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With my 3rd and last child, I used Monarch Spanish for early grades. We are using Breaking the Barrier plus a weekly tutor for the last level before AP Spanish. We'll do an online class for AP Spanish. The tutor is an investment, but if you are going through AP level, you should more than make your money back in college credits.
My son did Rosetta Stone plus Practice Makes Perfect workbooks, and then an online class for AP Spanish. He did get a perfect score on the AP test and got 12 credit hours from his university.
So out of all the AP exams offered, you stand to gain more college credit out of a foreign language than any other class (depending on the college's policies, of course).

I have been in contact with The Learnables. They say that after 4 levels of Learnables Spanish your kid should be able to take the Clep test.

What do people think about using Duolingo as a foreign language "curriculum"? Anyone with experience - is it comprehensive enough to be used as a curriculum?

I've been looking for current website to Power-Glide. When I google Power-Glide, Powerspeak is what appears. It does not look to be the same curriculum. At one time I believe BrainGrow.com and Alpha and Omega,sold Power-Glide Spanish, but doesn't seem to appear that they do now. Do you know who is currently publishing Power-Glide Spanish Curriculum?

I am diligently searching for language curriculum for my soon to be 9th grader. She wants to learn Latin. I have so far looked at Powerspeak and the Latin Road to English Grammar. They are both expensive,but we are willing to make the sacrifice if they are good programs. I do intend to contact at least one college to see what they accept.My daughter is highly motivated to learn Latin and is already studying vocabulary from Latin and Greek roots, and is doing very well with that. If anyone has input regarding these two, or any other Latin program, please let me know!

My daughter starts high school next year and wants to learn Latin. Any ideas for a suitable curriculum ? She loves vocabulary and is doing vocabulary workbooks with Latin and Greek roots this year and doing really well. We do, however, also want to fulfill the language requirement for possible entry into college. Thanks in advance!

I checked with a major university to make sure they would accept Rosetta Stone about a year ago. At that time they did, however, just this week I checked again and the answer was no. I asked what options I had for a foreign language and was told "not many". They suggested taking foreign language in high school at a community college. One year there would satisfy their "2 years of the same language" HS requirement and give them credit for both HS and college. If you are taking foreign language purely to satisfy college requirements, it is best to check with the colleges you are interested in before you go to all the trouble of reviewing curriculum. They did tell me that they *might* grandfather in the senior who already has been with Rosetta Stone, but even that wasn't a guarantee. It would seem your only other option with colleges is to take the language of your choice by the method of your choice and then be able to test out.

We tried Rosetta Stone Spanish (LA), with three children (elementary, middle, and high school) working on it for 30-45 minutes a day. It seems to work for the one with a verbal learning style, but for our visual oriented child, not so much. Many lessons were frustrating b/c he didn't know what he was saying or the structure/rules to help him say what he wanted. I also felt it is WAY overpriced, unless you find it on a great sale. Furthermore, the license forbids you from selling it (on eBay, etc), and finally if you don't uninstall it from a computer, will run out of installation keys and NOT be able to use the program. (So. What happens if/when your computer crashes?!) We are using a Spanish textbook program this year, which works out just fine since I (mom) speak Spanish.

My 17yo son used Rosetta Stone for Japanese. I had some misgivings about it mostly because I had no way of knowing how he was really doing since my background is French. I came across a local parent who is not only Japanese, but also willing to tutor him. (He was already holding weekly classes for younger homeschoolers.) I signed him up for private tutoring and was hoping they could pick up where Rosetta Stone left off. My son had to basically start over because it left so much out. Buyer beware! My son had also previously used Powerglide for Spanish. That was a waste of money too. My advice is to hire a tutor! You can find one who is more affordable than you might expect.

We have used Synergy Spanish and the second level of that program, Bola de Nieve for the past three years. It is an outstanding program, makes learning Spanish very simple with a unique "sideways" approach to the often dreaded verb issue. I particularly like that it includes audio, translating from Spanish and into Spanish as well, so we get plenty of practice writing and reading the language. I only wish the author had similar programs for other languages!

I have used Rosetta Stone (Latin American Spanish) with my 3 children, improving my method of using the program with each child. They certainly learn pronunciation well (and love the computer componant), but the verb usage is difficult to remember unless I have them take notes on new vocabulary, and write out the verb charts as they learn them for review. We print out and do most of the suppementary written material to ensure concepts are learned well. We are fortunate that the Canadian distance learning school that we are enrolled with paid for the expensive program.

My children and I strongly disliked Power Glide, but they very much enjoy Rosetta Stone. I'd also recommend the Destinos DVD series for a supplement between school years.