Foreign Language at Potomac School

[Anonymous]

Considering for my 1st grade girl. I also don’t see Potomac School offering foreign language instruction. Is this normal at elite privates?

I would imagine for the money they are charging, they’d have at least some Spanish instruction.

[Anonymous]

Following. Also hoping for some Spanish in LS and IS…

[Anonymous]

I know Potomac has Spanish starting in 4th, which is MS for them (IS is 7/8). I don’t know about LS.

[Anonymous]

Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

[Anonymous]

I was also told that there is no foreign language instruction until 4th. When we considered Potomac last year, this weighed heavily on our decision not to enroll.

[Anonymous]

No formal foreign language until 4th. Potomac does rely on research that indicates it is more important to focus on reading/writing in English in the early grades. (I don't necessarily agree, but....). We have been very happy. There are after school opportunities for Spanish instruction through the ETC classes for LS students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

+1. Early exposure is great, but unless you're doing immersion (or close to it), I don't know that it makes a difference. I didn't start a foreign language myself until 6th grade and ended up majoring in it in college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

+1. Early exposure is great, but unless you're doing immersion (or close to it), I don't know that it makes a difference. I didn't start a foreign language myself until 6th grade and ended up majoring in it in college.

Could not agree more. Felt like a massive waste of time in early years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

PP you’re responding to. Sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you were saying that because of the focus on English literacy at the expense of foreign language exposure in the early grades, Potomac kids were on track to take AP *English* lang and lit in 11th and 12th, which is pretty standard across the board, of course. I realize you meant AP lang and lit in Spanish or whatever FL. Sorry for the confusion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

I know times have changed, but I started a language in 7th grade at a DC prep school and was able to take AP Lang and AP Lit junior year. Everyone else who took those APs was also a junior unless there was a special circumstance like they had gotten behind by studying abroad. I'm by no means a polyglot or someone who picks up languages easily. In current times is really necessary to start that much earlier to stay on track for AP-level courses?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was also told that there is no foreign language instruction until 4th. When we considered Potomac last year, this weighed heavily on our decision not to enroll.

I cannot even comprehend this. My kid is taking all advanced languages at Potomac and starting later was zero issue. First grade is focusing on reading English.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Starts in 4th.

They cite some research somewhere about focusing on literacy in English in the early grades. FWIW this pace allows for AP Lang and AP Lit by junior and senior year, and the IS/US spanish instruction is very good. But there is no early elementary foreign language available.

Hmm. Other schools offer AP Lang and AP Lit starting in junior year and still offer early foreign language exposure to their LS students.

Yes. My point was that, even without the early language exposure, it doesn’t appear to slow down the desired language progression of reaching ap lang and lit.

+1. Early exposure is great, but unless you're doing immersion (or close to it), I don't know that it makes a difference. I didn't start a foreign language myself until 6th grade and ended up majoring in it in college.

Could not agree more. Felt like a massive waste of time in early years.

FCPS has kids doing foreign language from K-6, and their data showed that students who continued on in the target language in middle school did not have GPAs that were different from that of kids brand new to the language.

It's surely possible for private schools to implement it better than FCPS does, but the main component to better is almost assuredly "a lot more hours of instruction", and in the younger grades, for most kids, these hours are better spent on something else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was also told that there is no foreign language instruction until 4th. When we considered Potomac last year, this weighed heavily on our decision not to enroll.

I cannot even comprehend this. My kid is taking all advanced languages at Potomac and starting later was zero issue. First grade is focusing on reading English.

DP but different priorities? I have no doubt it works out fine but more language earlier is always better, and some parents are going to weigh that more than others.