<p>I'm need of some advice. I will be a senior next year in the College of Arts and Sciences and I have not yet taken any language courses. Is there a way to satisfy the option 2 requirement by taking 2 language courses with one course conducted in english that is within the department?</p>
<p>I think I have no choice now but to take Option 1. Am I right in thinking that? I plan to take Spanish 123 and then 207. How difficult are these two courses? I took AP Spanish in high school but that was 3 years ago. By the way, language is my least favorite subject. Any advice would be appreciated.</p>
<p>not sure about difficulty…do you already have summer plans? maybe a summer immersion program?</p>
<p>If it’s an intro course, be prepared for tons of HW… I was visiting last fall staying in a students room, and one of his friends was doing his Spanish hw one night and he was like “yeah… Intro language courses suck because there’s hw every night, and you go to class like 4 days a week (or maybe 5, can’t remember)”</p>
<p>You can also take the placement test during orientation next year and place into a 200-level Spanish class. It will save you from having to take Spanish 123.</p>
<p>how r the chiense course? are they hard or easy? XD</p>
<p>Depends on if you think memorizing 300 words per week is hard or easy.</p>
<p>^— hehe i can do that xD!</p>
<p>What about japanese and french? I know a little bit of spanish which woudl help for french, but I really want to go to Japan for study abroad just because of the huge difference between ehre and there.</p>
<p>if you know a little bit of spanish, I would try italian instead of french</p>
<p>really? I knew they were fairly similar but just not to what extent. I can carry on conversations in spanish, although it’s pretty choppy and not always grammatically correct, so would that make it considerably easier to pick up italian?</p>
<p>french is a mix of english and spanish…</p>
<p>french has very particular grammar rules sort of annoying (i’m a native spanish speaker) </p>
<p>from watching subtitled italian movies, i would say that italian is closer to spanish than french…</p>
<p>do consider that ANY spanish would be better than no spanish. spanish is the most taken language at cornell (because of domestic demands). french would be useful if you live near canada, work for the UN/EU or have an interest in africa. </p>
<p>the most sought after languages are arabic, russian, hindi, chinese…</p>
<p>^ What if I plan on being an MD or going into being a research scientist?</p>
<p>I really don’t want to learn more spanish, I’ve had 9 years of it beaten into my skull. Time for a change.</p>
<p>Take Latin or Greek if you want something applicable to science; they’re everywhere in the terminology, and will likely increase your understanding of English etymology as well.</p>
<p>I am in 2nd year Japanese course and have a plenty of friends who are in intro classes. Intro to any language classes are mostly, I think, 6 credits classes and yes, a lot of work too. For example, in Japanese, when you advance to the 2nd year you will have 4 credits and meet everyday once (4 discussions and a lecture) compared to (7 times = 5 discussions + 2 lectures)</p>
<p>If you guys have any kind of prior knowledge that will help a lot. I don’t have that much trouble. Someone said above that you have homework every night. It is not homework that we have to do every night, but it is some memorization. For us, we have vocab + kanji quiz everyday (vocab is in range of 10-20 words and 3-4 kanjis) and you have to memorize the assigned dialogue of the day, which is called the CC aka core conversation. Oh yeah, you also have to record the CC’s of the day by the time your section starts. You can do the recording either in your room or at Language Resource Center. But if you wanna do it in your room, you will have to buy the thing for $50. I heard that people just go to Language center and copy the thing and do it in their rooms.</p>
<p>And you have like real homework only for 2 days of the week, those could be kanji sheet that is like you write around 30 kanjis on paper nice and clean. Some grammar exercises after every chapter of the text. And yeah, also there is this Eavesdropping homework that you have to do in every 2 weeks approx. </p>
<p>Well, it is now starting to seem a lot to me. But if you really like it, you can just do it. I love my Japanese class most because it is a lot of fun. You also have outside-class interactions with your professor and TA’s during any Japan-related or JUSA (Japan-US Student Association) event.</p>
<p>Hope you understand my poor English.</p>
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<p>I wouldn’t call your English poor, Tsen.</p>
<p>Hope spring semester is treating you well!</p>
<p>Norcalguy:
You don’t think Spanish 123 will be too difficult for me? I took 4 years of Spanish in high school but I haven’t said one word in Spanish for 3 years. I can read and write okay, but when it comes to listening and speaking I have problems. Do you suggest I prestudy? I’m afraid that I won’t graduate on time if I don’t get the language requirement out of the way. How much of your grade depends on holding a conversation?</p>
<p>Also, I plan on going to med school after senior year, which leaves me 2 semesters to complete the language requirement. I’m applying to medical schools this summer. In the case that I can’t pass in two years and I have to stay on campus for another semester after senior year, what do medical schools do? Do they reject you or can you ask to be enrolled for the next year’s class? Thanks for all the advice everyone.</p>
<p>if spanish123 is anything like french123 then it’s basically a review of what should already have been learned with slightly more vocab/grammar exposure…</p>
<p>it should be doable…</p>
<p>Obviously 123 will be more or less difficult based on what you already know. Everyone I know who has taken it complains about the amount of work and frequency of meeting times, but you should definitely be able to pass. 207 is not as popular and has been known to be hard to get into, but with your background you should be able to convince the prof if its an issue. </p>
<p>You can definitely pull it off.</p>