<p>As a former teacher who does speak French, Italian, Spanish, some Japanese (lose it when I don’t use it regularly!) and am fluent in ASP, my advice to the OP is to stop spending hours posting on CC (yes, I’ve read your other posts) and worrying about attending college early or disecting your schedule and grades. That time can be better spent on studying your French, which you will need if you want to attend any of the schools you have inquired about. Three years are required, period.
No, a semester at a CC is NOT the same as a year at HS, in fact, you can’t equate the two because they use much different texts and curriulum. Changing to Spanish will put you behind the curve and you won’t have the credits you need to apply as a Drama major or a Journalism major. If you are truly interested in either of those, you shouldn’t even be questioning the need for taking a foreign language but rather, be preparing yourself to take another language in college! Follow the excellent advice of SmithieandProud and get a tutor- you CAN do it if you put in even half of the time you’ve spend on here in the past year. You need those grades- you can check out CC after your work is done and during vacations!</p>
<p>If I wanted the easy A, I would have taken Spanish. I wanted to take French, because I really didn’t like the other options my school had. I didn’t want to take Spanish, because everyone in my school takes it. Latin is a dead language. German doesn’t interest me and reminds me of the Holocaust. I am half Jewish. So, I took French. I want to act in English, not in French.</p>
<p>I honestly don’t see the beauty of French. I did before I actually took the language, but not anymore. I was told by a college professor that the CC was equivalent, but btw. I am just going to talk to the counselor and see what she has to say. I actually just don’t like the language, to be candid. I can see myself getting a C this semester, because I always fail finals. I don’t know why, I study and I am just not good at them. </p>
<p>I don’t re read my posts, I’m sorry. I would have seen the mistake, if I went back. I have a 95 in Honors Language Arts. If I don’t like Italian, then I would be stunk in it. I’m also not worried about a “B”, it’s a B which is close to a C. I would be happy with a high B. I liked the fact that Italian is pronounced as seen. I don’t like that about French. I do know my school has French 2 tutors, but I have the swim team after school. I’ll ask the teacher. </p>
<p>I want to take Italian for four reasons.
- I am 50% Italian, 0% French.
- I will be to speak to my grandfather in Italian.
- You write it as you speak it.
- I want to travel to Italy.</p>
<p>Thanks for the feedback guys. </p>
<p>When I was talking to my other teachers about it, they all thought it was a good idea. Oh, I always want to take on more then I can handle. I admit that, but I like the challenge. I wanted to take French ONLINE next year, but that was before I knew I was bad at it. My grade has been a mid B and high B for most of the semester. The counselor always thinks I’m crazy with my idea’s, so do my friends. I wanted to take US History online, so I could take AP Euro History. I do have flaws, I am human. Also, another reason for taking French is an extra elective. I don’t have room next year to take journalism, acting and french. If I took Italian, I could take both.</p>
<p>PS- I don’t spend hours on CC. I am spending more tonight then usual, but that’s because of this one thread. I have stopped researching college’s at the moment. I don’t go on as much as I use to, because of swim team and homework.</p>
<p>Drop the swim team and concentrate on your academics, acting, and writing. You seem to use the time you spend on swim team as another excuse for not excelling in your academics. If you want to study acting and journalism in college than you should start focusing more on those skills.</p>
<p>Drop the swim team. Join the Drama club. Try out for the school plays. Join the high school newspaper. Concentrate on your current academics. You’re going to have to take classes that you don’t necessarily enjoy but you still have to excel in them. Spend more time studying. Go for extra help after school. Get a tutor. Start a study group.</p>
<p>Stop talking about what you plan on doing and start actively engaging in the present.</p>
<p>This is my last post, going to bed after this. </p>
<p>It’s too late to get out of swim team now, I already paid the money. I like it and it’s the only extracurricular activity I do. I also like to stay in shape. I’ll ask about the tutor. </p>
<p>You have to be in the newspaper class, I cannot join the high school newspaper. I will try out for plays out side of school, when swim team ends. I am going to be in a play next semester.</p>
<p>German reminds you of the Holocaust and you’re half Jewish. I can’t believe that was just thrown out there as a valid reason. You do realize that every time you speak English, you are speaking a derivative of German, right? Just as French, Italian, and Spanish are Romance languages and derive from Latin (Romance = Roman), English is a Germanic language. And I feel compelled to point out that the German language existed for hundreds of years before the Holocaust, and that as a language it has yet to in fact be a proven contributor to Nazism or anti-semitism. This is something they should teach you in AP Euro. </p>
