How important is foreign language in middle school?

[Anonymous]

My 7th grade kid chose an instrument vs. foreign language but a recent thread indicated that several years of foreign language are important for university admissions. He doesn't want to start in 8th grade because he feels he will be the only 8th grader in a classroom of 7th graders just starting foreign language classes. If he waits till 9th grade to start - is it detrimental? Good student - advanced classes for now (but I can see dropping back to regular if it gets to intense down the road).

[Anonymous]

Not at all important in middle school. Colleges only care about it in HS and the top ones expect 4 years of it in HS regardless of whether you take in MS.

[Anonymous]

My guess is that he will be more mortified being with the group that starts foreign language in 9th grade.

But maybe that would be a good thing as it would motivate him to not drop from advanced to regular classes later.

YMMV, our experience is in Montgomery County public schools.

[Anonymous]

DC did FL 1, 2 and 3 in MS.

It allowed him to do FL 4/5 in 9th and AP FL in 10th. He met the requirement for FL for even the toughest colleges (4 years) because he did the highest level offered at that particular MCPS HS. AP FL Lit was not offered.

FL 1, 2 were unweighted but the rest were. He also got the Maryland seal of Biliteracy and was part of the school FL Honor Society in HS.

For current students, it will be a boost to the wGPA to take FL in MS, since grades earned in FL in MS can be dropped from the wGPA calculation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My 7th grade kid chose an instrument vs. foreign language but a recent thread indicated that several years of foreign language are important for university admissions. He doesn't want to start in 8th grade because he feels he will be the only 8th grader in a classroom of 7th graders just starting foreign language classes. If he waits till 9th grade to start - is it detrimental? Good student - advanced classes for now (but I can see dropping back to regular if it gets to intense down the road).

put aside college admission, it is recommended that kids should start to learn foreign language earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that he will be more mortified being with the group that starts foreign language in 9th grade.

But maybe that would be a good thing as it would motivate him to not drop from advanced to regular classes later.

YMMV, our experience is in Montgomery County public schools.

This. DS started Spanish in 8th grade. He actually wishes he had started in 7th because his Spanish 2 classmates in 9th grade are either terrible language learners or just very unmotivated. So glad we didn’t have him wait to take first year Spanish in 9th.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that he will be more mortified being with the group that starts foreign language in 9th grade.

But maybe that would be a good thing as it would motivate him to not drop from advanced to regular classes later.

YMMV, our experience is in Montgomery County public schools.

This. DS started Spanish in 8th grade. He actually wishes he had started in 7th because his Spanish 2 classmates in 9th grade are either terrible language learners or just very unmotivated. So glad we didn’t have him wait to take first year Spanish in 9th.

I did not think of this before.

When my DC did Spanish 1a/b in 6th grade, the majority of students were high achieving and hard working. Being in the hardest language classes from the very beginning, resulted in a very academically oriented and serious students as cohort. My kid loved that and Spanish is one of his favorite subjects.

Another thing is that for the most rigorous classes, they are assigned the best teachers who know the content very well and are excellent in pedagogy too. Most of these teachers also appreciate the quality of students that they get in their classes and are always very understanding and accommodating.

The new policy in MCPS allows the student to drop all the grades that were earned in MS from their transcripts. I think that allows students to take these classes earlier without any downside.

[Anonymous]

We are completely destroying our kids ffs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are completely destroying our kids ffs.

Why destroy your kid FFS? Why not do things with your spouse FFS?

[Anonymous]

The importance is totally dependent on your parenting philosophy and the caliber of the kid that you have,

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My guess is that he will be more mortified being with the group that starts foreign language in 9th grade.

But maybe that would be a good thing as it would motivate him to not drop from advanced to regular classes later.

YMMV, our experience is in Montgomery County public schools.

This is true, unless your DC signs up for something unusual, like Japanese.

[Anonymous]

Why are people so scared for their kids to start foreign language in middle school? The sooner they are exposed to it the faster they will learn.

We have had experience with Spanish only. It was not a hard language and there were many resources available to help the kids. I do think that French, Chinese are harder language to grasp, especially in this country where you are exposed to Spanish routinely in the public domain but not French or Chinese.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We are completely destroying our kids ffs.

Agree.
My DD is in French 3 in 8th grade. Starting French in 6th was completely her choice. She got A’s in 1&2 and currently has a B in 3 - so she clearly isn’t struggling. She has told us repeatedly that she hates it and will not continue in HS. Again, 100% her choice. I will not push it based on what the top universities want. She’s old enough to make her own decisions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so scared for their kids to start foreign language in middle school? The sooner they are exposed to it the faster they will learn.

We have had experience with Spanish only. It was not a hard language and there were many resources available to help the kids. I do think that French, Chinese are harder language to grasp, especially in this country where you are exposed to Spanish routinely in the public domain but not French or Chinese.

It isn't that people are scared, it is there isn't enough time to do everything. OP's child is taking an instrument, which is really valuable too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Why are people so scared for their kids to start foreign language in middle school? The sooner they are exposed to it the faster they will learn.

We have had experience with Spanish only. It was not a hard language and there were many resources available to help the kids. I do think that French, Chinese are harder language to grasp, especially in this country where you are exposed to Spanish routinely in the public domain but not French or Chinese.

It isn't that people are scared, it is there isn't enough time to do everything. OP's child is taking an instrument, which is really valuable too.

Many people take instrument and FL. If you are in a program that limits the number of electives then it is a hard choice.
From the perspective of being bilingual and college admissions and future job prospects...I would pick up FL. Then try and get them to learn an instrument through private instruction.