<p>I'm an admitted student at Yale, currently examining distributional requirements and stuff like that.</p>
<p>I have noticed that Yale seems to be very intense in its foreign language requirements. I mean that the courses seem to be very intense, not that I have to take too many of them (3 terms is nice). I've taken 3 years of H.S. French and 4 years of M.S. French. However, I'm still not that good at it. I can memorize vocab and grammar rules, apply them reasonably well, etc., but when it comes to speaking or writing with any degree of fluency, I'm hopeless. Actually, my speaking isn't too bad, but my composition and reading comprehention are terrible. I've gotten fairly good French grades, but it's always been largely due to nice teachers and luck. I've also forgotten quite a bit of my French, since I did not take a class in senior year. </p>
<p>I'm hoping I can find a way to fulfil my language requirement without killing my GPA or stressing myself too much. I've thought about sticking with French class and hoping for the best or beginning Latin. I really don't know what to do though, and I hate going in blind. </p>
<p>Does anyone have advice on a safe way to deal with the language requirement? I'm not looking for a cop-out, just a way to play to my strengths (good memorization, good application of grammar, decent speaking). </p>
<p>Consider taking the French placement test at Yale, and then taking the course that’s a level down from the one they recommend. That what I wish I had done.</p>
<p>I think professor’s can also in a way effect the way you learn a language, and maybe also the language itself. Like I took french all throughout high school and I was like you. I had nice teachers and the only way I could ever get below a B was if I was speaking Spanish or something. When I got to college, instead of taking French I switched over to Arabic. It was a whole new slate, and a great way for me to start fresh. The professor I had was also great, and I didn’t go through the same agony of learning the language, then I had with French. It was a bit difficult because they use a different alphabet and form of writing but in a way it was helpful because I didn’t mix it up with English/Spanish/French grammar and words. </p>
<p>Does Yale require you to take the same language that you took in high school?</p>
<p>You need to look this up for the details, but Yale’s language requirement is essentially that you have to take a language up to a particular level. If you are starting a new language to meet the requirement, I believe you have to take at least three semesters. For a language you have previously studied, you take a placement test, and depending on how well you do, you have to take one, two, or three semesters. (You can’t place out of it entirely.)</p>
<p>I took four years of HS French. I was completely unprepared for the placement exam in which one section needed me to don headphones and be recorded with my answers! I hadn’t read or spoken French since I graduated 3 months prior!!! </p>
<p>I thought I totally screwed it up and would be the source of mockery in the Fr dept for years to come. In the end, they placed me at Intermediate level french. It wasn’t that bad after all. I think I got two Bs or B+s.</p>
<p>Hunt: Sadly that is not correct. You have to take three semesters of a language regardless of where you place. If you place in L3 (third semester), then you have to take L3, L4, and L5. If you start from the beginning, you have to take L1, L2, and L3. </p>
<p>The language requirement really is NOT that bad. The most annoying thing about it is that you have to meet every day of the week for L1, 2 and 3. </p>
<p>I took Spanish for 6 years in middle and high school… I got bored with the language and decided to try out German at Yale. I’m currently in L3 and haven’t made anything less than an A in my language classes. It’s really not that bad. </p>
<p>If you are unsure about your French skills, either take a placement test or start a different language. Either way you’ll have to take three semesters of it.</p>
<p>Lol… I was reading the course list all night yesterday… I learned a lot about the college system. This thread actually triggered my interest… </p>
<p>Well… the good thing is that I dread doing any more math… and for the QR requirement, there were many good alternatives like Astronomy, Philosophy, even Geology that I might enjoy more… </p>
<p>I also looked at the various major requirements, the program showing the courses available per subject, etc… It was very interesting…</p>
<p>You write “I’ve taken 3 years of H.S. French and 4 years of M.S. French. However, I’m still not that good at it. I can memorize vocab and grammar rules, apply them reasonably well, etc., but when it comes to speaking or writing with any degree of fluency, I’m hopeless. Actually, my speaking isn’t too bad, but my composition and reading comprehention are terrible.”</p>
<p>The above posters are right, taking the placement exam will give you an idea of where you would be most comfortable with French. It’s unfortunately the case that a year of most H.S. language classes are worth about a 1/3 year of university level language.</p>
<p>The advantage of persisting with French is that you could actually get to the level past memorization and grammar rules, where you can start to have fun with it.</p>
<p>Another aspect of taking university level language classes is that the people teaching them tend to be very, very devoted to it, and very good at it. They want to “sell” you the language to which they have devoted many years of study. They think carefully about presentation, and about the social situation of the classroom. H.S. teachers don’t often have that luxury, as well as smaller classes. </p>
<p>If you want to try another language, you might look at Latin (as other posters have suggested) or another Romance language. Italian is much easier than French. Spanish has many practical applications.</p>
<p>This was long years ago, but I did too well on the placement test, and ended up in a French class that was too advanced for me. So, especially if you generally test well, think twice about simply going into the level the test recommends.
As it happens, I also took beginning Latin while I was there. I found that to be pretty hard, too! I found beginning classical Greek to be easier, for some reason.</p>
This thread actually triggered my interest… </p>