Lagging in Spanish, year 7, what do I do?

[MuttonWasAGoose]

According to the school report, the only subject my son is underperforming in is Spanish.

I don't want him to fall behind. I'm taking him to Barcelona in February to try and inspire him to enjoy the subject, and I've been studying Spanish, myself, so we can try to understand basic things. I find it fun.

I'd like to see what he's learning in school but he has no textbook. He says they use PowerPoint presentations in class. He has an exercise book with a few pages of notes and sundry. The class meets twice a week for an hour. There's very little homework.

I have no idea what they're supposed to be learning and so I can't help him practice or even monitor what he should be doing. When I was in school and studying French I had a textbook that I brought home. My parents could have, if they'd wanted, looked at what chapter I was on, had an idea of what I was supposed to be learning.

How do I find out what the class is doing? How can I help him study? I'd like him to do a bit of practice daily. Things like vocabulary drills, etc. I'd enjoy doing it with him and he could be bribed to go along with it.

If I approached the teacher would they be able to give me an outline of the curriculum? Is there a national curriculum for Spanish? I'm not from the UK so I don't know how it works.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Catalan is a different language rather than a dialect. But you will find that the majority of things are in both languages.
I'm pretty sure he will be doing things like introducing himself , name , age , numbers , weather etc . So good to practice while you're away .
If he likes football a tour of Camp Nou would be good fun and can read some / hear some Spanish whilst there .

[MuttonWasAGoose]

I gather that half of the people in Barcelona speak Catalan but everyone speaks Spanish. Since all signs and menus will have both, it should still be interesting to him. And since I speak French and learning Spanish I think I'll understand the Catalan bits. It will be interesting

[mummytime]

Foreign languages in the UK are about to get harder, certainly not "an easy A". Probably the new GCSE standard from what I've heard will be much closer to the old O'level. With a lot more translation and writing in the target language, with few to no marks for spoken language, and all on final exams. (But only 2 or so tenses, I'm sure we did more in French back in the day, past historique?)

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Hope he comes back with a taste for more !
I just spent today with friends from my Spanish class at school and assorted bilingual children . Back in 1984 I remember struggling with it in the equivalent year 7 but once it clicked I discovered a real passion.
I studied Catalan in Barcelona , have a great time.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

I don't mean that it's "an easy A" in the GCSE - just that it should be a subject he can do well at. He's good with English (reading and writing) so I expect he can do very well in a MFL. He just has to be motivated to put a little work into it. I expect him to do very well in his GCSE's, whatever "very well" may actually mean when he takes the exams.

I expect him to TRY to do very well, at any rate.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

The expression "An Easy A" is an American one that refers to grades, not a standardised exam. Some classes are considered "easy" and are expected t bolster the overall Grade Point Average.

[IguanaTail]

Looking forward to hearing about his excellent result in years to come.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

I do sound really obnoxious! Sorry.

[Harrydea]

I recommed a translator software online such as bing translator, your child can enter sentences in English and convert them into Spanish, it will help a great deal. Also, if you do a search for the meaning (significatico) in Spanish, an online dictionary usually comes up and should give you the meaning and also additional information such as subject formation. I will follow this thrrad so write any questions you have and I will try to help answer your questions. It might be helpful identifying areas your child is struggling in to see if there are any practice exercises online that can help.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

You may want to have a look at a book by Carole Dweck called Mindset. She also has some TED talks on you tube . It's one of many such books but this is easier for children to understand , DD's school use it from reception.

[IguanaTail]

Definitely do not get him using an Internet translator. They are the bane of an MFL teacher's life. They utterly distort language and are really bad for learning.

[IguanaTail]

I think you should relax - he's 10 weeks into a new language. Help test him on what he's learning in school by getting him to make little cards etc. Or putting post it notes up / pictures etc.

