Fastest way to improve Spanish

[Anonymous]

For a variety of reasons, I’m interested in getting my 9 yo son up to speed on Spanish over the summer. He’s never taken Spanish but has had exposure to both French and Hebrew, and he’s taken Mandarin in school. He needs to be at the same level as a 9 yo non-native speaker who’s been taking Spanish immersion throughout elementary. What’s our best bet? Tutors plus a Spanish-speaking nanny? Spend the summer in a Spanish speaking country? My Spanish is limited to what I remember from high school, so we have limited ability to support Spanish at home unless we learn it, too.

[Anonymous]

So, in three months, you want your kid to be at the same level of fluency as someone who has been in a Spanish immersion program for four or five years? And you don't speak Spanish and no one in your family speaks Spanish? I think you need an intensive immersion program for the summer. Spending the summer in a Spanish-speaking country won't help without intensive tutoring. And he'll need academic-subject vocabulary, too, like what a student would get studying science or math in Spanish.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, I’m interested in getting my 9 yo son up to speed on Spanish over the summer. He’s never taken Spanish but has had exposure to both French and Hebrew, and he’s taken Mandarin in school. He needs to be at the same level as a 9 yo non-native speaker who’s been taking Spanish immersion throughout elementary. What’s our best bet? Tutors plus a Spanish-speaking nanny? Spend the summer in a Spanish speaking country? My Spanish is limited to what I remember from high school, so we have limited ability to support Spanish at home unless we learn it, too.

Lol!

That's not going to happen over the summer--even if you live in a Spanish speaking country the entire time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, I’m interested in getting my 9 yo son up to speed on Spanish over the summer. He’s never taken Spanish but has had exposure to both French and Hebrew, and he’s taken Mandarin in school. He needs to be at the same level as a 9 yo non-native speaker who’s been taking Spanish immersion throughout elementary. What’s our best bet? Tutors plus a Spanish-speaking nanny? Spend the summer in a Spanish speaking country? My Spanish is limited to what I remember from high school, so we have limited ability to support Spanish at home unless we learn it, too.

Lol!

That's not going to happen over the summer--even if you live in a Spanish speaking country the entire time.

3 months is a long time, and they absorb languages more quickly than an adult, but it would need to be true immersion (hours of instruction, plus living with a host family). not sure you would want to do that with a 9 year old.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For a variety of reasons, I’m interested in getting my 9 yo son up to speed on Spanish over the summer. He’s never taken Spanish but has had exposure to both French and Hebrew, and he’s taken Mandarin in school. He needs to be at the same level as a 9 yo non-native speaker who’s been taking Spanish immersion throughout elementary. What’s our best bet? Tutors plus a Spanish-speaking nanny? Spend the summer in a Spanish speaking country? My Spanish is limited to what I remember from high school, so we have limited ability to support Spanish at home unless we learn it, too.

Lol!

That's not going to happen over the summer--even if you live in a Spanish speaking country the entire time.

3 months is a long time, and they absorb languages more quickly than an adult, but it would need to be true immersion (hours of instruction, plus living with a host family). not sure you would want to do that with a 9 year old.

My husband and I do not speak Spanish fluently. My children have attended immersion schools since preschool (they are now in the 3nd and 5th grades). We have made regular and consistent use of Spanish tutors, Saturday Spanish school, immersion summer camps and we travel to Spanish speaking countries annually. My children excel in all of their subjects, testing at least 2 grade levels ahead in math and English language arts. However, they are both either on or only slightly ahead of grade level in Spanish. I say all of that to say that if my bright children (one is a member of Mensa) are only on grade level in Spanish with significant support from us, it is highly unlikely that her son will achieve this goal (grade level fluency) in 3 months.

However, anything is possible. Good luck OP!

[Anonymous]

I think you'd need to make it fun OP and probably partake in a lot of the learning yourself, too.

There is no harm in trying.

[Anonymous]

He's going to end up at Francis Stevens.

[Anonymous]

I would consider spending the summer in Antigua, Guatemala and you study your butt off right along with him so you can reinforce it at home.

[Anonymous]

Don’t underestimate the power of immersion. I went to Guatemala at age 19, having taken one year of high school Spanish. I was fully conversational within a month. After 6 months I was fluent.

There was almost no one around to speak to in English though.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don’t underestimate the power of immersion. I went to Guatemala at age 19, having taken one year of high school Spanish. I was fully conversational within a month. After 6 months I was fluent.

There was almost no one around to speak to in English though.

YOU were 19, and self-motivated, and YOU made the decision to move to another country to learn the language. There is nothing in the OP's post to indicate that her 9 year old son has either the aptitude or inclination to learn another language in such a short period of time.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Don’t underestimate the power of immersion. I went to Guatemala at age 19, having taken one year of high school Spanish. I was fully conversational within a month. After 6 months I was fluent.

There was almost no one around to speak to in English though.

YOU were 19, and self-motivated, and YOU made the decision to move to another country to learn the language. There is nothing in the OP's post to indicate that her 9 year old son has either the aptitude or inclination to learn another language in such a short period of time.

Plus, true immersion means that his parents would have to speak Spanish to him, as well, which they can't.

[Anonymous]

Spend a month in a Spanish speaking country. Done.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Thank you for the responses. It sounds like we’d need to take a multi-pronged approach for there to be any hope.

[Anonymous]

Leave immediately. Go to Mexico. Stay there. Give him a soccer ball and send him out to find friends.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Leave immediately. Go to Mexico. Stay there. Give him a soccer ball and send him out to find friends.

This.

But, a lot depends on his social needs. If he is a kid who is comfortable playing alone, it will be tougher.

I taught in DOD schools. In Germany, I taught one child who was Hispanic and lived in a German village. She could speak German, English, and Spanish fluently. She was six years old. She was of average intelligence, but had keen social skills. If there was one thing she was going to do, it was communicate with others. She spoke Spanish at home, German with her friends in her village, and English at school.

There were other kids in my first grade classes who had the same living circumstances. They did not have the same success in language that she did. Some struggled in school with English. Some were actually smarter than this other child. The difference? A gift for languages and a desire to have friends. At least, that is my observation.

I agree that immersion in the culture is the best solution--but, there also needs to be a little talent.

Are you trying to get your son into an immersion program? Is that your purpose?