Starting Foreign Language in MS and finishing up early in HS

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is an applicant with Mandarin Chinese coursework through four years (with no family or other connection to the language, and with 2/3 to 3/4 of the class having Mandarin Chinese as the primary language / language spoken at home) perceived to have pursued a FL path with far greater rigor than one where the applicant's FL is Spanish or French?

Why do you assume Spanish or French is less rigorous than Chinese? At my DC’s school Chinese is known as the language to take if you want an easy A.

I think most people would assure you that your stated experience is very, very unusual. What did the study of Chinese entail in your DC's school? Visiting Panda Express and making dragon boats from the menus?

For starters, Romance languages share a great deal in common. If your DC is a native English speaker, the jump-off point to Spanish and French is more like a shuffle. Next, alphabets. How can you compare the use of essentially the same alphabet with having to read and write in characters and tones?

Lastly, ... actually, forget it. If you seriously believe that Mandarin Chinese is an easier path than Spanish and French, my time is wasted in responding further.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every time this comes up it makes me mad. I double majored in languages in college—I’m not anti language. But not all kids like it and forcing a kid to give up other electives or sciences classes to limp through a language class they hate—and which they will immediately forget—is so pointless. Let kids take things they love and they will speak to them!
All we are doing is creating more of those people in Mexican resorts who use their terrible HS Spanish to berate the waitress.

😂

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is an applicant with Mandarin Chinese coursework through four years (with no family or other connection to the language, and with 2/3 to 3/4 of the class having Mandarin Chinese as the primary language / language spoken at home) perceived to have pursued a FL path with far greater rigor than one where the applicant's FL is Spanish or French?

Why do you assume Spanish or French is less rigorous than Chinese? At my DC’s school Chinese is known as the language to take if you want an easy A.

I think most people would assure you that your stated experience is very, very unusual. What did the study of Chinese entail in your DC's school? Visiting Panda Express and making dragon boats from the menus?

For starters, Romance languages share a great deal in common. If your DC is a native English speaker, the jump-off point to Spanish and French is more like a shuffle. Next, alphabets. How can you compare the use of essentially the same alphabet with having to read and write in characters and tones?

Lastly, ... actually, forget it. If you seriously believe that Mandarin Chinese is an easier path than Spanish and French, my time is wasted in responding further.

I lied.

https://www.state.gov/foreign-language-training/

24 weeks for Spanish. 30 weeks for French.

88 Weeks for Mandarin Chinese.

[Anonymous]

DS finished AP Japanese junior year and decided to tackle Chinese senior year for fun. DS is not Asian and now has a deep respect for anyone taking Chinese. So incredibly hard.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:DS finished AP Japanese junior year and decided to tackle Chinese senior year for fun. DS is not Asian and now has a deep respect for anyone taking Chinese. So incredibly hard.

Not sure if you've heard, but it's the spot for an easy A.

Good lord the things I read here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is an applicant with Mandarin Chinese coursework through four years (with no family or other connection to the language, and with 2/3 to 3/4 of the class having Mandarin Chinese as the primary language / language spoken at home) perceived to have pursued a FL path with far greater rigor than one where the applicant's FL is Spanish or French?

no

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS finished AP Japanese junior year and decided to tackle Chinese senior year for fun. DS is not Asian and now has a deep respect for anyone taking Chinese. So incredibly hard.

Not sure if you've heard, but it's the spot for an easy A.

Good lord the things I read here.

Arabic, Chinese & Japanese are the hardest languages to learn. If you think they are an easy "a" you're at best mis informed, and at worst living under a rock.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is an applicant with Mandarin Chinese coursework through four years (with no family or other connection to the language, and with 2/3 to 3/4 of the class having Mandarin Chinese as the primary language / language spoken at home) perceived to have pursued a FL path with far greater rigor than one where the applicant's FL is Spanish or French?

no

Why not? Why would a more complex, more conceptual math class be a signal of greater rigor but not a FL that is far more complex and challenging to master?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is an applicant with Mandarin Chinese coursework through four years (with no family or other connection to the language, and with 2/3 to 3/4 of the class having Mandarin Chinese as the primary language / language spoken at home) perceived to have pursued a FL path with far greater rigor than one where the applicant's FL is Spanish or French?

no

Why not? Why would a more complex, more conceptual math class be a signal of greater rigor but not a FL that is far more complex and challenging to master?

Apparently, because everything here is computer science, orchestra, and taking Physics C in kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Every time this comes up it makes me mad. I double majored in languages in college—I’m not anti language. But not all kids like it and forcing a kid to give up other electives or sciences classes to limp through a language class they hate—and which they will immediately forget—is so pointless. Let kids take things they love and they will speak to them!
All we are doing is creating more of those people in Mexican resorts who use their terrible HS Spanish to berate the waitress.

Weird argument. I didn’t like math and didn’t retain calculus, but they need to take it.

This thread is about satisfying basic requirements. If you think kids should jus take whatever they want, sounds like traditional schooling isn’t for you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DS finished AP Japanese junior year and decided to tackle Chinese senior year for fun. DS is not Asian and now has a deep respect for anyone taking Chinese. So incredibly hard.

Not sure if you've heard, but it's the spot for an easy A.

Good lord the things I read here.

You must be referring to the Chinese class you take in 3rd grade while watching Ni Hao Kai-Lan.

[Anonymous]

DC took Latin in 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th (DE). The 5th year was going to be AP Latin but he didn't think it was going to help with anything so took a different AP course instead. He chose wisely. His college required only 4 years of language to be exempt from the foreign language requirement. The AP course he ended up taking gained him more college credit he wouldn't otherwise have had.

Two of his friends took Latin in 8th, 9th, 10th. Skipped 11th... then took the 4th year in 12th grade. I thought it was odd but both of them got into good schools- and really, they did finish 4 years as well.

[Anonymous]

People on here are so competitive. They want to believe that college admissions somehow assign more rigor to a “harder” language. This doesn’t happen. A language is a language.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn’t matter 4 years is 4 years. My kid still got into UVA with only 4 years of a language. 7th-10th. Never crossed his mind to need to go further.

Was this a recent experience?

[Anonymous]

Definitely reach out to schools that of interest. It can vary by school. Brown specifically said 4 years of a foreign language 9-12th grade, even though DD has AP language in 10th (started in 7th grade).

UChicago said AP in 10th was fine.

Amherst said probably want at least another year to be competitive.