question for foreign language majors/professors

[Anonymous]

DC is a freshman in college, and took Spanish through AP Lang in HS. DC placed into level 4 of Spanish in college, and took that class and the consecutive Spanish class this semester.

If DC were to continue to take Spanish next year, she’d have one more semester of the language/grammar focused class and then could take Spanish classes in literature, film, politics, etc.

However, DC wants to take a break from Spanish fall of sophmore year. Their reasoning is that they haven’t loved the Spanish classes, and still are exploring what to major in and want to fill their fall schedule trying new subjects (along with classes that fulfill some foundational requirements). Sounds reasonable to me.

My question is whether if DC decides to pick up Spanish again in spring of sophmore year, or even fall of junior year, is this doable, or is it too hard once one has taken a semester or two off (bc most others in the classes presumably will be taking the classes consecutively with prior Spanish classes).

Would appreciate any thoughts or considerations that I can share with DC.

[Anonymous]

I was a foreign language major and still keep up my language skills. I think she’ll be absolutely fine. I would suggest she see if there is a language table or other opportunity to keep up her current level in the interim. Nothing too taxing—just something to keep the language somewhat fresh. She may want to ask the Spanish department for suggestions!

[Anonymous]

I have a language minor and my husband was a language major.

It sounds like your child has satisfied any graduation requirements. If your daughter doesn't love Spanish classes, why does she plan to take more?

At some point the language needs to transition from a class setting to real world usage, or the skills will plateau or decline. Reading comprehension is the easiest to maintain. Conversation at normal speeds and correct grammar are more difficult to maintain without regular exposure.

I think it's possible your child might be done taking Spanish overall and that's o.k. if it was being taken for the pure enjoyment of it. Reading books and watching t.v. might help maintain the language.

[Anonymous]

Check to see course offerings in the semester she intends to return. Depending on the school, they might only offer "5a" in the fall and "5b" in the spring. So a semester off=a year off.

[TheSpanishDoctor]

From my experience at UNC and UVA, the beginning and intermediate classes could be kind of boring and tedious. For 4th semester Spanish, your daughter might have had to do what all the other classes were doing (same homework, quizzes, exams, etc.). The next course might have been something like reading and composition. Those classes still tend to be standardized. All of what I've mentioned so far could be taught by graduate students, lecturers and adjuncts at larger colleges.

The most interesting classes and the ones with less of a prepackaged feel are going to be the upper division courses. Your daughter should speak with upperclassmen and find out if that is true at her college.

As the PPs were noting, your daughter could benefit from a language table, a weekly/biweekly/monthly opportunity to get together and speak the language. She should continue consuming media (YouTube, news, movies, literature) during her break. I hope she can end up taking fun courses and get the most out of them.

[Anonymous]

Ask the actual Dept. They will have the only correct answer.

[Anonymous]

Latin American Studies major here, speak Spanish, Portuguese and French. I'd have to dig up my transcript to see if I took breaks from Spanish but given that your child is already at a fairly high level, I doubt taking a semester off would make a huge difference in terms of the "use it or lose it" mentality.

Has your child had any type of immersion experience, or would s/he be into that idea? That's been the biggest factor in my proficiency and retention. If the interest and funds are there, maybe some type of study abroad where they could fulfill core/gen ed reqs while also being immersed in that culture?

[Anonymous]

esa es una mala idea

[Anonymous]

She’ll probably lose some skills without routine use.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all of these responses, from OP. DC wants to study in Spain for a semester during their junior year, and also has interest in an international relations major (although also is considering psychology, political science, etc so I told her not to make a decision based on potential major). These are the main reasons DC continued taking Spanish first year of college (she placed out of the language requirement from 5 on AP Spanish Lang).

But, she does not love the classes. I think as a PP The Spanish Doctor said, the grammar oriented classes are tough and a little boring, although they do use literature, film, etc. I think if DD takes one more semester of language/grammar class, they can move onto the more interesting Spanish classes.

Appreciate these responses and will pass along to DC.

- OP