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 Posted: Mon Aug 24, 2009 9:27 pm
So, I'm a high school senior this year and have obviously been looking at colleges. I'm currently looking for a school with courses in Spanish, Italian, Classics (Greek), and Linguistics. I know I definitely want to continue with Spanish, but I'd also try to learn Italian and Greek.
My question for all you lovely polyglots is how hard is it to take two (or more) language courses in college at once? I have taken (and continue to take) Spanish and French at the same time, so I know I can handle two at a high school level. But in college, where classes are supposed to be a lot harder, would I still be able to handle two? Would I be able to handle only Italian at the same time as Spanish because it's more closely linked than Greek? Any help would be greatly appreciated. =)
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 12:05 am
Depends on your work ethic. I have a friend who takes both Russian and Chinese, and she does fine with it. It also may depend on your major. Know that, if you're a science major, you'll be in class more than other people because of labs (i.e., at my school, a normal 5 credit hour class meets for about 5 hours a week while a 5 credit hour class with a lab meets about 7 to 9 hours a week).
Basically, look at what other classes you're taking and ask yourself if you can handle two languages or if you'll need to drop a language class or some other class. Just know that you have to plan in studying time as well as class time. To know how much time you need to study, look at what you're learning in your high school language classes now. If you're going to a college with semesters, plan on going twice as fast, and if you're going to a college with quarters, plan on going thrice as fast (while taking less classes). Know that you'll go that fast while meeting a limited amount of times during the week which means that you'll be spending much more time studying than you ever did in high school.
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 4:50 pm
I'm taking only french in a classroom because other things are not currently available but at the same time I study italian, german and spanish and I do others intermittently. I sometimes forget what word goes with which language. Because of that, you might find it easier to take language classes that are very different, but I also find italian easy to read because of its similarity to spanish and romanian and french.
In high school, I did German and Latin at the same time (I was in German 3 and Latin 1) and both were wonderful and easy. Last summer I took freshman level french while taking junior level spanish. That was a bit more confusing.
I think if you're going to take similar langauges, you should know what the specific troubles are and head them off by making flash cards or something where you compare the cognates between the two or more languages.
*looks up aleatoare* Does it mean "random"?
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 6:44 pm
Rilian Sharp *looks up aleatoare* Does it mean "random"? Yep!
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Posted: Tue Aug 25, 2009 9:09 pm
Thanks for the replies! =)
Randomnessensues: I'm actually probably going to major in something to do with languages... most likely Spanish mixed with Education or English or Linguistics. My chances of majoring in science are rather slim, so I think I'm good on that account. I also think I find languages fascinating enough that I should have a decent work ethic. That does sound like a lot of studying, though. D: I appreciate your time comparisons to a high school situation--that's very helpful.
Rilian: Thanks for the help! I didn't think about different languages being easier because of the ability to distinguish them. I know what you mean... I once combined ensalada (Spanish) and salade (French) into ensalade on a French test. xD
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 12:11 am
In high school, I did French and German my senior year and picked up ASL at a local community college that spring. My first semester in college, I took French, ASL, German and a conversational German class. It's very doable if you're dedicated. Since, I've found 2 languages/semester to be a good balance. Less feels like I'm slacking off, and although more is doable, I need to be able to fit enough general ed classes into my schedule as well.
Getting the languages mixed up can be an issue - it was for me at first, but it gets easier with time and as one gets used to it. Another issue I've had (and sometimes still do) is a sort of cross-contamination with accents - for a while, I had a really authentic French accent... While speaking German.
Ultimately, I think there's a point at which all langauges just get easier because you're used to the process of learning a language, even if they're all unrelated. If you could do two in high school, two in college should be fine. Three may even be reasonable. More than that and I think it'd start to interfere with your other courses.
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 9:52 pm
Sorry, but what's ASL? sweatdrop
And thanks for the thoughts! I find it funny that your French accent was very authentic when you were speaking German. =) I didn't think about general classes needing to fit into my schedule, either. Thanks for sharing that. 3nodding
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Posted: Tue Sep 08, 2009 11:28 pm
Hersheydudette Sorry, but what's ASL? sweatdrop
And thanks for the thoughts! I find it funny that your French accent was very authentic when you were speaking German. =) I didn't think about general classes needing to fit into my schedule, either. Thanks for sharing that. 3nodding American sign language. smile Also, general ed classes interfere way too much. *glares*
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Posted: Wed Sep 09, 2009 1:36 am
lili of the lamplight In high school, I did French and German my senior year and picked up ASL at a local community college that spring. My first semester in college, I took French, ASL, German and a conversational German class. It's very doable if you're dedicated. Since, I've found 2 languages/semester to be a good balance. Less feels like I'm slacking off, and although more is doable, I need to be able to fit enough general ed classes into my schedule as well. A local college near me has a program where you can be an ASL interpreter in 2 years! I am surprised it takes that little to get a professional certification sweatdrop
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Posted: Fri Oct 09, 2009 8:15 am
randomnessensues Rilian Sharp *looks up aleatoare* Does it mean "random"? Yep! Ooh, now you say it in japanese! And I recently learned that ha is pronounced /wa/ when it's being a post-position.
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