Foreign Language class speed & depth

Colleges & Universities A-Z Stanford University
1

<p>I'm extremely interested in taking a course in Japanese or Chinese at Stanford (I have some prior experience with Chinese, but not Japanese). I would begin class at the most basic level.</p>

<p>How fast do the classes go? How much do I learn, and how long would it take to achieve fluency (let's disregard personal motivation as a factor)?</p>

<p>I don't think I would be interested in learning a foreign language if the classes go at the pace of high school language classes. I learned more Chinese in 6 weeks of immersion than I did in 2 years of Spanish classes -_-. </p>

<p>Thank you so much!</p>

2

<p>Well, immersion is often going to be a preferred method. Classroom experience + immersion is, in my mind, ideal. Generally college language classes move at a much faster pace than high school classes, but either way it would be difficult to gain fluency in a language in just four years - especially a non-romance language.</p>

3

<p>[Courses</a> - Asian Summer Language Program](<a href=“http://www.stanford.edu/dept/lc/language/courses/asianSummer/stanfordPekingOverview.html]Courses”>http://www.stanford.edu/dept/lc/language/courses/asianSummer/stanfordPekingOverview.html)</p>

<p>You might want to check this out if you are serious about being fluent in Chinese.</p>