How hard is Spanish 1AB really? Is the two-year class a better choice?

[Anonymous]

Our middle school uses some pretty strong language about how Spanish 1AB (and French 1AB) are very difficult courses that should only be taken by kids with high MAP-R scores and excellent study habits, and everyone else should take the two-year version.

How hard is the class, really? My daughter has fairly high MAP-R scores (typically low 90s percentile-wise-- she's bright but not brilliant or anything, although FYI we're not at one of those schools where tons of kids are in the high 90s), is excited about language learning, and has... decent study habits, I guess? She can handle a challenge but I also don't want her to be overwhelmed, especially since the transition to 6th grade is a lot already. But I'm also wondering if they're mostly just trying to warn off mediocre/struggling students (the description warns that students should expect nightly homework, as if that's an unusual or difficult thing to handle) but that for stronger students it's not that big a deal.

For folks whose kids took Spanish 1AB, how did it go? Did they struggle? Did it seem extremely challenging, moderately so, or pretty manageable? How much vocabulary are they expected to memorize, and how much homework do they have besides practicing vocab? Are the tests and quizzes pretty tough? Is the grading harsh/is it hard to get As (I know this may vary a lot by teacher)? Do you feel like it's accurate that all but the very smartest and hardest-working kids would be better off in the slower two-year version, or what's your take on that?

(I do know that the difficulty may vary somewhat from teacher to teacher and school to school, but ultimately it can't be all that different since everyone's supposed to cover the same material in a single year, right? So interested in hearing experiences from all schools.)

[Anonymous]

My kids's school presented 1AB as being for kids for whom Spanish is a heritage language. Because that is the case in our house, my son will be taking it next year.

[Anonymous]

It’s been a few years for us but I do remember that as being the hardest class my kid had in middle school. I wouldn’t say that’s a bad thing though— guess I’d say challenging but manageable— and no one else in our house speaks spanish (but my kid kept up with spanish thru college)

[Anonymous]

My oldest fits your daughter’s description. He took French 1AB and did great. However, he was done with French 5 in sophomore year. Continuing with French would then require him to take APs in French in both Junior and senior years.
For that reason, my youngest will be doing French 1A in 6th. French is not a heritage language in our home.

[Anonymous]

Spanish has been my son's most challenging class, starting with Spanish 1AB. He typically scores above 99th percentile on MAP-M and around 95th on MAP-R. 1st semester of Spanish 1AB was his only B in middle school lol, which made us get him a tutor, which he kept for about 1.5 years (not the B itself, but he had a number of assignments on which he scored 60-80%.) He nearly got a B in Spanish 4 this year in 9th, but seems to have pulled it off. It may be that languages are not his thing, but some other things that may make it tough are:
- it seems like one of the few classes for which kids have to not just study, but actively memorize (he hasn't really studied for anybody other class until AP US history this year)
- accuracy is really important, which is not his forte (he's fast, doesn't always check his work as much as he should - something he's gotten better at over the years, but can still improve on). In Spanish, if you miss an accent, the teacher may take off a point. If the quiz is out of 15 points, well you can get to 9 points real quick...

We dod regret for a bit not taking the slower path for him, but he recently told that it's good that he has it as a more challenging class. Mileage may vary. Depends on kid and teacher too, of course.

[Anonymous]

Very if you don’t speak it at home and it depends on the teacher. We had no textbooks and no structure to the class and mine really struggled. Getting a tutor helped some. I would have done the slower path if it was offered.

[Anonymous]

It’s hard to start a language and ds is new to Spanish and Spanish 1AB seems fine. It takes a while for things to click with language learning.

Surprised that it’s recommended for heritage speakers cause it’s pretty basic with learning alphabet, and simple phrases like hello and what’s your name (at least this is how it was starting).

[Anonymous]

My kid uses Duolingo and chose Spanish 1AB for 8th grade elective. Not a heritage language. I hope she doesn't struggle next year.

[Anonymous]

I have a 6th grader in Spanish 1A. This year and it’s been fine. At her school she usually has homework twice a week that’s due 2-3 days later. The class that my kid has had problems with is pre algebra. In September I would have guessed the other way around.

[Anonymous]

Students are told that colleges want to see a minimum of two years of the same world language taken in high school no matter how many years were taken in middle school, and ideally more than two. Your dc needs to decide what strategy they want to employ. Move slower in middle school and take more years of world language in high school? Move quickly in middle school and take fewer years in high school to free up space in their schedule for more electives? Try one language in middle school and a different one in high school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Students are told that colleges want to see a minimum of two years of the same world language taken in high school no matter how many years were taken in middle school, and ideally more than two. Your dc needs to decide what strategy they want to employ. Move slower in middle school and take more years of world language in high school? Move quickly in middle school and take fewer years in high school to free up space in their schedule for more electives? Try one language in middle school and a different one in high school?

If not aiming for humanity majors, then free up space later for 11 and 12 grade. There are limited periods to choose courses

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Students are told that colleges want to see a minimum of two years of the same world language taken in high school no matter how many years were taken in middle school, and ideally more than two. Your dc needs to decide what strategy they want to employ. Move slower in middle school and take more years of world language in high school? Move quickly in middle school and take fewer years in high school to free up space in their schedule for more electives? Try one language in middle school and a different one in high school?

This is not true. My senior has been accepted to 6 schools so far and took 3 years of Spanish in Middle and 1 year in HS. No problems with admissions or admissions requirements. Maybe it depends on the school if you want T10 or T20 or something. But this is not a universal rule. The schools see the language on the transcript not what grade it was taken in - all foreign language classes are listed on the HS transcript.

[Anonymous]

My son went started spanish 1a-1b in middle school in 6th with no problems through 3a-3b In 8th. Th difficulty started in 9th when he was in spanish 4 and it did not connect to what was learned in middle school. He was totally lost and I still had to fight.the school to allow him to move down. He is repeating spanish 3 in high school and still feels like tge curriculum didnt match what was learned in middle.

[Anonymous]

IMO, success in world language has a lot to do with your child's natural proclivities for picking up language. Its hard to know if they've never taken FL before. If in 6th grade, there's plenty of time to start with 1A. If in 7th, you can miss out on an AP opportunity in HS.

[Anonymous]

The 2 year option is the better choice, more time to grasp the basics. 1AB combined goes too fast through all the information and there is never enough time to catch up afterwards.