<p>So I'm currently in my third year of college trying to decide if I should take a foreign language or not. I would take either Spanish or French; I took French in high school but feel Spanish would be more "useful".</p>
<p>Anyway, I currently have 5 quarters left, meaning I can take 5 quarters of Spanish (slightly more than 3 semesters) before I graduate. Would this be worth it? I'm not sure how much I could learn in a year and a half. I will definitely put in the effort to maximize the amount I'm able to learn, and I do feel that I have an aptitude for learning foreign languages.</p>
<p>I only have about 8 non-major classes left, and while I feel that Spanish would be a good way to spend those electives, I would be giving up the possibility of minoring (or even just taking other classes that interest me.)</p>
<p>I'm a Geology major if that helps. My dream job would be something in outdoor/environmental education, so I'm not sure if a minor in education or something would be better. However, I may end up with a more "conventional" job in geology or environmental science. My ultimate goal is to live somewhere in California (maybe San Diego), so Spanish will probably be pretty useful. I wouldn't mind living elsewhere, though.</p>
<p>Anyway, does anyone have any advice? Perhaps someone who a)has an idea of how much Spanish I can learn and/or b)how useful Spanish would be to someone who may get a career in education/Geology/environmental science. Thanks!</p>
<p>College language classes move a LOT faster than high school language classes. You’re probably thinking of the pace in terms of your high school French, but it’s not really comparable. One semester of a language in college is basically equal to one year of a language in high school. 3 semesters is certainly long enough to get a good understanding of the language, especially if it’s something you have an actual interest in. It’s certainly enough to become relatively conversationally fluent in it.</p>
<p>Languages can be a fairly demanding class though. They aren’t a ‘blow off’ type of GenEd elective. I have to take 2 years of a foreign language for my degree, and it’s not something that I’m really all that interested in. I still have to spend a lot of time studying Spanish though. </p>
<p>All that said, a knowledge of Spanish at any level is going to be beneficial in just about any field in the US. There are a lot of Spanish speaking people in this country, and having a knowledge of the language makes you a more appealing candidate for a job.</p>
<p>As well as class time, to do well and really learn the language solidly you need to do extra work. Reading non-text book literature including kids books to begin with :). Watching tv/films in the target language. Trying to get opportunities to speak with native/ more advanced speakers. </p>
<p>I’m not disparaging it at all. I’m currently taking German and getting a lot out of it. Not all in terms of improvement. You need to see it as a long trudge rather than a quick sprint to conversational level. If you give up on graduation you’ll forget most of it which would be a waste of time and you’d be better off doing classes strictly for fun. </p>
<p>Spanish would be ideal for your career plans, though.</p>