<p>I think he should take whatever language he wants for the language requirement. If your S doesn’t enjoy Spanish, he shouldn’t be forced to take it – after all, he’s just taking a class to fulfill his language requirement, not to major in Spanish or anything. I don’t think he’ll be at a disadvantage if he starts introductory courses; those are the courses that new students with very minimal if any experience take, I believe that’s why they are called “introductory” courses. Anyways, your S should take what he likes. </p>
<p>That’s the case with me – even though I took AP Spanish Lang last year and spanish continuously through high school (and I’d be far at an advantage if I was to continue Spanish), I believe I’ll be taking Russian at Dartmouth because it interests me more.</p>