So, im right now in my Freshman year and I’ve realized how bad our French teacher is in our school. There is only one teacher for French. He is so hard and hes not even a good teacher. He doesn’t know what he’s doing. He keeps assigning pop quizzes when we have barely have learned the lesson, and his lessons are so vague that nobody can understand. He expects us to learn everything within a day i swear as a Freshman I have like 4 hours worth of other hw plus ECs. As for right now I have a 75 in the class and Im doing ev
So, for Sophomore and Junior year I really want to take Spanish I and Spanish II and am confident that I can get an A. Senior year i want to save a schedule to take both AP bio and AP Physics 1.
WIll colleges penalize me for doing this? Foreign language classes are not supposed to be hard Freshman year its rly stupid and I REALLY want to switch out of French and can’t do it rn cuz its too late already.
If the college wants 3 years, they will say they want 3 years. Now keep in mind that some colleges have a foreign language requirement for graduation, so the more you do in HS, the less you may need to do in college.
But, you’re a freshman.You have time to decide. The important thing right now is to try to get your French grade up.
Before you schedule senior year classes I would suggest you start to come up with a list of colleges you are interested in applying to. Google the common data set for each of the schools, check section C and look at their list of required/recommended HS courses to see how many foreign language classes they want applicants to have. Keep in mind that the number of years of foreign language required/recommended is the highest level you attain in any one language (So if you take French 1 and Spanish 1 and 2 it would be considered as 2 years of foreign language since level 2 is the highest you attained).
If any school (especially one where admissions is competitive) requests/requires 3 years of foreign language then I would strongly suggest you take Spanish 3 instead of a second science AP class. I disagree with the above post – foreign language is considered a core academic class by admissions officers and if you don’t meet the recommendations/requirements a college sets forth your application will be at a disadvantage.
There will be plenty of time for college level science courses once you are in college.
@happy1 Im a CA resident so i want to be in UCLA/UCI. Also, I really love NYU as i know some people that went there. They are my dream schools. Also, if I do that then i will take honors physics hopefully thats OK
UCs require at least level 2 but recommend level 3 for admission. They may have foreign language graduation requirements that require higher level than high school level 3.
Another option is to talk to the head of the dept or your guidance counselor about the teacher (or have your parents talk to them with you). Give examples of what he covered and what you were quizzed on. Show examples of the vague lessons.
Sometimes it really is the teacher. Sometimes its you and you need to study more on your own…although Freshman French is not a case where I say “suck it up”.
It’s possible your teacher’s methods result in several students taking AP French and doing well.(Then being allowed to skip foreign language in college).
If you’re aiming for UCs yes you’ll be penalized for reaching only Spanish level2 (and you’ll likely have to take semesters of Spanish in college).
Right now, the priority is for you to raise that grade.
How do you study? Do you listen to dialogues? Memorize them? Do you quiz yourself on vocabulary, both French-> English and English-> French?
Do you know your basic verb conjugations by heart, with no hesitation? Do you do all the written homework, with no distractions/interruptions (phone off)?
Do you read the culture segments and can recite the main points? If you have maps, can you find a blank one and complete it? Have you asked the teacher for extra exercises to practice more?
Can you ask other students in the class who are doing well what they do, how they study? Current A students have “cracked the code” for this teacher’s approach. Learn from them :).
Also, can you study with them once or twice a week?
You can’t change your teacher. All you can do is change how you study so that your first quarter grade, let alone first semester grade, isn’t a C, learn how to learn on your own (a skill you’ll need the more you progress), and perhaps even enjoy the class once you know what’s going on.
Be aware that a 75 in the first weeks of a foreign language is indicative of a D or F coming your way as time goes, unless you manage to turn things around quickly, because foreign language, like math, is cumulative, and the first months of a foreign language cover the easiest notions. So, relearning everything you’ve missed so far and catching up is going to be very important for that first year. (Also because, if you get a D, you’ll need to take it again over the summer for grade repair…better figure out now how students who do well in the course manage that feat.)
What grades are the other French students getting?
Last night I was at a school event and a parent was telling me that her daughter was having so much trouble in a math class and she felt that the teacher didn’t teach but just handed out worksheets and wanted the students to teach themselves. It was awkward because my son was in the same class and just got the highest quiz grade in math of his HS career. S raves of how well the teacher explains things in class. Weird.
But I encourage the OP to follow some of the suggestions above to improve the learning of French. I also don’t know how the OP can predict he will get As in Spanish.
You still need to improve that grade. A C in the first month of foreign language study is bad news for the rest of the year and if you get a D (or an F) you’ll need to take the class again over the summer.
So, what are you going to do to improve that grade (in spite of your teadher if need be?)