Kids that lack the "ear" for foreign language

Parents Forum
1

<p>Well,</p>

<p>My youngest is Mr. Doom and Gloom again. He just can't seem to bring up his Spanish 3 grade. It vacillates between a B and a C. He studies the vocab and does well with written work. Where he falls is in the listen and respond category. His teacher uses audio tapes I guess and the exams are based on being able to understand and respond correctly to both the directions given in Spanish and to the questions posed in Spanish that are all on the tape. He can't seem to understand what is being said. His hearing is fine, btw. They get to listen twice and if you don't get it, too bad. If everything was visual he'd be fine, in the auditory arena, he can't cut it.</p>

<p>We've been in regular contact with the teacher with every bad test result asking what we can do, but nothing we've tried seems to be working.
He now wants out of Spanish 4 next year and the AP. But he's really stressing about getting C's or worse as the year wears on. He wants to do well but doesn't know how to get there.</p>

<p>What would <em>you</em> do? (The class grade distribution looks pretty normal--some excel and others don't.)</p>

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<p>I come from a long line of linguistically impaired people. We took the attitude that we were grateful that the kids were at least fluent in one language, since Spanish proved to be so monumentally difficult!</p>

<p>Why is he freaking out about a B? If he's working hard and doesn't have an "ear" for languages, that seems to be a perfectly respectable outcome. What am I missing????</p>

3

<p>One of the things I found <em>really</em> helpful when I started learning foreign languages (in my case French and Chinese) was just to tune in to a radio station or TV channel where the language was used and leave it on in the background. I didn't understand a whole lot of what was going on at first, but I got used to hearing the sounds on a regular basis. (I also got addicted to various Chinese soap operas <em>lol</em>) </p>

<p>Also, tell your son NOT to try and mentally translate every single sentence he hears. He'll get caught out trying to work out what a particular phrase means and miss the sentences that come after. Instead, it's best to identify various words and try to get the gist.</p>

4

<p>There is no reason to go through life beating your head against walls. Rather than focusing on weakness (no "ear" for foreign languages), allow your son to find something he can excel at. Overcoming weakness is somewhat laudatory, but getting really good at something at which you have some talent is even more so. Good luck to your son. (I only had three Cs in high school -- two in German and one in freshman geography. I sympathize.)</p>

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<p>You might try Rosetta Stone software -- it is very visual, even though it involves listening -- but the use of pictures and the interactive nature of the software may build up mental connections that aren't built with simple listen & repeat type lessons. You can download sample lessons for free from the Rosetta Stone site to get a sense of whether your son likes the format.</p>

6

<p>My D as well was never going to be bilingual, she took spanish...she now wishes she had taken latin, but water under the bridge</p>

<p>As a senior, her counselor was pushing for that 4th year of language...my D had done her research, saw what colleges she was interested in expected and said, basically, nope no more spanish....instead she took economics and another english class....she was so HAPPY...so taking that 4th year of a language is not a deal breaker...just fill it with something he loves</p>

<p>as for NOW, well, can you get him a tutor, someone who speaks spanish that can just talk to him using the lessons</p>

<p>or can he find a study partner </p>

<p>I totally symphathize, my D was the same, could memorize the vocab, write the paragraphes, etc</p>

<p>What she realized was that often the tapes had a different spanish accent then the teacher did, who was from Spain, but grew up in South America, so his accent was all over the place</p>

<p>Imagine someone learning enlgish, than having to hear a scotsman read the test....it might be rough
Check into the accent part...it was what was messing up my D and the SPEED of the speaker on the tape...at least knowing that might be part of the problem will be less frustrating</p>

<p>Good luck</p>

<p>ps- in college, my D may need to take a language as a core class as a freshman- she is debating taking begining spanish, which she says is boring, but might be easy as she has three years under her belt, OR taking latin...I am leaning towards latin</p>

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<p>Laylah has some good advice. In the third year he should try to understand the language, whether it's written or spoken, without translating it in his head. Spanish TV is a good idea, but in many places in the US Spanish television is limited and pretty bad. Maybe he can watch a few of his favorite DVDs in Spanish. That feature is usually offered, and it may help him to get used to listening to Spanish if he knows the story and what's going on already. Get your son to talk to the teacher (or a Spanish speaking friend) and see if they can sit together a couple times a week and have a 100% Spanish conversation. A half hour conversation a couple times a week will help him out a lot, I'm sure. In terms of the listening sections on tests, he should try to quickly read through the questions and possible answers (if it's multiple choice) before the recording is played, so he doesn't have to waste time trying to figure out the question when he should be concentrating on listening. </p>

<p>In the end, if he can pull off a B he's fine for any school. Although colleges like to see the 4th year of languages, if he takes a challenging curriculum without Spanish, he'll be fine.</p>

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<p>My S is in an even worse predicament. He is actaully failing Spanish 2. He is not a top scholar but gets A's and B's in a mix of regular, honors and 2 AP's.<br>
His teacher preaches about coming to tutoring sessions but then is really no help. She never gives their tests back, only tells them the score. How can a kid who has failed the test do better if he doesn't know what he did wrong?
Final exam is Friday. A "D" in this class would be a miracle for S. Sooo frustrating.</p>

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<p>If he wants to conquer this impasse, try an immersive Spanish program this summer--in Central America or in Minnesota.</p>

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<p>
[quote]
If he wants to conquer this impasse, try an immersive Spanish program this summer--in Central America or in Minnesota.