<p>And when people said you will need French for acting that’s because a serious study of theatre will require studying French playwrights. AND theatre is all about seeing the beauty of language and making it come to life for your audience. So it helps if you think words are beautiful, even French ones. </p>
<p>If your teachers are telling you this is a good idea, then you are being misled. It does not sound like you have the time to devote to a college level language course. I submit that if you took on a little less, you might have more time to devote to French and be doing better. If you’ve been able to get a mid to high B most of the semester, you will probably be fine in finals. And if you are bad at test taking you will not thrive in a college course level language environment where there will be a LOT of tests and they will count for a LOT of your grade, especially the final exam.</p>
<p>It’s not the German language, but the country of Germany. I have friends in it and you learn a lot about Germany. It’s just not something I want to do. You don’t really talk a lot about other German countries, the same thing with France. </p>
<p>Also, I like film acting way more then theater. I want to have a career in that, rather then just theater. I want to go to major in acting, but I want to focus on contemporary and film.</p>
<p>I would have time for it, since I would be taking another elective instead of French. I would basically be trading it in. I don’t take on much, I want to do but I don’t. I think if I get really good at Italian, then I’d do fine at the final.</p>
<p>Here is my sch:
AP World History
Honors Chem
French 1
Honors LA
Advanced Drama
Int Geometry</p>
<p>*It’s really not that hard. I get a lot of work, but I manage it. I have all A’s except for AP World and French. I am doing 10 times better then last year.</p>
<p>I am going to see what the counselor has to say today and I may not be able to take any college course.</p>
<p>I’m totally perplexed by this thread. early_college, for one thing a B is not the end of the world. Do the best that you can and then when it comes time to apply to colleges, pick the ones where you have a chance of getting in. It’s good to have goals, but it’s also important to live in the present. </p>
<p>I cannot understand why you think another language would be easier at a college then at a High School. Community College is not a step below high school, in general the classes will be more difficult. My daughter took three years of French in HS and one year of Spanish in college. She said she learned more that first semester in College then she did her three years of High School.</p>
<p>I know a B is not the end of the world. I like B’s, lol! But I had a bad freshman year and I would like to do better this year. I got a 72 in honors math both semesters last year, which brought my GPA down by a lot. </p>
<p>A 79 is a C, I have an 81. I’m worried about that, not about the B. I also like to get mid B’s rather then low one’s. </p>
<p>I don’t think it will be easier at CC. I think Italian will be easier. I actually want to learn Italian! </p>
<p>My counselor didn’t call me in today either, a teacher told me to go in again tomorrow.</p>
<p>Italian is not easier–especially at the college level. You can always wait and take Italian when you start college. Right now, you’re much better off continuing with French at the high school level and getting the 3 year sequence in before you graduate.</p>
<p>It’s 6pm now. You have at least 4 hours of quality homework/study time left for the day.
Get off CC and put in the effort to improve your French grade. Again, you are a bit clueless as to the speed and rigor of most college level foreign language classes. Your logic is way off in a lot of your rationalizations about academics and the college process: Don’t want to learn about Germany because you’re Jewish; don’t want to learn Spanish because most kids at your school take Spanish; want to be an actor, yet you’re not doing any acting other than taking a high school drama class; want to be a journalist, yet you’re not involved in any type of club relating to writing; interested in film, yet not involved in a video production class or photography class; want to attend NYU, yet you have a low PSAT, an average rigor of high school classes at best, less than a 3.5 average, and only participate in one EC (swimming, which has nothing to do with your intended major).</p>
<p>Please, listen and stop dismissing what the majority of posters on CC have advised. If you choose to dismiss the advice of the adults around you, then be ready to take responsibility when your decisions hinder your options later on. </p>
<p>Buckle down, get off the computer and study, stop trying to make excuses for not following through on things, stop wasting time on worrying about getting into the acting program at NYU and start engaging and fully participating in the now, stop using CC as your stage and try out for a school production, stop being so thick.</p>
<p>You’re currently a sophomore. Colleges are looking for kids that rise to the top of the pile. They are looking for the kids that live their passion—kids who walk the walk and not just talk the talk. They are looking for kids who challenge themselves academically and rise to that challenge (not those who quit because of the possibility of getting a C).
