<p>if im a transfer and i complete elementary fench I and II, and intermediate french I and II will i satisfy the foreign language requirement? after reading the site i seem to get the impression that i will need another semester of a foreign based literature class? it's not like i'm majoring in french, why 5 foreign language classes that advanced? i don't even think i would be able to pass the literature class as i've struggled with foreign language and had B's in all of my foreign language classes...thoughts?</p>
<p>The only language requirement is to successfully complete a 200-level (most languages = 213) literature course. </p>
<p>The most courses necessary to complete this requirement would be 4 =
FRN 111, 112, 153, 213 </p>
<p>However, since you have previous French instruction, you could probably place into 153 and then would only need two semesters of French. Worst case scenario for you would probably be getting placed into 113, which is an advanced 100-level which is equal to completing 111 and 112. Then you would take 153 or 154 and finally 213, equaling three semesters.</p>
<p>that's just so much foreign language. i really want to go to wake forest but the foreign language requirement seems like too much. i don't want to have to take anymore foreign language. i've taken 4 semesters, most schools only require 2. do foreign literature classes actually involve having to know the language, or are they more about the history of that language and you don't have to know how to speak/write in that language? i doub i could place into any foreign language class, as i am terrible in foreign language and absolutely hate having to take it.</p>
<p>What class will you be transferring into? I think that for this past year's freshmen, they only had to go through the intermediate level of their language, and so, if Wake accepts the credit, then you might well be done. The best way to find out is to call the registrar and ask.</p>
<p>it says that they require a foreign literature class??</p>
<p>That would be the two-hundred level class. If you've taken two levels of intermediate French, then you could probably place right into the literature class and have it done in a semester.</p>
<p>but in the literature class do i have to know how to write/speak fench, or is it just a literature/history type class about french?</p>
<p>longhorn - I am looking at a copy of last year's bulletin, which has all the classes and requirements. It says you must complete a 200 level language class. In the french dept, it looks like you have a few choices. Seems they all include speaking, reading, and writing in French, and then focus on culture and/or literature.</p>
<p>that just seems ridiculous. that would be enough language classes to minor in a language at most schools, and this is their language requirement? this is the only thing that is making me wonder if i should go to wake forest because i'm not quite sure if i'd be able to make a satisfactory grade in it, and graduate...what do you think i should do?</p>
<p>People worry more about the literature class than they really should. My Italian literature professor told us on the first day that she knew that the vast majority of us were taking the course because we had to in order to graduate. And all the literature professors by and large know this. There are some people for whom languages just don't click, but the teachers help you if you try. By the end of the semester, my Italian lit professor was probably the professor that I felt most comfortable talking to because I'd spent a lot of time talking to her about the coursework and other things. Most of my friends felt the same way--that they grew very close to their language professors and even began to consider them more friends than professors.</p>
<p>Literature is actually the easiest level of the language requirement, in my opinion. Professors will still correct you if you say/write something incorrectly, but less emphasis is placed on the grammar. My professor was willing to overlook mistakes in our speech if we were talking about the content of what we read and thinking about how to interpret the material. Literature is also the level where you stop being afraid to speak in the language. Once you get over being self-conscious (which happens in the first couple of weeks), it turns into a really fun class.</p>
<p>is it mainly writing assignments, or do you have to take tests in class over that type of stuff and speak it?</p>
<p>You have to speak it while you're in class, but it was mainly writing assignments for me. There was a participation grade, I think, but it was based more on if you were trying to speak than how well you spoke. There was a midterm and an in-class test toward the end of the semester, but other than that, every graded assignment was take-home (including the final, which was had to be four pages for us--nothing else ever had to be more than two.)</p>
<p>see, if it was all take home i'm sure i would be able to get a tutor to help me, but otherwise i'd do terrible on tests and everything else in class...doesn't this stop a lot of people from graduating? i know people that have trouble with the 2nd semester of 100 level language, and can't imagine having to take a 3rd, 4th, or even 5th semester. this is a lot of language to take at wake forest.</p>
<p>Thanks so much for this informative thread, everyone! </p>
<p>Ginnyvere, do you know if we can choose from any of the foreign languages freshman year? I know the most popular are probably French, Spanish and Italian. I was interested in taking either Japanese or Arabic (to supplement my business degree), but I haven't heard much about them, or if first-year students are allowed to study them. The lit. courses actually seem really valuable, especially if you plan to use the language later in your career. It doesn't hurt that the professors are as helpful as they seem to be (one of the biggest reasons I'm so excited for next year!)
Thanks again, and sorry to change the question :)</p>
<p>I haven't heard of anyone who has been kept from graduating due to their language class. Again, if you're actually trying at all, the professor isn't going to fail you in the literature level of a class. Also, hardest levels of a language are definitely the intro levels. It got a lot easier as time went on. My grades went up with each semester, and I think that a lot of people fall into that pattern.</p>
<p>TAce, they don't limit you as to what language you take. It is recommended that you continue the language you took in high school so that it takes less time to finish (I ignored this recommendation and switched from French to Italian, and I'm glad I did). It is required (I believe) that you take the placement test for the language you took in high school, even if you intend to switch languages, but that's not a big deal (it took maybe an hour and a half on computer the summer before I entered Wake). If you do want to switch languages, there are no restrictions saying that freshmen can't take a specific language. The only thing that could get in your way is that the class may be full or at a time that will not work with the rest of your schedule. With the less-popular languages, there is often only one section of the class offered each semester (or even each year). I don't know much about either Japanese or Arabic other than that we offer them and that you can't go much higher (if any higher) in either than the literature course required for graduation.</p>
<p>i don't think its even worth risking if i don't think i'd be able to pass, by leaving it in the hands of the professor. it just seems ridiculous how long of a language requirement wake forest has...i don't even want to get a C, or D in it because it will hurt my gpa and hopes for a good grad school. i just can't believe 5 semesters of a foreign language for a general requirement, unbelievable...</p>
<p>It's worth noting that there aren't two intermediate levels of languages at Wake, so it's a four-semester requirement normally, and can be done in three if one takes the intensive (5 days a week) elementary language class. </p>
<p>I really think you're panicking over something that isn't worth that much thought. I know a few people whose lowest grades were in their language class (again, no one whose lowest grade was the literature level which really is the least stressful of the language classes), but everyone gets through it, and it doesn't particularly hurt anyone's chances at graduate school. I know that it's a daunting requirement (which is one reason that I waited to finish it until my final semester), but it really isn't that bad. When I said that no professor was going to fail a student who was actually doing the work and trying, it is usually a lot better than "not failing." Of course I don't know everyone's grades in my literature class, but my professor indicated that, barring a horribly-written (take-home) final exam, she wasn't planning on giving anyone in the class lower than a B because we'd all worked so hard during the semester (and because we'd all looked at our mistakes on papers and shown significant improvement in our writing). In the language classes at Wake, effort definitely counts for a lot.</p>
<p>so there's a take home final, what about the midterm? are there any other quizzes/tests in class?</p>
<p>It's different in every class. There's no standard format, but the majority of one's grade is supposed to come from writing. I had one in-class midterm and one other in-class test at the end of the semester (it wasn't a final, but it covered the material from the second half of the semester).</p>
<p>My daughter just finished her first year of AP Latin and she is still waiting for her AP test score. She will be doing the second year of AP Latin this year as a senior. If she scores at least a 4 in each, will she be able to exempt some or all of the foreign language requirement? This is the only foreign "language" she has ever taken and started in 7th grade!
Thanks</p>