[/quote]
</p>

<p>Or McDonald's...</p>

11

<p>Make a video recording of someone reading the news or a kids' program in Spanish or a soap opera. Play a short segment over and over until you can understand it or write down word for word what you are hearing. Ask a Spanish speaker to check your transcription --if it makes sense. Doing this a few times a week will sensitize you to the pace and rhythms of spoken Spanish. Or get a DVD of a favorite movie--preferably a kid's movie--maybe Disney? and listen to the Spanish soundtrack--where you already know the English dialogue--play a short segment over and over until you can readily understand it. This will build up auditory fluency.</p>

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<p>I really believe the accent thing is something to look at, seriouslly</p>

<p>My H is Irish, sometimes his friends will cal, with perfect english, but the accent, well....</p>

<p>Ask son if accent matches tape accents....I can almst guarantee the teacher's accent is different</p>

<p>If this is the case, you can figure out a strategy</p>

13

<p>Many colleges also have on-line listening exercises, that will be very similar to those he's probably encountering. A quick google search, combined with trial and error, will turn up some that are not password protected. </p>

<p>Some of these, for example, let you follow the text as you hear the Spanish, which sounds like it's exactly what your DS needs. Below is a link to one with lots of different types of examples. Good luck!</p>

<p><a href="http://www.colby.edu/%7Ebknelson/exercises/%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://www.colby.edu/~bknelson/exercises/&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p>

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<p>I've always found it easiest to understand Spanish, Argentinian, and Columbian accents, so if you do go looking for Spanish language movies, it might be best to look for some from those countries. Disney movies are usually fairly easy to understand, without much slang or non-standard accent. I would also recommend the movie Nueve Reinas (Nine Queens) if he does seem to make some progress. It's a good movie and very Ocean's Eleven-esque, although the plot is a bit confusing.</p>

<p>It's not uncommon to have trouble with listening - I've taken 4 1/2 years of Spanish, including AP, and I still don't really understand Cuban and Mexican accents which are quite prevalent in the tapes used in Spanish classes. Often all you hear in class is the teacher, who will make quite an effort to be understandable (unlike the tapes), and sometimes the teachers speak mostly in English.</p>

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<p>Don't blame you, KrazyKow, I speak Spanish and sometimes I could not understand some people from Mexico.
I couldn’t find Nueve Reinas, many people told me it was very good, but I watched El Hijo de la Novia (Son of the Bride), and I like it!
Learning other languages has many advantages, not only cultural but also it gives good stimulus to the brain.</p>

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<p>One of our cable channels is english language movies dubbed in spanish...might be worth checking out</p>

<p>my niece's BF is scottish, he visited over the holidays, his english was impeclible, two bad none of could understand him have the time</p>

<p>when he spoke slowly no problem, but when he sped up a bit....and he wasn't using idioms or whatever, it was the "queens english" </p>

<p>we would just smile and nod</p>

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<p>Sesame street is broadcasted on our public tv stations, as is "Plazo Sesamo" - the spanish version. It is a great little program if you are learning spanish, since the content is simple and predictable. Highly recommended! :)</p>

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<p>Blossom,
He and I are fine with the B's. It's when it falls to a C (and he worries that it will only get worse) on the interim reports then he freaks. He's concerned that a C will wreck getting into a good college. We all know that's not true, but he paid rather close attention when his older brother was applying to various colleges and couldn't get in even though his grades were very good--just not good enough. It's hard to get youngest son to think rationally at times and to put his shoulder into the extra oomph it's going to take. If it makes sense, he's angry that it's hard for him and he kind of wants to just give up and to wallow in the "somethings wrong with just me and no one else" mindset. Unfortunately, he's also REALLY moody about it so we all get to suffer!!!</p>

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<p>You all have some great ideas and things to think about. We have already purchased the Rosetta Stone program, though he claimed it wasn't helping him with the problem he was having. He never gets his tests back either so I can't see what he's missing or how to help him.</p>

20

<p>


</p>

<p>Ditto. </p>

<p>Three, I've lived overseas for 15 years and eventhough I'm immersed up to my eyeballs I'm still hopeless. Some people just can't hear it. I can't sing and I can't remember foreign words when spoken. Written, yes, but as you say about your son, " in the auditory arena, * can't cut it."</p>

<p>So, question: why is it so important that your son continue into Spanish 4? If he has three years under his belkt why continue the torture? As Washdad said, focus on something else.</p>

<p>If you're worried about college language requirements, then, I'd say that three years of one language is sufficient to get him in. The rub would be what happens after he's admitted as some schools require language proficiency. For my son, another one who's language adverse, the solution was to concentrate on colleges that did not have language proficiency requirements. </p>

<p>When I was in highschool, a zillion years ago, I struggled through years of French, but finally, in 11th grade discovered Latin. Now that was a language I could get behind.</p>