Foreign Language Requirement

It has nothing to do with baseball programs---it is the school admissions---most require 2 years of a foreign language

JUCO might be the ticket, rather than a 4 year. Can't get around it if applying to a liberal arts college, but you might find some tech schools that don't require the 2 years of language.

I have heard of at least one player from a small Virginia school that was tested for learning disabilities related to his ability to "learn" multiple languages. Based on the results of the testing, he was exempted from the schools language requirement. This young man was a good student, but for whatever reason, simply could not master a foreign language sufficiently to pass the required classes. I beleive he worked through the college to arrange the testing/exemption. Check with the admissions counselors OR the academic support/success staff of schools you are interested in to see if they offer any alternatives.

I think the testing idea is an option - two things you may want to consider. See what the cost is for the testing - could run in the 2-3 thousand dollar range. Conversely, see what the cost of 2x week tutoring might be. On the "third" hand - assuming he has a true learning issue, paying to get out of a year's worth of agony in studying for Spanish might be worth every dime.

There is no way around the requirement in some form or another, and it is tougher than you think. At Virginia Tech, for instance, if you are in a Liberal Arts program the requirement is three years of Spanish (one of which can be completed at VT). I am sure this is true of many other schools as well.

Two suggestions:

1. If there is a clearly documented ability that is covered by a 504 plan at his current school, he might be able to complete the requirement by taking a course on the culture of the language rather than actually speaking and writing it.

2. BYU offers an on-line version of Spanish II and III. It is a tough course, but the student has an entire year for each semester and thus can go at his or her own pace. If you have a tutor for the student, this can be a great alternative. Cost of each semester is a little over $100. Tests cannot be administered by a tutor and must be taken at an indpendent testing center under the direction of an instructor certified by BYU.

Doesn't matter if you go to a JC, have to have foreign language to move on. Many colleges want you to have 3 years, and if you do not you have to take a year in college, at least thats how it is in Ca. I am back in school after 30 years and I took two, I had to appeal to get released from taking a year in college. Was able to use old catalog rules. Good luck, maybe testing him would be useful. The thing with foreign lang. is you have to make flash cards and every night go over and over it. It is very difficult for some kids. My son took 3 years in HS and the third year was very difficult for him, he got his first C in a class.

Maybe taking the language in summer school would be an option. I know kids who struggled with languages who found summer school easy. 1) It was geared towards students who struggled. 2) It allowed focus on one subject.

My older son(not my baseball player) has dyslexia and high school Spanish, even with a weekly tutor, was very difficult. He made it though 2 years but more foreign language has been required in college.
Instead of trying Spanish again he has taken 3 semesters of American Sign Language. This can still be a difficult course but has been more manageable than Spanish.

Worth checking into. Good luck!

If offered, take Latin for 3 reasons:

1) helps with SAT testing and English word recognition
2) more memorization at first, and less emphasis on speech and listening skills
3) less frustration when your kid, years later when asked how much of their foreign language do they remember, say, after oui or non, after the equivalents of the numbers 1 through 20, say....not much.

You really need to contact your son's guidance counselor to come up with a plan. In Virginia, there is a foreign language requirement just for high school graduation. For an advanced diploma students need to have 2 years of 2 different languages or 3 years of 1 language. I believe that the standard diploma also has a foreign language requirement.

Without an advanced diploma, acceptance to a state supported college or university in Virginia is not likely. Your best bet will be one of the small privates. In the past, Bridgewater College did accept students with the standard diploma, but I do not know if that is still true. Bridgewater is also a nice little school with a decent baseball program. As other posters have stated, most colleges (including Bridgewater) have a foreign language requirement.

My daughter and step daughter are taking Latin this year (after 3 years of French for my daughter and 2 years of spanish for Step-daughter) and they are finding it much easier then Spanish as it is more history based then speaking based...if that makes sense. There is no conjugating verbs and such like the other languages.

Surprisingly my son is taking spanish in 8th grade and is doing well with it. He is coded (add) but his brain seems to be taking to the new language class...go figure!

I'd have your son try Latin.....

My 2010 son we were worried would struggle with Spanish as well. However, he is in Sign Language two and has done very well. You may want to look into that route.

See if another language might suit him better. I'm a sophomore right now and find german quite easy. I wish your son the best of luck.

I know 2 years is required for some colleges.


I'm in Spanish 3 right now, and I'm going to end at 4.

Check the schools website to see if it is required. I really think it is stupid about the forgein language so I searched myself to find schools/degrees that do not require it. I found that Indiana is one of them. I also feared that one class would ruin my GPA. That is the case with a lot of my friends.

i would also get on ncaa.org, i think that's it. see what the required classes are for the different divisions. maybe most of you knew this, years ago i didn't. this can really help the nonstudious player.

Here's a quick story, my son took 2 years of French in HS because it had a much friendlier/easier teacher then Spanish (a language that makes more sense to learn in AZ). Two 'A's, easily could have aced French 3 his senior year but bypassed it thinking we didn't need it. Got a baseball scholarship to a private liberal arts school in CA, guess what, needs 3 years of a foreign language to graduate, now has to start over with French 1 "college level". Took the placement test only to find out he had learned (or at least retained very little)...Lesson learned, take all 3 levels in HS, easier and you never know where you may end up. Also take any college level courses you can in HS, get ahead!!! take my advice...

By the way, most schools will now accept Sign Language as a foreign language, not a bad way to communicate on the field either.........