<p>So, my son really didn't want to take Spanish or French, which are the only two languages that are available at his high school. In his Sophomore year, he took German I at the local community college fall semester (and got a B+). The plan was for him to take German II this fall, as he wanted to focus on the AP exams over the spring semester. Well....it's not being offered in the evening, and they removed the German III entirely.
So, we're looking to switch him to Japanese (which is what he really wanted to begin with!) and would be able to get in I, II and III, but most likely II and III would be in his senior year.</p>
<p>Do you think this will hurt him? I know he will for sure get in 2 years of Japanese...will he be ok with 2, since he's also taken a year of German? Do you think we will HAVE to take that third semester of Japanese? </p>
<p>Any insight is greatly appreciated!!</p>
<p>Does he require the 2 years’ credits (in the same language) to graduate high school? Colleges only look for 2 years’ profficiency. He should go along with German and if he’s motivated, he should learn the language on his spare time as a hobby. Immerse him in the German language. When he knows enough, he should prove his profficiency by taking the AP exam. It’s what I did with Spanish.</p>
<p>However, if that seems daunting, he can always play it safe by just taking the two years of Japanese. Counting his one year of German, this would not make the recommended three, since those years must be spent learning the same language. My advice is not to worry too much about this, though. There are plenty of other ways your son may distinguish himself.</p>
<p>I am a retired Foreign Service Officer (FSO) with significant training in Japanese who spent three tours of duty in Japan. For a native English speaker Japanese is a much harder language to learn than German. To attain minimum professional competence in German, FSOs are assigned to five months of full time German language study at the Foreign Service Institute (FSI) in Washington DC. To achieve the same level of proficiency in Japanese, FSOs are assigned to a full year of Japanese language training at the FSI in Washington, followed by a second year of full time Japanese language training at the FSI branch in Yokohama, Japan.</p>