<p>I was always a dunce in foreign language in high school. After a year in France I was pretty fluent. Once I learned French other languages came easier, but I still had to work harder than most of my classmates. For me it was critical to do the oral exercises at the language lab every single day. It’s really hard for me to get new vocabulary and grammar patterns into my permanent memory. </p>
<p>FWIW I think foreign language is one place you can have lower grades and not get dinged too much in college admissions. My younger son struggled with Latin for three years. He got low 80s for the most part - and the last year the grade was a gift - she must have given him brownie points for trying. He got into some very selective colleges anyway. (Vassar, Tufts, Chicago)</p>