I met another parent of kids in an MI program who faced disappointment with outcomes during the middle school years. It seems that there is quite a lot of anecdotal evidence that problems really become apparent at that time.
This parent said, "Well, my son just didn't like learning the language...Some kids don't take to learning language is readily as others do..."
I felt sad for this parent. The kids are at least part ethnically Chinese, too. But without a more holistic approach, they found "learning just the language" to be dry and meaningless.
I've heard this response from parents of students who have studied Chinese who come from non-Chinese, Chinese, and native-speaking Chinese backgrounds. The problem remains learning the language in a vacuum, a bubble, disconnected from the things they feel connected with. For that, learning all different aspects of the culture and dynamic ways of interacting with and in the language are critical.
There are plenty of methods and resources out there to support kids growing up in an English-dominant society. But parents have to be proactive in searching them out, plus getting their kids engaged early enough. At the right developmental age, kids are open and curious. But that openness and curiosity start to shut down as they approach adolescence, making it harder and harder to help them understand what is in front of them, and to light that spark that can carry the rest.
If kids learn to approach the "dry" and "boring" in a different way - then it will not be "dry" and "boring." But no doubt, there is the difference between "hard work" and doing "boring" things. Make sure you, as the parent, understand the difference and how your own values may stand in the way of knowing that difference.
All kids can learn another language. It just means accessing the right mix of approaches for that kid. But parents have to work with the teacher in figuring out what the best triggers might be. Being passive won't get results.
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