[MatchsticksForMyEyes]

Get him to sign up to quizlet.com. then he can search the topics he's doing. There are flashcards and mini tests but also a match up game and another game where a word comes down the screen on an asteroid where they have to type the translation before it hits the planet. It scores you against all other players of that vocabulary set and is available as an app. My Y10s are addicted to it and it has raised performance in their tests a lot. Secondary Head of MFL here.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

iguana I hope DuoLingo is OK? It's just a fun game that should bolster his vocabulary.

His little brother wanted to play, too, so I've put it on his Kindle. He's beating his brother so far! It's amazing how kids respond to computer games.

[IguanaTail]

Duolingo is good I think. I've used it for Italian for fun.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

Thanks matchsticks that sounds really interesting.

I am going to give the school admin lady named on the report a few days to get settled in back to work before emailing. I think the first step is to establish what the numbers actually mean. He may be doing just fine. And she can tell me whom to contact regarding specific subjects. It's all foreign to me.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

What I like about DuoLingo is that I can do it, too. And I can follow/friend my kids to see how they're doing.

Memrise is also pretty good but I think DuoLingo is enough for him.

[raisin3cookies]

Thinking far outside the box here, if learning Spanish is very important to him/you, perhaps consider an exchange programme like En Famille. We used them last year with our eldest, and she is now fluent in Spanish at age 12. It isn't for everyone - you host a child so he/she can learn English, and send your child to their family to learn their language (currently the options are France, Germany and Spain). It was a wonderful experience for our entire family and we are planning on setting up another exchange when our 9 year old is a bit older (with the same lovely Spanish family).

[MuttonWasAGoose]

Oh, an exchange would be lovely. But I don't think we can host, ourselves. We had exchange students when I was at school in Ohio. I remember a German girl in particular in my church youth group. And a French kid in my classes. It was great for everyone involved - even the classmates.

[KenDoddsDadsDog]

Maybe find an intercambio with the local uni . I did one in Granada - did some English conversation with a student at high school age and we both improved our language .

[Darkchocolatebuttons]

Have you looked at:

www.bbc.co.uk/languages/spanish/mividaloca/

Could be something you did together? Very apt given you are going to Spain, too.

I like quizlet, as well - really useful and a nice mix of activities. You don't have to sign in, just type what you want to practise into the search engine.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

I've just tried quizlet. I liked signing in because I can keep track of which ones I've done. It looks pretty good. There's also a flashcard app and you can download decks that other people have done.

[MuttonWasAGoose]

Well, I've found some really good Spanish resources thanks to this thread.

I think my main concern is that I don't know what to do when I suspect my child isn't doing well in a subject. It's not really about Spanish! I mean, there aren't graded quizes and tests throughout the school year with report cards - which is how my parents kept track of my progress. He doesn't bring home textbooks or any sort of syllabus or indication of what he's meant to be doing (like the homework journal he had in primary school) and his exercise books are cryptic. I worry that by the time we realise he's struggling with something it may take a lot to get caught up.

He's clever but a typical boy who likes to goof off. I think clever kids can get used to sort of skimming along and then when something is actually difficult they may not have the discipline and study skills to tackle the issue. His younger brother (the middle one) is less "clever" in that sense but he always works hard at school as he likes to please his teachers and wants to do his best. In that respect, I feel there may be less to worry about. It's scary to watch your children grow up and worry for their success and being foreign means I don't really understand what they're doing. I only really found out what GCSE's and A-levels were a few months ago. It's all a mystery in the way that semesters, GPA's and SAT scores may be for you.

[MatchsticksForMyEyes]

Yes I find quizlet very user-friendly. Have you shown your ds?

[MuttonWasAGoose]

No, I'm not at home today. I think DuoLingo is about as much as he's going to be willing to do and that's probably because I can easily bribe him by converting the "Lingots" he earns into money.

I am also curious to see how much I can learn, myself, over the next six weeks (when we go to Barcelona) so I'm enjoying using these suggestions for myself!

Should he need them in the future, I'm glad there are resources for him. I've already resolved to be willing to pay for tutoring in any subject he may need but it would be better to avoid the need!