<p>My son has has Spanish since 6th grade. Fluctuates with grades and understanding. Goes from a B+ to C+ quarter to quarter. He is transferring to a Public school from private for 9th grade. He is a good writer and plans at this point to head in that direction. he is an A-B+ student.Inattentive at times needs to be considered. I am concerned about his transition to a new school, new kids, big classes. He will be taking Honors English, World History, Biology(which only kids with better grades take in 9th at this school, otherwise they take physical science which he had in 8th grade).Also taking 2 electives, Academic writing and Playwriting second term. PE also.
He will have a rigorous schedule and I am seriously considering having him take Spanish 1 rather than Spanish2. If colleges want 3 years of Spanish does it REALLY MATTER if he starts with Spanish 2? He does want to go to a competitive college.He does not want to be overwhelmed with the transitional year yet does not want to have to take more years of Spanish than he needs. He doesn’t want to be bored with 1 but doesn’t want to do poorly with 2 given he is taking Biology and another writing class. Thanks for any input</p>
<p>He needs to meet with the Spanish teachers at the new school and ask about this. They should have a placement exam of some kind. A good assessment would evaluate all four skills: reading, writing, speaking, listening. Trust the teachers’ judgment on this one. They will know where he belongs.</p>
<p>If at all possible have him take a language placement exam at his new school. Such exams, often informal, are rather common since a significant number of middle school students have some language knowledge when they enter high school. If the school doesn’t provide such an exam as part of the entry process, consider asking the language department to provide one. The high school would then recommend whether your S will be successful by starting out in Spanish 2.</p>
<p>Insofar as what colleges expect, it’s not that they are looking for 3 (and often 4) years of language training in high school. They recommend that the student attain the proficiency at the equivalent of year 3 (and often year 4) of the language. So if your son places into Spanish 2, he would have met the requirement by taking Spanish 2 and following up with Spanish 3.</p>
<p>My opinion is that language study is ineffective when the student is not moving forward, as would be the case in repeating the rudiments (as in Spanish 1). It’s only after the student masters the basics that the language becomes exciting.</p>
<p>Agree with happymom1 and fogcity that he should talk to the Spanish teachers at the new school to determine appropriate placement in Spanish courses.</p>
<p>Many universities actually specify for high school foreign language the Nth year course, rather then N years of foreign language courses – i.e. it matters what level the student completes, not the number of years. But check with the universities to be sure.</p>