF a student has hopes of applying to a very selective college, then they should take at a minimum the “recommended” # of years of F.L. WHILE IN HIGH SCHOOL, regardless of the “level” they ultimately reach, unless they start at an advanced level as a freshman and take the AP language class in their Sophomore year.>>></p>
<p>Wrong. I know people at HYPS that only took three years of a language and started it in 8th grade. So they took none at all after 10th grade. If the middle school courses are on the transcript and count for high school credit, the colleges will count them. I would assume that HYPS prefers 4 years (level 4), but these were strong students in other ways and the lack of language didn’t hurt them.</p>
<p>I’ll agree the college admin officer, or the high school guidance counselor could give better advice than me, but since you’re asking us here, I’ll answer as best i can.
I think completing span 3 is enough. I would not recommend changing to latin unless you have reasonable expectation of needing it later. If you consider latin only because Span 4 may be too tough, then don’t.</p>
<p>My S also struggled greatly with Sp in h.s. He finished 3 yrs, but now at 24 he remembers less than I do from what I took in high school! But he took German in college and loved it. It counted(I think) only as an elective, but he took 4 semesters of it that could have been something else. He is now part-time in grad school and 1 of his classes is German. I think having an interest is the key. We visited Germany a few yrs ago, and he liked the places, the people, and hopes to go back some day. Clearly in his case, having the interest made the language “click” in his head. Not to say it’s easy, but that he wants to learn now, and is far more willing to put in the necessary work.</p>
<p>My D started teaching herself German after she found a singer she loved who had lots of comments in German posted about her. D wanted to read & understand the comments so she taught herself. She also loved the music & taught herself the lyrics in English, German & several other languages. When she took German for the first time this summer (at the U), she said it felt like a language she had always known but just forgotten some.</p>
<p>My son took no foreign language courses in HS because he is pretty dyslexic. I called the admissions offices of several Ivy/NESCAC schools and asked them if this would disqualify him. Two of the three said three years of language was a recommendation and not a requirement, but that he would have to do something challenging instead. The third school said it was a requirement and that he would have to disclose his learning disability and do something challenging instead. He did get in to several Ivy/NESCAC schools. so what they told me appears to be correct.</p>