After giving it some thought, I’ve decided I want to take Spanish III. However, I am in this position where I don’t think I could handle it, even if I put maximum effort. Here’s the situation:
I took Spanish I in 8th grade because my school offered. However, the teacher wasn’t the greatest at classroom management. We were lucky if we finished one page out of the book every day. We were severely behind by April. So behind, she HELPED students during the final exam she made. We only ended up getting through 2 units of out the 6 we were required to do by the state. (8 units in total) I passed the class with an A and decided to take Spanish II to get my required foreign language out of the way
Spanish II was even worse. We had two teachers in one year. The first one knew she was leaving soon so she didn’t teach us much (She really brushed us up on Spanish I skills). The newer teacher didn’t start teaching until mid-October. She expected us to know so a lot more then I knew. I tried explaining to her the situation from 8th grade & she told me I’ll be fine. But, that isn’t the case. I don’t really know the foundations of the language (That should’ve been taught in Spanish I). So, everything that is being taught in Spanish II, I don’t really understand beyond present tense conjugation. I really want to take Spanish III & IV, but at this point, I don’t think I could handle the workload. In Spanish 3 & 4, you are expected to speak Spanish at all times, no matter what. We would get graded on pronunciation, fluency, writing, reading, and reading comprehension. With not even knowing the basics, that seems nearly impossible.
My grade currently in Spanish II is a D. Last semester, it was an A, and I’m pretty sure that was only because she brushed up on Spanish basics the first quarter, while the new teacher taught us thoroughly.
At this point, I am lost & I was hoping for some guidance on what to do next & what step I should take in order to succeed in this language
If I were you, I would try and review as much as possible over the summer. Then if you feel like you can handle it from there, take Spanish 3. You can always drop it if it becomes unbearable.
Can your parents afford to send you to Concordia language village camps for Spanish? They do a marvelous job and would help you ease into Spanish 3, probably with an advantage to boot.
In the meantime, you need to improve that D. Go ask your teacher what the priority should be. Ask for a tutor - some NHS students may do that.
If you are getting Ds in Spanish II, Spanish III and IV will be a major struggle for you, and this is coming from someone with four years of foreign language. I would still say to sign up for Spanish III and to at least try it because many colleges expect three or more years of a foreign language; if you end up doing very poorly, you can always switch out.
^This student needs to find a way to catch up. They can’t go from 2 chapters in Spanish 1 to regular Spanish 2, mising all the intermediate chapters. If not Concordia language village and tutors, then retaking Spanish 1 at a CC as dual enrollment (Spanish 1 at a CC will cover HS Spanish 1+2). There are also Spanish Intensive summer programs at Ole Miss and Penn State but these aren’t as much fun and as low key as Concordia language villages.
@zbthsjunior Unfortunately, at my school, it’s kind of an “all or nothing” situation. Once you register your courses, you’re stuck with them or I’m pretty sure you violate some type of honor code. (?) Plus, if I drop it after 4 1/2 weeks, I take the penalty “F.”
@MYOS1634 I’m sure they could, but it seems a bit short notice and Concordia seems quite far. I looked at my options and decided on an online tutor for now since my school’s NHS program isn’t really developed. I would do dual enrollment, but I’d have to study for a test & my life is already hectic as it is. Thank you for your contribution to the community & it’s always a pleasure reading your advice.
@r2v2018 Like I said above, this is an all or nothing type of situation. At this point, I accept full responsibility for getting a D. I should have taken action, but I was lost and confused.
spanish is the type of class where everything you do builds upon itself years after years. definitely work over the summer and try to review as much material as possible: verbs, preterite and imperfect, vocab, etc. when doing spanish 3, make sure you are comfortable with your teacher and willing to ask any questions you may need. spanish 3 is a lot of grammar related things and verb tenses, which is pretty much straight memorization. if at the end of the summer you don’t feel like you can do it, then don’t. if you are very far behind, the more advanced and honors spanish classes will be a nightmare for you. however, if you are confident in your spanish then go for it! you can always get a tudor and hopefully succeed. I hope everything works out for you:)
A lot of students at my school dropped Spanish after taking Spanish 2. Like you, most of us took Spanish 1 during 8th grade, and then moved on to Spanish 2 in high school as a freshman - which we were totally unprepared for (Spanish 1 was a joke), and a lot of us did poorly. I know a friend of mine who dropped Spanish after ending Sem 2 with an A-, and I feel bad for her because I know she would’ve definitely done well in Spanish 3.
Now, I realize that an A- and a D is a very far stretch, but honestly, Spanish 3 is not as hard as everyone is making it out to be. It’s basically relearning all the concepts from Spanish 2 again (preterite, imperfect, subjunctive, por vs para, positive/negative commands, etc) with additional vocab. So far in terms of pronunciation and speaking, we’ve learned nothing. We do a couple of song quizzes and reading sections (which the teacher goes over thoroughly before we’re tested on it) and that’s about it. Most of the people who complain about Spanish 3 are the students that don’t pay attention during class or slack off. It’s really not difficult as long as you study well and ask the teacher when you don’t understand things… At least that’s how it is at my school.
If you really want to move on in Spanish, I’d say self-study and try to re-learn all the tenses again, especially over the summer. Always ask the teacher for anything you might get confused on. You’re not expected to have mastered all of the tenses by Spanish 3, so don’t worry about that. I don’t know how difficult Spanish 3 is at your school, so I’d also definitely look for juniors/seniors who have taken the class and ask for their opinion.