Are foreign languages the hardest classes in MS?

[Anonymous]

Language classes are the easiest classes for my kid.

Currently DC has four separate language classes this year (one native, two mandatory languages and one elective). We live outside the US.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Language classes are the easiest classes for my kid.

Currently DC has four separate language classes this year (one native, two mandatory languages and one elective). We live outside the US.

OK, but we're talking about MCPS here, as it's in the MCPS forum, so this isnt entirely relevant (but I'm happy for your kid). Obviously there are some commonalities to studying languages, but every school system/district has its own way of doing things as well.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:So far my DS's FL 1AB class is the only one he's getting a B in (6th grade, but he's in AMP7+ for math, is >97th percentile on both MAPs etc - in summary, a very good student). Maybe it's him, but I actually find the rubric to be kind of harsh. Like he got a C on a quiz where he got "Exceeds expectations" for 1 rubric, and "Meets expectations" for 2 rubrics ("Strong" for 1 and "Minimal" for 1). How is that a C and not a B?

Anyway, I don't want to whine and it's not like I've discussed this with the teacher, I just told him to talk to her to make sure he understands what he's getting wrong. Is the idea that they're harsh in 1AB so the kids get used to working hard, or is this simply his weakest subject? (Which is OK, but I still want him to try to improve.) He's finding all his other classes super easy for now.

It is one of the hardest classes. When DC was in MS their lowest score was FL which was more like 95%. It required them to develop study skills so served them well in the long run. I'd suggest just retaking Spanish 1 next year for them to get used to it.

It does seem to require a different skillset than other classes at that point, but the skills that it helps develop seem useful for HS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Language classes are the easiest classes for my kid.

Currently DC has four separate language classes this year (one native, two mandatory languages and one elective). We live outside the US.

OK, but we're talking about MCPS here, as it's in the MCPS forum, so this isnt entirely relevant (but I'm happy for your kid). Obviously there are some commonalities to studying languages, but every school system/district has its own way of doing things as well.

Spanish is one of the easiest languages to learn.

[Anonymous]

OP Is it how the teacher grades rather than your child's actual knowledge?

DC had one teacher who would mark off for every tiny thing. If there was a 10 question test that required 10 sentences she would mark a question fully wrong if you made one mistake like forgot an accent mark when everything else was correct.

Another teacher DC had would give partial credit or sometimes full credit for those responses depending on the complexity of the rest of the sentence.

[Anonymous]

DC is taking Honors Geometry and Spanish 2 in 7th grade.
Yes, they are the only two classes that present the least bit of challenge. Thank goodness, otherwise every day would be a bore-fest.

[Anonymous]

My kid is in 7th..the only classes they give regular hw in is humanities, algebra, and foreign language (Mandarin). FL is also the only class she has to work in. I do think the classes might be harder if the teacher is a native speaker.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP Is it how the teacher grades rather than your child's actual knowledge?

DC had one teacher who would mark off for every tiny thing. If there was a 10 question test that required 10 sentences she would mark a question fully wrong if you made one mistake like forgot an accent mark when everything else was correct.

Another teacher DC had would give partial credit or sometimes full credit for those responses depending on the complexity of the rest of the sentence.

OP here. That's a good question. I think it's a mix of things - he's definitely making some mistakes that he shouldn't, but the rubrics do seem to be harsh, plus they don't have study guides, word lists come home the night before the tests etc. The framework for the class just doesn't seem to be there, or at least he's not getting it. For instance, they were never tested on basic conjugations, but they're expected to use them correctly when essentially having to write paragraphs (which I never remember having to do 2 months into a language class, even in college). However, some words we did work through to memorize, but then it turned out that they were just part of the word bank they got on the test.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My eighth grader is in Spanish 3 honors and it’s hard! He’s a magnet student and this is the only one he has to work at to get As. Spanish 1ab wasn’t hard though. Depends on the kid.

Remember that the Spanish 3 Honors grades will be included in his transcript for college admissions and in the GPA, even if he takes it in 8th grade.

He gets all As why would that matter?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here- I don't think my kids have ever been allowed retakes, in either ES or MS. In MS, my son is just able to turn in some assignments late (after the due date but prior to the deadline), but at 10% penalty, which of course means that it can't be an A. Not complaining about it, but it's interesting that every school or teacher has their own policy about this.

Has your child asked to do retakes? Teacher may not advertise it but in our experience DC has asked to retake a test for a new grade and has been allowed to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid needs to memorize a lot of vocabulary from Realidades 1 and 2 to actually do well in Spanish 3. Buy the books and go over the chapter review like this one -

http://pedromurga.weebly.com/uploads/2/4/5/2/24529422/l1_capitulo_3a.pdf

Thanks! So do they use this as an informal textbook or something? Like I said, they don't have any official textbook.

The teachers are teaching from Realidades like they have been doing for the past 20 years in MCPS and other school systems. They may or may not share this information with the students but that is besides the point. Teachers are not going to develop new content to teach or test when they have the Teacher Edition textbooks. Besides, these are really comprehensive textbooks and laid out in a systematic manner that tracks with the progression of the MCPS curriculum. MCPS central office used to use the questions found in the textbooks to create the final exams - once upon a time, in the good ol days - when there used to be final exams.

The easiest thing to do is map the MCPS curriculum and syllabus for each course to the chapters in the book(s). Also, make sure that the kids are doing the practice questions in the text-book and the chapter review. There are tons of Realidades study guides and quizzes in Quizlet online so use them. This alone will get you straight A's in FL and it will actually teach them the language skills to become bilingual and tackle FL in HS and AP exams.

What is the textbook series they use for French?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Which is the harder track: Spanish or French? In MS and HS?

Spanish is easier.

My kid has taken French in middle and high school, and hasn’t had any problems with it. Had one B sophomore year due to a missing assignment, but hasn’t had any problems with the actual language. Planning to go on to IB French. And this is a kid with inattentive ADHD, too.

Based on what I’ve seen discussed here, it sounds like Spanish is a lot harder, especially at the middle school level. I remember seeing a few vocabulary lists, but not much extensive homework.