<p>Because I never go away! Hey, these topics bump up the oveall
topic count for the IU board, so it looks like we have more activity
hahaha. :P</p>
<p>Alright, so foreign languages...i suck at them lol. My parents can't
even teach me their own language; i'm that bad. Hence, when I
go to IU, I don't want this to bug my GPA goals. I've been studying
spanish at high school, but had struggles with it (only went up to
spanish 2 and had to repeat).</p>
<p>I heard that Japanese was easy, and that Russian was easy because
its pace is ridiculously slow (since it's a hard language to teach). What
are your opinions on what you heard about the foreign language classes?
I know IU has a billion languages available hahah. I just want the A.
I really could care less about learning the language. Show up to class,
study basic stuff, get an A. There, lol. How would you say the Spanish/jap/russian/whatever languages are at IU, from your personal
experiences, friends, and from overall reputation? </p>
<p>Another question: Does anyone have any materials from their freshman
year courses online for a basic business pre-req that I can study for
before the year stars? </p>
<p>Also, what books are used for freshman classes? Thanks!</p>
<p>P.S. So &(<em>&(#$@# </em>*ed off that Standard Level exams on IB don't
count for credit. W/e, i digress.</p>
<p>Just curious.... Why do you want to take a foreign language at IU at all? It's not required for many degrees offered. Not that I am trying to squelch any intellectual curiosity here, but if you don't have to take a foreign language, and you are worried about it being a drag on your gpa, why not take some classes in which you are truly interested?</p>
<p>No, it's just one of the 3-4 ways to complete the international dimension. You can take a foreign language, study abroad, complete a few international business courses, and I think there's something else. International students get this waived from their degree.</p>
<p>I didn't major in business, but I did have to take a language while I was at IU. According to my advisor there was nothing else I could have done but take a language, which sucks because by the time you graduate you end up paying for basically a semester's worth of credits in a language that you didn't want to take. (I don't know any other languages so I don't see how studying abroad would have counted for that requirement in my situation, since I would have studied in an english speaking country if I would have went. But if it could have counted and the advisor didn't tell me, then that sucks).</p>
<p>Anyways, I ended up taking 4 semesters of latin, and it wasn't bad at all. I actually learned a lot about english grammar and I think it really helped further my vocabulary. The instructors (grad students pursuing masters/PhD's in classics) were really laid back and enthusiastic about teaching latin. I don't regret the choice I made because we didn't have to speak the language, and the instructors didn't speak in latin or anything so it was easy to learn and understand.</p>
<p>Many of my friends took Spanish and the difficulty just seemed to depend on the instructor; some of them complained about it while others seemed not to mind it very much- in the end they all got through it. Another friend took Arabic and had a rough time with it... Also had friends that took italian who really seemed to enjoy it.</p>
<p>Has this requirement changed recently? I know my son, now a senior and music major, had to take foreign language as one of the general university requirements. He would never have taken it had it not been required, since he, too, has problems with foreign language.</p>
<p>I can't speak specifically to IU, but it my general understanding that to earn a BA you need a language but for a BS you do not. Was your son working towards a Bachelors of Arts, or Sciences?</p>
<p>Japanese and Russian both have different alphabets than English, so that might make them more difficult than you think, but as was pointed out already, if you are majoring in business, you won't need to take a foreign language at Indiana University.</p>
<p>As far as textbooks, once you know your class schedule for next semester, login to onestart and then go to this weblink: </p>
<p>Once there, you can put in your list of registered classes and it will tell you the list of required textbooks (and you can also reserve them online for pickup if you want, or go order them elsewhere for immediate delivery so you can start getting ready for your classes ahead of time). </p>
<p>P.S. You can also register as a guest and see which classes require the most books if you are trying to keep the cost of books (or amount of homework) down.</p>
<p>Kudos to you for trying to get a headstart on your next semester's classes.</p>
<p>You don't have to take it your freshman year either, so if you do decide to take a language class later on, I'd suggest you buy rosetta stone for that language and study it over the summer</p>
<p>Actually you still are required to take a language if you get a B.S. (at least if you are in the college of arts and sciences) ...I know this because I graduated last year from the college, and the only difference when it comes to the language req. between a B.A. and a B.S. is that for the B.A. you need 4 semesters of language and for the B.S. you need 3 (It's stupid). I know because I switched from getting a B.S. to getting a B.A. Now, whether there are any alternatives to this besides studying abroad/taking the international business courses, I do not know.</p>
<p>Also, I didn't start taking a language until my sophomore year, and I had plenty of time to finish the language req without purchasing rosetta stone. I wasn't behind, lost, or anything. In fact, half the people in my first semester soph yr. language class were sophomores, and many of my friends didn't start a language until they were sophomores. It's perfectly OK to wait.</p>
<p>If you go to this website, there is a list of all the college bulletins. You can click on the current bulletin for your school to see all the reqs for your degree.</p>