<p>To current students: how have your language experiences been? I'm looking to start a new language, but I don't want to be weighed down by something extremely difficult. Thanks.</p>
<p>Starting a new language in college is said to be rather difficult, but it really depends a lot on you. You need to look at the other courses you’re taking to make sure that you don’t have too many that will tie you down to labs or so much reading that you’ll be losing sleep, trying to get it done. The trick is to balance your schedule well so that adding on something new and somewhat foreign won’t drag you down. </p>
<p>That said, if you’re really good with languages, it could be a piece of cake. Also, if for example you’re planning to take French, and have spent high school learning Spanish, you’ll probably have an easier time than jumping into Japanese or Arabic, just because the roots are closer. The farther away the foreign language is from English and other languages you’ve studied in the past, the harder it will be to adjust to the nuances of the new language.</p>
<p>I don’t mean to hijack the thread but…</p>
<p>How hard are languages like Japanese/Chinese, which I imagine a lot of native speakers take? Obviously they are difficult in themselves, but does the presence of so many advanced students make it impossible to get a decent grade in the class?</p>
<p>From what I’ve heard from some of my classmates (and of the more popular language choices): Arabic and Chinese tend to be most difficult right away. First-year Japanese is apparently a very comfortable experience but any level after that becomes involved. Romance languages are generally very easy to break into. Finally, German was a very approachable language from my experience. Also, native speakers are generally found in literature courses for a language and typically not the grammar/first year classes, so they won’t really be a hindrance in courses where you’re learning the language.</p>
<p>I’ve taken Spanish Aa, which wasn’t too demanding. I was one of the slowest people in the class, but still made out with a nice grade.</p>
<p>I’ve also heard from friends that some of the African languages (Swahili in particular) are really fun and rather easy.</p>
<p>How much work is Russian compared to other language courses at Harvard?</p>