At this stage in your life, you should be spending less time researching dream schools and more time being involved and succeeding at the high school level.</p>
<p>Stay in French and, if you want to try out Italian, buy Teach Yourself Italian or the equivalent and give it a try!</p>
<p>I have spent less then 10 minutes on CC today. I know the majority of people I have talked to, have said Italian is much easier. My grandfather is Italian born and knows that French is much harder. It’s going to be hard since it’s a college course, but who says I can’t handle it?</p>
<p>I am not Jewish, I am actually Catholic. I have acted since age 6 and have been in more then 25 plays. I would like to try different things. There isn’t ANY writing club offered at my school. I didn’t get into the journalism class and I don’t know I am going to take French, Acting and Journalism next year. That was another reason I thought I should take Italian out of school or take French online. I am going to act in more plays after swim season. I am not interested in film, but screen acting. I have taken a lot of classes in the past few years. I may take another screen acting class too. I don’t even know my scores for the PSAT. I never said I scored low, because I don’t know how I did! My rigor is def. higher then AVERAGE! I am taking one CP math class and everything else is the highest I can take. I dropped down to CP, because honors was too hard. If I was taking an average course load, I would be in all CP classes. I should have a 3.5 GPA after this semester. I am doing good in all of my other classes.</p>
<p>I am also not quitting because my grade is close to a C. I rather take Italian and I don’t like French. I may have a B, but that’s not my main reason for quitting at all. I am in the top 30% of my class, which does not count class rigor. </p>
<p>I don’t know if I’m taking French or not. But surly it seems that CC’s members have always the opposite advice from my counselors, teachers, friends and mentors.</p>
<p>I am someone who can teach a foreign language to myself. I need someone to teach me it. It’s like math, I need a lesson before I can practice.</p>
<p>“German doesn’t interest me and reminds me of the Holocaust. I am half Jewish.”
^your words, not mine.</p>
<p>“My grandfather is Italian born”
^this doesn’t mean that you will miraculously absorb and learn the language any better than you will learn French.</p>
<p>“I have acted since age 6 and have been in more then 25 plays”
^When was your last experience acting on stage? What you did at the age of 6 is irrelevant. What matters is what you are or are not doing NOW. Think about it–most kids perform in little plays at least twice a year during their elementary years. Grade K-6 =7 years X 2 plays per year=14 plays. This is meaningless. You’re in 10th grade now–what have you done regarding acting in your high school productions. What have you done in Community Theater lately? What have you done in Youth Acting Workshops lately? Taking acting classes is not as important as gaining actual acting experience in productions in front of large audiences.</p>
<p>“I am also not quitting because my grade is close to a C. I rather take Italian and I don’t like French.”
^You don’t like French because you find it difficult. You’d rather take Italian but you say this without having spent a day in an Italian class.</p>
<p>" I don’t even know my scores for the PSAT. I never said I scored low, because I don’t know how I did!"
