is it better to do a language u know, or try a new one?

Colleges and Universities A-Z Tufts University
1

<p>i took 5 years at french, had bad teachers and am pretty mediocre at it, can barely speak, bad at listening, whatever.</p>

<p>but should i try something new like chinese or arabic or spanish, which could be helpful, or continue with french which i have some kinda foundation in</p>

<p>i'd also be interested in studying abroad which would be interesting for me, being a homebody, and a lot of fun, but i guess thats not necessary..</p>

<p>any ideas on what might be best for me...i dont seem to be amazingly good at learning languages, but maybe its the teachers i had...</p>

2

<p>go for the new language! If you don't study it now, when will you have the opportunity again?</p>

3

<p>but if you have a new language, how can you study abroad junior year? You need 6 semesters, that means you'd have to do it as a senior and they usually want seniors to be on campus the whole year</p>

4

<p>You don't have to do 6 semesters in sucession I don't believe, and I'm almost positive there's an option to take 3 semesters of language and 3 semesters of culture...at least, that's what I've heard...otherwise, I'm screwed too, because I'm taking a new language.</p>

5

<p>^That is correct for fulfilling the language requirement, see <a href="http://ase.tufts.edu/bulletin/liberal-info.html%5B/url%5D"&gt;http://ase.tufts.edu/bulletin/liberal-info.html&lt;/a>
However, I don't know if requirements for studying abroad at particular locations are more stringent.</p>

<p>"PART II. CONTINUED LANGUAGE STUDY / CULTURE OPTION
After the basic language requirement has been satisfied, the student has four options:</p>

<p>1) To continue study in the foreign language used to fulfill the basic language requirement until two courses have been completed at the third-year level; e.g., French 21-22 or French 31-32, German 21-22 or German 33-44. Since the fourth-semester college-level course (e.g., French 4, Spanish 4) is normally a prerequisite for courses at the advanced level, the option usually involves taking three courses beyond the basic language requirement. Entering students may be placed in advanced language courses or may be exempted from them on the basis of a placement examination, SAT II Subject Test scores, or college transcripts, as described under Part I above.</p>

<p>2) To complete courses through the third college-semester level (for example, Spanish 1 through 3) in a language different from the one used to satisfy the basic language requirement.</p>

<p>For students in the Class of 2009, American Sign Language may be used to fulfill this option.</p>

<p>3) To complete three credits dealing with a single culture or designated cultural area, either the same as or different from the language taken to fulfill Part I. The course must deal with a foreign culture. For purposes of this requirement, a foreign culture is defined as having non-English speaking origins. Anglo-American, English, Anglo-Irish, and Anglo-Australian cultures do not qualify, but Aboriginal Australian, Celtic, and African-American, Latino/a, and Asian American, for example, do to the degree that they are discrete from the Anglo-American tradition. "</p>

6

<p>Yeah, I plan on taking Chinese, but I wonder if I could take African culture classes after that as I plan to study abroad there...</p>

7

<p>I was under the impression that the culture classes had to be in the language you were studying. I think you can also do 3 of one language and 3 of another.</p>