<p>I'm just wondering how heavy French classes are at Berkeley. I'm looking to continue my language studies however 5 units for a french class seems a bit crazy, considering many of the courses required for majors are only 4 units. Is this because French classes are everyday? Or is it because the expectations and workload are a lot higher? </p>
<p>At the moment I have around 13 units, so taking French would increase my units to 18, which sounds a bit dangerous seeing as 15 is the recommended amount. What do you guys suggest??</p>
<p>Yes, it is because it meets every day. Practically all language classes are 5 units, since they meet every day (5 hours of class a week). Language classes at Berkeley are quite intense, the expectations are much higher than you probably experienced in high school. As to whether you should take 18 units or not, that is a lot, it's probably not advisable for an incoming freshman.</p>
<p>A lot of it depends on what level your French is at now, what level of French you plan to take in the fall, and how important it is to you to continue taking French.</p>
<p>For me, I am an intended French major (I'll be a second year in the fall), so taking French is a no-brainer. I've taken French since 7th grade and I enrolled in French 2 for Fall '07. The was incredibly easy for me yet at the same time I managed to learn a few things. Although it seems like I should have taken a higher level of French, I'm ultimately glad I took French 2 because the jump from French 2 to 3 is pretty significant. French 2 is essentially all grammar, whereas French 3 assumes you know all the grammar so most of the focus is on conversation and paper-writing (you'll be analyzing films, short stories, etc.). However, after the first few weeks I got the hang of it, and that class ended up being pretty easy tool.</p>
<p>Overall in my experience, French 1 and 2 are pretty much a breeze if you have been exposed to French before--in my case, French 2 was an easy A. Keep in mind that pretty much only French is spoken from day 1. French 3 is a jump from French 2, and depending on how difficult your French classes in high school were, it may be a little too much to handle. French 3 ended up being an easy A for me as well, but it definitely required more work than French 2.</p>
<p>So overall, if you for whatever reason find it very important to continue French, by all means take a French class, just maybe a slightly "easier" level. These classes are worth 5 units not only because they meet every day but also because they have a lot of homework (largely busywork, though). You can always drop the class if you find that 18 units are too much to handle, but I suspect that that may be the case only in terms of the hours of classes you have per day as opposed to the amount of work you get.</p>
<p>I realize this is getting a little long, but one last thing...my schedules have thus far been pretty much only humanities-based, so I don't know how French would work out in a schedule full of other types of classes. However, I did know a guy in my French 3 class who was taking 19 units, which included a math class (1B? 16B? I don't remember) and Econ 1, so obviously it can be done (I believe he ended up with an A- or A).</p>
<p>Hey kelkyann, thanks for that post. It was really helpful and insightful!</p>
<p>Most likely I will try and fit French into my schedule. Also, you offered an excellent tip - that is, to start at what I may otherwise deem an "easier" level just so I can adjust to it all. That seems like a great idea considering I have never taken a college level french class before and may not know how intense the course load will be, or whether or not I can handle the faster pace :)</p>