Skipping Spanish 2 or not?
Um...so I'm going to be a 9th grader in one week.
I took Spanish 1 in 8th grade, which was pretty easy, and the teacher gave me a test at the end of the school year on Spanish 2. If I passed it, I could skip it and take Spanish 3 in 9th grade. So I took it, thinking that if I passed, I'd learn Spanish 2 over the summer and be ready for Spanish 3 during the school year. I never got an answer saying if I passed or not. I thought I failed, because I never got a notification whatsoever saying that I passed. I didn't take Spanish 2 during the summer.
Then, finally, a few days ago, our schedules came out. Guess what was on it? The Spanish 3 course. Which absolutely sucks, since I didn't take the Spanish 2 course over the summer, so I'm kinda unprepared.
I'm nervous. I'm not sure if I should go through and accept the course or not. I can conjugate verbs in present, preterit, imperfect, future, subjunctive, and present progressive, and my vocabulary is okay. As for being able to string sentences together and such, I was once playing a game and came across a guy who knew only Spanish and no English. I struck up a conversation with him and I think it went pretty successfully.
So this is my question - Should I skip Spanish 2? Or should I go back and actually take it? And what are the benefits of skipping Spanish 2, if I do actually go through with it?
Thanks in advance.
4 Answers
Apparently your teacher thinks your Spanish is good enough to go straight to Spanish 3, and the test you took confirms that. Kudos to you.
Take Spanish 3, your teacher thinks you're ready so you must be. It may be a bit of a challenge, but Spanish is not rocket science. With a little bit of hard work (it might not even be that hard) you'll get through it.
Life is full of challenges, real or perceived. Take this one by horns and go for it. It will be good for you in more ways than one. If you're really that concerned, talk to your teacher about what happens if it turns out to be difficult, maybe you just simply switch back to Spanish 2.
You gotta believe in yourself and the people who believe in you. Go for it, ¡si se puede!
This is all relative to your actual level of spanish... But if you're worried in the slightest I would stay back. You're better off learning slowly and well than cramming too much in your brain too fast. I live in Mexico and I've seen in the time I've been here someone come in and learn spanish fairly fluently in about a year. I could be jealous of his fluency, but when it comes down to it and I listen to the way he speaks, I don't envy him at all...
Advanced Warning: I'm not anything near an expert in Spanish, so take everything I say with a grain of salt.
Do you have a means of contact with this teacher? If you do, ask what your grade was, or if you can take the test again. If not, there is a relatively easy way to figure out whether or not you should go back and take Spanish 2 : Your grade in Spanish 3! If you have a lot of trouble and are constantly making horrible mistakes, maybe you should go back and take Spanish 2 next year or during the summer. You're only in 9th grade!
That's my advice, but I also believe that you should also get as much experience with as many classes as possible.
Hope this helps! This is a very good question!
Having successfully "skipped" over classes in Spanish, German and Greek over the years I would tell you it is possible, but unlikely that you will succeed. The clue is in the manner in which you ask the question, and the fact that you are just starting high school.
You will have a whole variety of new experiences and other opportunities in high school. These will both limit and stress you, should you try this. If you were supremely confident, that would be one thing. The seeds of failure are in your doubts. To succeed you will need to be committed to using various sources to self study Spanish 2 as "homework," while also doing the Spanish 3 work, and all your other classes and activities. That's a big load, and I would counsel against it. Also you should know that a high school course is typically tougher than a junior high course.
My remarks are based on 30 plus years experience teaching at those levels. But don't just take my word on this! Talk it over with your parents, and make appointments with the school counseling staff, and the teachers involved. Best of luck in whatever you decide!
