<p>I have some questions about language classes at McGill, since I really want to take lots of foreign languages.</p>
<li><p>What is 1 year of language equivalent to in High school terms?
I recently wrote a thread like this on the University of Washington thread asking about their programs, and i got a reply saying that 1 language class there is equivalent to 1 year of high school language (they are on quarter system, so that would be basically 3 years of high school level language in 1 year)</p></li>
<li><p>How strong are specific departments (Japanese, Korean, Chinese,Italian,French,Spanish) and how difficult or time consuming do the classes tend to be?(please state the language you are talking about, because im sure not all language classes are equally difficult, which im guessing is why some language classes are 4.5 credits, but most are 3)</p></li>
<li><p>Are there any warnings against taking multiple languages at once? I mean, im taking 2 right now (in high school) and it’s working just fine (japanese and spanish).</p></li>
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<p>Re: #2- some language courses are 4.5 credits because they are introductory level and meet 5 days a week. Level 2 and 3 in East Asian languages meet either twice a week for ~ 2 hours or three times a week for 1.5 hours. These levels offer 3 credits. I don't think they consider "difficulty" of language - more like time in class.</p>
<p>Re: #3 -Somewhere in the website it states that students are not allowed to take 2 different introductory level languages</p>
<p>Re: #2 - Don't know but I imagine that French would be pretty good!</p>
<p>What languages do you wish to study?
If you continue with either Japanese or Spanish, presumably you will be in at least second level for at least one language, so you can take another language at the introductory level.</p>
<p>Well, if you're going for 2nd level, I don't think it is a problem.<br>
Just make sure that you meet distribution requirements between your APs and the courses you register for - as least if you're in Arts and Science. I really have no advice re: other faculties.
There is a certain amount of leeway in registering for language courses in EAS. For example, the website says that if you a get a 4/5 in AP Chinese, you get credit for Level 1. My S only got a 3 but after speaking (Chinese) with his teacher was put in Level 4 but he opted for Level 3 and is currently satisfied with that placement. Placement tests were given at the start of the year but for some reason - I really don't know why - my S didn't take them. Japanese placement may be completely different though.
On the other hand, this was the first year for AP Chinese so perhaps those guidelines will change in the future as more data points are available.
By the way, S thought meeting those core requirements was not difficult at all to schedule. I think you have to take 3 out of 4 general areas, so it can't be particularly hard to manage, I would imagine.</p>
<p>If you aren't required to take any core requirements because of AP's, you are probably going to be considered U1, which basically just means you have second year status and will go right into your major(s) and not "have" a freshman year. how many AP's/ AP credits do you have? </p>
<p>To answer the language difficulty question, I would say that it depends on the class as some languages are inherently more difficult than others for (people who's first language is English) to learn. I am taking two right now, one introductory 4.5 credit language class (more credits simply because it meets more hours per week) and an intermediate level one. The 4.5 credit class in particular is very demanding, but well taught. One thing to keep in mind about language classes is that they require a lot of work beyond just going to class and doing your homework assignments. Mine require or "strongly recommend" 1hr/week speaking session, language lab hours, and of course the time you spend beyond just doing assignments practicing the language. So yeah...they are difficult and time consuming, but worth it if you are interested in studying languages.</p>
<p>As a Freshman you can't take two intro ones, and I am not sure how that works after freshman year. However if you are U1,you should also make sure you can have two languages and still major in what you want to major in.</p>
<p>and oh yeah...as far as what a university language class would be in terms of high school years, it really depends on how well the language was taught at your high school/ how much you got out of your high school language classes.</p>
<p>sorry that was so long...I hope it is helpful!</p>
<p>Wait!
Your son placed in 4th year chinese right out of high school?
Or do you mean 4th semester?</p>
<p>and elessar, i have a couple of questions...</p>
<p>1.What languages are you taking?</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Is it very difficult to get an A?</p></li>
<li><p>How many hours of study/class/conversation do you spend on average each week with the begginer class that you are taking, and the intermediate class (each would be nice, please)</p></li>
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<ol>
<li><p>I'm taking Arabic (beginner) and French as a second language (intermediate)</p></li>
<li><p>Well, it is kind of hard to say as I am only halfway through my first semester. I don't know where I stand right now with grades except for the quizzes. It was not TOO difficult to get an A at first on the quizzes as long as you studied the material, but it is getting progressively more difficult to do so. In French it really depends on your prof and your class...I know of other people in other sections who have different profs and different levels of background in it...right now we are mostly doing a review of grammatical concepts we should know (easy) and vocabulary (not to bad either), seems like it should be easy, but I've found the tests nit-picky.</p></li>
<li><p>For Arabic, we have class 50 mins each day, a 50 minute conversation class once each week, and at least an hour required language lab time each week. Homework can take anywhere from an hour to three hours each day...I think I have rarely spent less than an hour (at the beginning of the course they told us we'd have 3 hours each night but it definitely doesn't come to that all the time). I try to study the vocab at least 15-20 minutes each day to get it into my head, (more or less depending on if there is a test soon) because a big part of the class is that there is a lot of vocab being given to you in a short amount of time.</p></li>
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<p>My French class is 3 50 mintue classes per week, as well as a "recommended" (as in, you should go) 50 minute conversation practice once a week, and "recommended" lab time (a lot of exercises and such from the lab end up on the tests. also the lab is really a helpful resource anway). With homework it really depends on the night...sometimes there are just a few grammar exercises to do, other times an assignment might be to write a composition, or do some reading with questions which obviously takes longer. I really couldn't say how many hours I study for it, though it does tend to be more when there is a test coming up :P</p>
<p>So would it be pretty good to assume that with challenging languages (for english speakers--japanese,arabic,chinese,korean) on average are going to require more work than say, romance languages?</p>