HS language choice —does it matter

[Anonymous]

Language for College Admissions is a different topic then which language is practical. Consensus seems to be: No it does not matter for Admissions.

Finally - I never met a person that got fluent by taking HS Language. I never met a person that got fluent by taking College Language.

I do see a lot of over confident kids that get a reality check when landing in a country of the targeted language.

The people that say Spanish was helpful - the exercise of interacting with native speakers is where you actually made progress. The HS Spanish just gave you a starting point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Language for College Admissions is a different topic then which language is practical. Consensus seems to be: No it does not matter for Admissions.

Finally - I never met a person that got fluent by taking HS Language. I never met a person that got fluent by taking College Language.

I do see a lot of over confident kids that get a reality check when landing in a country of the targeted language.

The people that say Spanish was helpful - the exercise of interacting with native speakers is where you actually made progress. The HS Spanish just gave you a starting point.

Agree, mine truly became fluent speaking 100% in a clinic setting on the job and translating for doctors. School wasn’t enough, has to be practiced regularly with native speakers.

All my supposed “advanced” college French skills were gone within a couple months, use it or lose it. Our system of teaching kids a second language makes no sense to me.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

The State Department barely exists anymore. Spanish speakers aren’t going anywhere.

UN and the IC still have lots of openings for Russian and Mandarin linguists. I get that Spanish is useful for many. However, it is not the only valid choice. You are just trolling. Bye.

I’m not trolling in the least. I’m just supporting my view that from a practical standpoint it makes the most sense for an American high school student to study Spanish as a second language. I am not saying it is the only choice, I am saying it is far away the most practical choice. And I sometimes think that the students whose parents have their children study languages other than Spanish or doing it for classist reasons or competitive ones. And that’s sad.

But you are saying it’s the only choice, because people are giving you reasons why studying other languages can make sense and you are refusing to accept any of them.

No, I accept that parents can offer reasons for other languages -- but I think they're generally, for want of better terms, snobby or strider ones. Not practical ones. But, again, this is DCUM, so I'm not surprised.

Except most of the reasons people are giving you are not snobby or strider ones. But I get it, you have to be the most “practical.” That’s fine. And I’m sure you will force your kid into the most “practical” college and career choices and then they’ll be frustrated Trump-type voters when they’re older because other people have more than them and they don’t understand why. Because they did all of the most “practical” things.

LOL, you've made quite the stretch there.

First, the OP herself asked whether certain languages may be "more impressive" for college admissions. That's striving.

Second, many of the responses suggested that certain languages are better for training to become doctors or lawyers or working at the state department or UN. That's striving.

Third, others suggested that other languages are better for traveling to obscure places or studying the classics. That's snobby.

There is, without question, a bias among the educated elite against having their kids study Spanish over other second languages because they're snobby and don't think native Spanish speakers are worth their time. There's no doubt about it.

As for my own family, every one of my (four) kids has a masters degree and none is employed in a remotely "practical" field. And we all bleed deeply, deeply blue. That you read into my posts that I'm a Trump supporter not only says a lot about you -- it says a lot about what's wrong with the (or what I assume is our) Democratic party. Our collective heads are in the clouds and we've lost touch and we are living in a bubble.

Becoming a doctor or lawyer or working at the State department or UN are common careers around the DC area. It’s hardly striving but I guess you have low expectations.

Eastern Europe is hardly an obscure place and as already explained, you can use a language for a lot more than travel (not sure why you don’t accept this).

Studying the classics was just listed as a reason why Latin is useful because someone (you?) implied you couldn’t do anything with it but talk to ancient Romans or attend Latin Mass (lol). So people were pointing out why that was ignorant. There are like hundreds of colleges that still offer this as a major, including plenty of non-snobby ones.

Spanish is the most common second language taught in schools, even amongst “the educated elite.” You’re making quite a stretch there.

And I never said you were a trumper, but I grew up in the Midwest where the “practicality” gospel reigns. It’s often used as a euphemism for safety and never taking a chance on anything. And it’s why so many people end up in resentful, middling situations. That’s the reality, not the clouds.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DS took Spanish in MS and hated it. He switched to Latin in HS and liked it so much that he's considering majoring in it.

She should take what she thinks will be most interesting.

Congrats to your DS! Now he can speak with the, um . . . ancient Romans? Oh, wait! He can understand the Latin Mass! That's the ticket!

Lol this wins for most ignorant DCUM comment today.

Why? What good does taking high school Latin do other than prepare you for the SAT? Who do you talk to?

It’s necessary for studying Classics and opens up a fascinating part of western history, improves English language vocabulary (yes, for the SAT but also beyond that), provides a base for learning any Romance language much more easily, helps kids learn the grammatical structures that underpin these languages, etc.

I'm the pp whose son loves Latin. He's a math kid -- he's enjoying learning grammar and thinking about the specifics of linguistics structure and the discussions they have in class about translation, word choice, and vocabulary. It's certainly not as useful for communication as Spanish, but he wasn't going to become fluent in Spanish through high school classes -- if he wants to learn Spanish later, he can do an immersion program.

[Anonymous]

nobody's high school Spanish is helpful in a workplace environment. Especially not some 90s era high school language class. But if you think it might have been, there's nothing stopping you from doing Duolingo for 20 min a day. A year from now, your Spanish would be better than if you had high school Spanish

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DS took Spanish in MS and hated it. He switched to Latin in HS and liked it so much that he's considering majoring in it.

