Best or Worst? Are Language Classes at IMSA Good or Great?

Like many schools around the United States, IMSA is no different when it comes to having language classes. From the standard Spanish and French classes, to the more niche languages of Germany and Chinese (Mandarin), they offer many of the languages one would expect to find in a typical American high school. But out of these four classes, what is the best language class to take at IMSA?

Let’s begin by considering some things that make a language class good, and maybe even great.

The Student
The Subject
The Teacher
The Material

Depending on these variables, the language class one chooses to take determines its difficulty. For example, if you’ve only spoken English up until now, learning Spanish will much easier than learning Mandarin. The U.S. Foreign Service Institute says that Spanish is the one of the easiest languages to learn if you’re only familiar with English. It’s ranked as a category 1: the easiest to learn language for native English speakers; Mandarin is ranked at category 4, the hardest to learn.

Before we dive into the language classes at IMSA, let’s define a term used to separate languages. Morphemic vs Logographic languages. Logographic languages use symbols or characters focused on conveying the meaning—not really indicating how to pronounce them. Morphemic languages (e.g. English, Spanish, French) focus on spelling that represents the sounds of the words instead. (Let’s disregard the fact that sometimes English doesn’t sound the way it’s spelled…) I’ll be basing majority of my reviews of the language difficulty off of this categorization.

Mandarin:

你好! If you live in a household where you grew up learning an Asian language, I believe Mandarin would be the easiest to understand and retain in the future. (For example, I am currently taking Mandarin and it has many words that are similar to the Korean language which assists in how I maintain my memory and learning of the class.) Many at IMSA also state that Mandarin is the easiest class to participate in, as the teachers (Wang and Zhang lǎo shī (老师)) both understand that it is a fairly difficult language to understand, especially considering the diverse student body enrolled.

Some might argue that the expectations of Mandarin students are lighter compared to those who take Spanish or French because of the material and how the teachers treat the background of students. However, there are some cons to taking Mandarin as well.

Memorizing the characters, sentence structure, pinyin, and even pronunciation can easily throw off anyone. The average English-speaker is fairly unfamiliar with the tones that Mandarin contains, making it difficult to grasp even if the class is set to be beginner level. The language’s characters (Hanzi) are logographic, not morphemic.

Since Mandarin is logographic, it makes reading interpretive exams more challenging compared to the other languages. Not to mention the tones required of the speaker during the speaking and listening exams. The words 是 (Shì – yes/correct) and 十 (shí – ten) can be easily mistaken for each other if you’re not paying attention. The rising tone in 十 (shí) can throw you off and make the difference between an A- and an A in the tests. In conclusion, it’s one of the languages that seems easy to learn at first, but will really kick you in the butt in the long run if you don’t have a solid foundation already.

French:

Salut, ça va? When one thinks of the French language, they’re often reminded of baguettes, romance, and Paris. Many students can begin by taking French I at IMSA which makes it easier to adapt and prepare for the more rigorous curriculum in French II, III, etc. Unfortunately, that doesn’t make much of a difference when it comes to speaking French.

It’s a category I, but if you’re trying to master pronunciation… best of luck. Thankfully, French is mainly a morphemic language so reading assessments should be a breeze to interpret if you understand how the formations work. One tricky aspect of French, however, is the feminine and masculine terminology. A small mistake of using “un” instead of “une” when referring to a feminine word could also contribute to the not-so-good test grade you get back.

Your goals of perfecting French so you can speak to the hot french guy/girl on your plane ride to the lavish Paris trip you’re planning? Foiled. The language is very hard to master if you’re aiming to speak perfectly (hence the stereotype of people from Paris judging every tourist’s French), but practice makes perfect so good luck mon ami. The bright side to learning French at IMSA is that Monsieur Marshall and Madame Kwiatkowski have a very extensive knowledge of the French language, reading and speaking combined, thanks to their time living in France.

Spanish:

Hola amigo, ¿cómo estás? Spanish: the only language that IMSA doesn’t provide a “one” for. That’s right; IMSA only provides Spanish classes from Spanish II to Spanish V. The reason? Many speculate that it’s because of how every high school provides at least a Spanish class. One might argue that shmen should be able to take Spanish I, but here’s the catch: many middle schools provide Spanish I as well; logically, the school curriculum directors would deem it the least necessary compared to all of the beginner classes for languages. Compared to Mandarin’s time of 88 weeks to get to a “general professional proficiency,” Spanish only takes 30 weeks. That’s a difference of fifty-three weeks. That’s approximately a year’s difference!!

Spanish is also a morphemic language which makes it easier to achieve a better score on your reading and writing assessments. The speaking tests will also be a breeze, as it’s a language considered to be easy to understand for native English-speakers because of spelling and pronunciation similarities.

German:

Hallo Leser! Here we are, last but certainly not the least language of them all: German. Did you know that there are four classes of German at IMSA? That’s a ratio of 4:10 for Mandarin, 4:14 for French, and 4:20 for Spanish. The reason being? There’s only one teacher!

Frau Dr. Gauld joined IMSA last year after the passing of Frau Agnieszka Michalak and is the only German teacher running the school’s German curriculum this year. She, like the French teachers, also has experience living abroad in Europe. In her case, she lived in Germany for two years in an “immersive experience German while participating in a local band.”

Being categorized at a category 2 for English speakers, German isn’t one of the hardest or easiest languages to learn. That being said, it’s something that still requires the same amount of dedication and care Mandarin or Spanish would need in order to conquer and perfect the language. Similar to French and Spanish, German is also a morphemic language; so reading should be easier than you think.

Conclusion:

Each language class at IMSA has its own pros and cons which (from my perspective) all seem to narrow down to one thing: there is no best or worst language at IMSA. A student’s background and experiences with certain languages determines how each class will be for them. Teachers also shouldn’t make much of a difference, other than some communication guidelines for the coursework itself. After taking a look at all four language classes at IMSA, I believe that if you are a student with a solid background in Asian languages, Mandarin would be the easiest class to take. If you are more comfortable with English, then Spanish would be easier for you (if you already took Spanish I, of course). And if you come with an ambition to learn any language to go to Europe (and have an amazing vacation), then German and French would be the best choice for you. Language classes at IMSA are great. If you take advantage of the school’s support and engagement time, easy access to teachers, and more–you’ll find yourself topping the classes with ease.

Every language class in IMSA is unique in its own way and provides an opportunity to connect with different cultures on campus in class. Plus: if you like a certain country’s food, you should probably just go with that language! (French made crepes—Mandarin even has mooncakes!)