Of course kids take their native language. Some schools have Spanish for Spanish speakers class. A lot do not.

Anonymous wrote:My understanding is that native speakers are not allowed to take elective their native language (or maybe this is “supposed to”? This is second hand info, my kid has friends that are native Spanish speakers and they “had” to take French).

Not true.

It probably varies from school to school. Our MS recommends that native speakers start off in Spanish 2. Also, I believe some schools offer a separate Spanish for Spanish Speakers class. I would suggest asking someone knowledgeable about your particular MS.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Last year when my kid took Spanish IA, the class started with a couple of native speakers, but then they stopped coming. I don't think they are allowed to take their native language as a class. I would check with the school.

Kids are definitely allowed to take their native language as a class. Thousands of children do this. In some middle schools Spanish is the only foreign language option.

Yes. How is the school going to stop this? And besides lots of kids grow up speaking and/or hearing a language daily at home but don’t read much in that language so the excuse is that they’re taking the language to learn to read and write properly.

My non-native kid is with some of those kids in his MS Spanish class. One kid is fluent in French and that helps in language acquisition for Spanish too. It for sure makes the level of understanding needed much higher but if your kid is a hard worker and/or has a knack for languages it should be ok z

Anonymous wrote:I have a rising 6th grader and she is trying to decide which "track" she is going to take for language.

The school offers a Spanish 1A and 1AB class. She is a high performing student and eager to learn quickly, but I am concerned about the pace of the 1AB class. Would she be taking 1AB with native speakers? or are the native speakers starting off at a higher level? Im concerned that a class with a lot of native speakers will leave the others behind and progress too quickly.



thank you!

Ask about the home-language literacy skills for the native speaker class. It will make a difference in the pace of the class.

In our MS, there was a placement test if you chose language as an elective (French or Spanish) and surprisingly, my child placed into Spanish Literacy 1A/1B (class for those who speak Spanish at home) and has been thriving there - we don't speak at all at home but she was in Spanish immersion preschool and then other weekly classes until end of 3rd grade when we aged out. See if your MS will do a placement test? We spoke early on to her Spanish teacher and the teacher has been very supportive of her as well and provided tips on language acquisition. Our school definitely has tracks in Spanish and French for native speakers. They can always move classes if needed. Good luck!

Anonymous wrote:Last year when my kid took Spanish IA, the class started with a couple of native speakers, but then they stopped coming. I don't think they are allowed to take their native language as a class. I would check with the school.

Kids are definitely allowed to take their native language as a class. Thousands of children do this. In some middle schools Spanish is the only foreign language option.

Last year when my kid took Spanish IA, the class started with a couple of native speakers, but then they stopped coming. I don't think they are allowed to take their native language as a class. I would check with the school.

Note: I don’t think our school offers 1AB? So not sure if that makes any sort of difference.

Also depending on your kids natural abilities, languages don’t always come easy (even to high performers).

My understanding is that native speakers are not allowed to take elective their native language (or maybe this is “supposed to”? This is second hand info, my kid has friends that are native Spanish speakers and they “had” to take French).

I have a rising 6th grader and she is trying to decide which "track" she is going to take for language.

The school offers a Spanish 1A and 1AB class. She is a high performing student and eager to learn quickly, but I am concerned about the pace of the 1AB class. Would she be taking 1AB with native speakers? or are the native speakers starting off at a higher level? Im concerned that a class with a lot of native speakers will leave the others behind and progress too quickly.



thank you!