She should take what she thinks will be most interesting.

Congrats to your DS! Now he can speak with the, um . . . ancient Romans? Oh, wait! He can understand the Latin Mass! That's the ticket!

Lol this wins for most ignorant DCUM comment today.

Why? What good does taking high school Latin do other than prepare you for the SAT? Who do you talk to?

Latin is great prep for lawyers; all kinds of legal terms are Latin. Ditto for medicine.

But the purpose of studying a second language isn’t to become a doctor or lawyer, it’s to be able to speak to more people and understand them. It’s one of the most practical offerings at the high school level.

It is not an accident that my HS (different metro) requires 2 years of Latin. Most who graduate from that school do go on to become MDs or lawyers. The school requires that because they know the knowledge will be useful to most graduates.

Right. You’re a private school parent. We get it. Spanish is too gauche for your offspring. Not enough important people speak it.

No, small public HS, and the choice was functional.

Well, that’s unusual, but I’m betting they also require the students to study another second language. Do they not?

They do not and also they offer more than 4 years of Latin.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

The State Department barely exists anymore. Spanish speakers aren’t going anywhere.

UN and the IC still have lots of openings for Russian and Mandarin linguists. I get that Spanish is useful for many. However, it is not the only valid choice. You are just trolling. Bye.

I’m not trolling in the least. I’m just supporting my view that from a practical standpoint it makes the most sense for an American high school student to study Spanish as a second language. I am not saying it is the only choice, I am saying it is far away the most practical choice. And I sometimes think that the students whose parents have their children study languages other than Spanish or doing it for classist reasons or competitive ones. And that’s sad.

But you are saying it’s the only choice, because people are giving you reasons why studying other languages can make sense and you are refusing to accept any of them.

Quite so.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

In our Middle School traditionally kids are transfers to Langley “to study Russian” when they don’t get into TJ. 25 years living here and I’ve only known kids to use Russian as the excuse not to have to go to Chantilly, Westfield, or South Lakes.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

Oh, really? They do that in Potomac? You've proven my point.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:DS took Spanish in MS and hated it. He switched to Latin in HS and liked it so much that he's considering majoring in it.

She should take what she thinks will be most interesting.

Congrats to your DS! Now he can speak with the, um . . . ancient Romans? Oh, wait! He can understand the Latin Mass! That's the ticket!

Lol this wins for most ignorant DCUM comment today.

Why? What good does taking high school Latin do other than prepare you for the SAT? Who do you talk to?

Latin is great prep for lawyers; all kinds of legal terms are Latin. Ditto for medicine.

But the purpose of studying a second language isn’t to become a doctor or lawyer, it’s to be able to speak to more people and understand them. It’s one of the most practical offerings at the high school level.

It is not an accident that my HS (different metro) requires 2 years of Latin. Most who graduate from that school do go on to become MDs or lawyers. The school requires that because they know the knowledge will be useful to most graduates.

Right. You’re a private school parent. We get it. Spanish is too gauche for your offspring. Not enough important people speak it.

No, small public HS, and the choice was functional.

Well, that’s unusual, but I’m betting they also require the students to study another second language. Do they not?

They do not and also they offer more than 4 years of Latin.

Well, respectfully, that's just plain nuts and isn't the norm in this country. And thank God for that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:nobody's high school Spanish is helpful in a workplace environment. Especially not some 90s era high school language class. But if you think it might have been, there's nothing stopping you from doing Duolingo for 20 min a day. A year from now, your Spanish would be better than if you had high school Spanish

You're generalizing. And the same could be said about any language. Your way of thinking basically says that no high school student should take any foreign language because they're all worthless.

I can't remember anything from high school chemistry. Does that make it worthless?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

Oh, really? They do that in Potomac? You've proven my point.

You have such a chip on your shoulder about this, it’s really weird.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Language for College Admissions is a different topic then which language is practical. Consensus seems to be: No it does not matter for Admissions.

Finally - I never met a person that got fluent by taking HS Language. I never met a person that got fluent by taking College Language.

I do see a lot of over confident kids that get a reality check when landing in a country of the targeted language.

The people that say Spanish was helpful - the exercise of interacting with native speakers is where you actually made progress. The HS Spanish just gave you a starting point.

Hi! I took 2 years of middle school French, 4 years of high school French, and 2 years of college French, and I am now fluent; I consumer Francophone media on a regular basis and have been able to hold sustained conversations with French speakers about relatively high-level topics, such as college majors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

You can't seriously be this stupid...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Colleges don't care, but you're an idiot if you take a language that isn't Spanish.

My kids who took Russian certainly aren't idiots. Maybe you're talking about yourself?

A lot of good that’s gonna do them since Americans can’t even travel to Russia.

The UN, State Dept, and intel agencies have LOTS of job openings for people who know Russian or Mandarin. As an example, NSA only wants them to be able to listen/read and translate; NSA explicitly does not want their people to go to any high risk country. NGIC in Charlottesville and NASIC in Ohio also want those people.

Langley HS in FCPS has a full Russian language program as a first foreign language. Every year there are students who transfer to Langley HS from some other FCPS HS in order to study Russian. It can be a great move career wise. Same applies to Mandarin Chinese, which some schools in MCPS offer (e.g., Potomac’s ES in MCPS has a Mandarin Chinese immersion program that people fight and claw to get their DC into).

+1
Somehow, I don't think the PP will understand a word of what you're saying.