^you made the comment on another thread regarding PSAT that you had a very hard time with the vocabulary and you didn’t know the words. You said that you started out OK with the writing but ran out of time. You said that you didn’t read the last passage and guessed on the answers. You blamed the proctor for not telling you how much time you had on each section and you blamed the proctor for not using the clock in the room. You also made a comment that you don’t do well on timed exams. Based on your comments, I’m assuming the test didn’t go as well as you had hoped.</p>
<p>“I didn’t get into the journalism class”
^There are other ways to be involved in writing/journalism besides being in a journalism class. What about your high school’s literary journal? What about writing articles and submitting them to the high school newspaper for peer review? What about asking your English teacher about other writing opportunities?</p>
<p>I’ll bow out and let someone else try to get through to you.</p>
<p>There are many excellent, reasonably priced self-teaching resources. They come with CDs, workbooks, practice opportunities, and/or online resources. You can learn some Italian from them. If at all interested, check amazon.</p>
<p>Are they as good as a regular class taught by an excellent teacher? No. Are they better than nothing? Yes.</p>
<hr>
<p>Why waste time defending oneself against online attacks from total strangers?</p>
<hr>
<p>If one gets good advice from </p>
<p>
</p>
<p>then why come here seeking more and then complaining about the advice that one does get here?</p>
<p>I decided to stick with French, because I don’t have the time and energy to take Italian at the CC. The CC is not by me, so it wouldn’t even be worth it. I never did actually talk to the counselor, but btw. Responding to your posts though:</p>
<p>You said I was Jewish, I said I was half Jewish. There is a difference. I did a lot more plays in Florida and they were not “little” plays at all. I have done about 5 or since since moving to Georgia. I did more then two in a year. I also don’t like French, because well I don’t like the language. But I rather just stick with it. I thought I did ok/good on the PSAT, I was really only worried about the last section. I had trouble with a couple vocab words, but that was it and a lot of people did and a lot of people didn’t try. I could have looked back at my questions, but the proctor didn’t give us the correct time. But I did finish. I do fine at timed tests, but I do better when I am not timed. </p>
<p>My high school has no literacy journal. You cannot submit article’s to the newspaper, you have to be in the class to do it. There isn’t much else for journalism. </p>
<p>I have Berlitz for Italian and tried using it and it is really confusing and it’s hard to use. I need someone to teach it to me, not good teaching myself. </p>
<p>I came here to get other advice, but I was saying that it is usually the opposite advice from school.</p>
<hr>
<p>One of the main reasons I wanted to take Italian, was that I can take acting and journalism junior year. I only get two electives. I cannot take French, acting and journalism. Should I try and take Honors Physics online next semester and in the summer? Or is a science class too hard?</p>
<p>OK, as someone who himself struggled with languages other than English (and sometimes with that too - 
), I’ll chime in…</p>
<p>First and most importantly, if you struggle with one foreign language, you will likely struggle with any foreign language (and vice-versa). There is a certain part of the brain that processes this type of work and some people have it better than others. It works better for all younger (young children learn several languages simultaneously better than adults).</p>
<p>Second with regards to Italian itself… I took 2 quarters of Italian in college after struggling with 2 years of German in HS. From a memorization perspective, it doesn’t matter which language. From a pronounciation perspective, Italian was hands down easier, as my mouth works better with the soft consanants. Comparing with French (I am no expert here), I believe there are fewer vowel sound variations in everyday Italian, simplifying the enounciation. Additionally accentuation is very regular (second to the last syllable in 95%+) of words. Grammatically, Italian is also more regular than German (or even the other Latin languages), so there are fewer exceptions to memorize. Pluralization of nouns and identification of gender of noun is better because of regular rules and a high degree of regular nouns. </p>
<p>That being said, I advising you to stick to the French. Why? First the B or even B- will not kill you in college admissions. College admissions folks understand that students struggle with languages. Imagine if they required dance for college admissions, how many kids with 2 left feet would feel. Quitting French because of a B type grade says more about you than you think. Taking the 2 (or 3 depending upon college) years of a subject you struggle in, instead of looking for an easy way out (CC grades are often looked at with suspicion depending upon the institution). You look like someone who is managing their transcript. They see right through you.</p>
<p>Now if you genuinely want to learn Italian and have the time (sounds like you don’t though) in addition to your regular work, that is a good thing. My guess is that you will struggle with it anyway as you do with French. You may be better motivated to stick it out (given your stated reasons), but still you will not be getting an A grade very easy (unless you have the questionable CC situation referred to earlier).</p>
<p>My suggestion again is to stick it out. Foreign languages are great situations for group study - where one student at a time has access to the book and the rest have to converse with him/her. I suggest you find some other students from your class and get together (the French club at your school perhaps?) for some study time. It will also make the misery of foreign language a little less onerous.</p>
<p>Good Luck. </p>
<p>BTW, my grades in Italian weren’t any better (B’s) than those in German. And I like you had to work very hard to get them.</p>
<p>I agree with you. I already decided I’m sticking with French, but I think I would do a little better in Italian. I’m prob just not good at foreign languages. It’s like math, a weak subject. </p>
<p>I don’t have time to study French and Italian. I guess we’ll see in college. I have always wanted to learn the Thai language, but that’s just because I love Thia food. </p>
<p>The only problem I face is my schedule. I am thinking about taking Honors Physics online through my high school. I want to take journalism, acting and French but I don’t have enough room. That’s the problem I face.</p>