HS language requirement for College acceptance?

[Anonymous]

Every hs kid we know graduates with about 4-5 years of a foreign language. Our DS had AP Spanish in hs, is now a college sophomore and the foreign language was never an issue (I assume he placed out of any college foreign language requirement, if they had one, but I don't know). Now our DD (recently diagnosed ADD) took French 1 in 8th grade, repeated in 9th grade, barely got a B, and now is really struggling in French 2. She says it's really really hard. She studies, has a tutor and is otherwise a strong B/B+ student. So foreign language is a real area of weakness for her. We've pretty much decided that she'll take Spanish 1 and 2 in her jr and sr years in hs. So my question is what, if any, impact will that have on her college acceptance? Once she's in college, what kind of foreign language requirement have you typically seen? Obviously, she won't be apply to Ivy league level schools.

[Anonymous]

I have the same question. My daughter has working memory problems, and foreign languages are very difficult for her. She struggled through Spanish 1A in 7th grade and 1B in 8th. Seems to be doing better with Spanish 2 in 9th grade, but it's still a challenge. Anyone have any insight? Can we get away with just 2 or 3 years of language and still get into a mid tier college like UMBC? MCPS graduation requirement is 2 years.

[Anonymous]

I'm the PP. OP, my daughter may have ADD. A pediatric neurologist recently prescribed medication, but I'm not convinced it's making an appreciable difference. Is your DD on medication? Has it helped scholastically?

[Anonymous]

I'd recommend looking at the admissions requirements of schools she might be interested in.

I don't think any college requires more than 2 years.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'd recommend looking at the admissions requirements of schools she might be interested in.

I don't think any college requires more than 2 years.

It's two questions. What's required by the college for admission. And what's required for the college degree?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I'm the PP. OP, my daughter may have ADD. A pediatric neurologist recently prescribed medication, but I'm not convinced it's making an appreciable difference. Is your DD on medication? Has it helped scholastically?

OP here. DD recently started on Concerta. She says it makes a world of difference in her ability to pay attention to the teacher and take notes. We'll see what her report card shows but I'm thrilled to actually see class notes (before there'd be no notes or just doodling). She seems much more confident. The meds seems to have zero side effects. Curiously, her French has not improved.

[Anonymous]

My DD has no aptitude for languages and was excused with a diagnosis after 2 years in HS. That did in fact limit her options for some colleges that require 3-4 years of language (William & Mary, U of Richmond are two, and there were others I can't recall).

Interestingly she ended up at a college that does have a language requirement, no exceptions, so she will need to take ASL at some point. As colleges develop requirements that respond to the global economy the language requirement seems to have become more important. Of course I am not sure how ASL will help in the global economy but it does meet the requirement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DD has no aptitude for languages and was excused with a diagnosis after 2 years in HS. That did in fact limit her options for some colleges that require 3-4 years of language (William & Mary, U of Richmond are two, and there were others I can't recall). Interestingly she ended up at a college that does have a language requirement, no exceptions, so she will need to take ASL at some point. As colleges develop requirements that respond to the global economy the language requirement seems to have become more important. Of course I am not sure how ASL will help in the global economy but it does meet the requirement.

Can you say what the particular diagnosis is? We've had lots of testing, but I don't remember any of the tests being indicative of learning a foreign language. Ignorant question, perhaps, but does ASL use different parts of the brain than Spanish?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DD has no aptitude for languages and was excused with a diagnosis after 2 years in HS. That did in fact limit her options for some colleges that require 3-4 years of language (William & Mary, U of Richmond are two, and there were others I can't recall). Interestingly she ended up at a college that does have a language requirement, no exceptions, so she will need to take ASL at some point. As colleges develop requirements that respond to the global economy the language requirement seems to have become more important. Of course I am not sure how ASL will help in the global economy but it does meet the requirement.

Can you say what the particular diagnosis is? We've had lots of testing, but I don't remember any of the tests being indicative of learning a foreign language. Ignorant question, perhaps, but does ASL use different parts of the brain than Spanish?

ASL is translating English (which she knows) to visual symbols. No verb tenses, vocab memorization, etc. I'm sure it won't be easy but supposedly it is easier for LD kids than a foreign language.

I don't actually remember what part of her diagnosis related to language acquisition - I suspect it was related to auditory perception and working memory.

[Anonymous]

You can be excused from language requirements if you have a diagnosis of Auditory Processing Disorder

[Anonymous]

Sorry to disillusion you, 22:27. Native ASL user here and believe me, there is no direct translation between ASL and English. ASL is a complete language in itself, much to the surprise to many students who thought ASL would be an easy A.

See the "grammar" section from the Wikipedia entry on ASL here:


Grammar
Main article: American Sign Language grammar
ASL grammar is completely unrelated to that of English. It lacks the inflections of English, such as tense and number, and does not have articles such as "the", but its spatial mode of expression has enabled it to develop an elaborate system of grammatical aspect that is absent from English. ASL grammar was obscured for much of its history by the practice of glossing it rather than transcribing it (see Writing systems below), a practice which conveyed little of its grammar apart from word order.