<p>to take all the electives i want and still graduate on time?
I'm really into foreign languages and i would like to continue learning the couple that i know now. Can i just tag them onto my schedule and take like 20+ credits (not gonna exaggerate on the classes or anything but i think that they are 4 credits each?)? Of course i know ill have to schedule it to a tee, but is this at all possible?</p>
<p>A lot of schools have credit limits, and you very rarely can get exceptions to go over them big time.</p>
<p>I’d recommend buying the Rosetta Stone software.</p>
<p>You usually can overload your credits, but it usually requires approval.
At my old college, we just filled out some paperwork and provided your GPA was decent, you were allowed to take up to 23 credits. At my current college, I just asked my dean if I could overload and he allowed me to.</p>
<p>If foreign language is really that much of an interest, have you considered double-majoring in it and whatever your current major is, or getting a minor?</p>
<p>They’re both right. If you don’t want to double-major like PlattsburghLoser suggests, you can always fit some into the summer/winter sessions. Sorry, not sure if your question means you want everything to fit in a regular academic year, but it’s something I’ll be planning to do since I’m about two credits from getting two extra minors with my major, and I don’t want to overload myself with advanced math and science courses, then tag on MORE hours than what I’m doing.</p>
<p>Major in linguistics, minor either sociology or business (maybe!) But its like, theres AT LEAST 6langs id like to continue… not all in one year of course, of the four year course(high school). I take three now, so i doubt that ill have any problem with the work. </p>
<p>P.S. ROSSETTA STONE IS A PIECE OF CRAP; cant believe i wasted $200 hundred dollars on it! the old fashion way is better!</p>
<p>^^ I second that!</p>
<p>Ah, I have the same problem… I want to continue Latin (though I guess there aren’t that many more classes for me to take anyway… lol), do Greek, Arabic, Italian, French, etc. Gah if I could read hieroglyphics my life would be complete.
I suppose if you just filled all your elective credits with languages it shouldn’t be a problem. 1/3 of my credits are electives anyway (1/3 - major, 1/3 - AXLE req… eh.) so I’d imagine your elective credits are comparable and you can fit in your languages.</p>
<p>Have you tried Pimsleur? You can either buy it (Amazon, eBay, etc.) or download it free from torrents - or, I have most of them, so I can email you some, depending on which language you’re after. </p>
<p>They’re a pretty good launching pad if you’re a complete-complete beginner to a language and introduces you to the (verbal) basics. Then, top that off with other sources, i.e. I believe the people who created ChinesePod (great language site, but you have to either pay or keep making new accounts to get free access) have also ventured off into some other languages, I think SpanishPod, FrenchPod and ItalianPod.</p>
<p>And just keep finding new outlets. There are hoards, literally. I think another site is LiveMocha that teaches languages and has natives that check your pronunciation and grammar. What I like about this site is that they won’t let you move to the next “section” until you past a series of tests—kind of like taking it in college.</p>
<p>Another is “Before You Know It” - BYKI.com</p>
<p>Lastly, try to find a (native) language exchange and speak with them via Skype, to get a better grasp on the language.
You can usually find hoards milling around expat forums, or can just do a search directly on Skype to find someone. Most of them are eager to learn English and to teach their language.</p>
<p>I think the only thing I’ve ever bought were some writing textbooks in the languages. If you look hard enough, you can find most of the resources for free.</p>
<p>^^that sounds like a good plan… but atthe same time would it be realistic to take two languages at college? columbia’s one of my top choices now and i know you take around 5 classes a semester, so wouldn’t that only leave 3 other classes a semester for core+major requirements, etc?</p>
<p>You can definitely take 2 languages in college (even 3), but this is dependent on how many credits you bring in (i.e. AP credits) and what your university/major requirements are. Some majors require language incorporated into the academic program, so you are definitely better off majoring or minoring in a language in addition to taking multiple language classes.</p>
<p>Also, I’d recommend if you can’t fit all the languages into your schedule, to choose to study abroad in one of the countries in which you want to learn the language either during semester or summer.</p>
<p>I also recommend Before You Know It software. I learned quite a lot of Arabic just by using BYKI.com. It’s pretty awesome.</p>
<p>My Latin teacher from high school took something crazy like 8 languages in college, but he recommends sticking to one and learning it very thoroughly rather than trying to just basically grasp a lot of languages. He is proficient only in Latin and Greek now, and can only read German, Spanish, French, Italian, etc, and the others have left him entirely.</p>
<p>I’m a global affair’s major so taking a foreign language is a requirement. If it wasn’t I’m not sure if I would take it just because language’s can take up a lot of credits and time. One of the Arabic courses I took was 6 credits and I had class 3 days a week. If you have a strong interest for language, maybe major or minor in something that let’s you fulfill a language requirement. </p>
<p>My suggestion would be to start with one language and see how it is for you. Do you feel comfortable? Can you handle the work? How is the course going for you, in conjunction with your other classes? and etc. It may not be so wise to just jump into two language’s at once but in the end it’s really you call and what you feel the most at ease with.</p>
<p>Are you planning on doing study abroad? Fluency gained from immersion in a native environment, even for a short while, is likely to be much greater than that gained from the traditional approach. If you’re really serious about learning languages to fluency, try SA or design your own immersion program for summer/winter breaks. I imagine that this would work really well with either of your intended minors, but it would really be amazing to do a business internship in a foreign language!</p>
<p>I do like Pimsleur, but it’s slow going and not nearly as interactive as a language school. I guess we both learned the hard way that the Rosetta Stone program is, um, worthless. If the expense of studying overseas is a factor En, your school may have a tutoring/volunteering program with local immigrant communities that you could look into. Some schools with a larger international student population have programs for international students led by native English speakers. UVA has a number of summer-long language programs that used to be around $2,500 for not-for-credit learners. You should still be able to test out of any language requirements for your major, but the class won’t be on your transcript (vs. $10,000 or so for that extra line of ink).</p>
<p>Not all schools allow students to overload on credits. You can’t register over full time at mine until after classes have started – and they usually fill up a month ahead of time, so… yeah. If yours is like that, the answer is an emphatic ‘no.’</p>
<p>I don’t think actually taking the two (or more) classes with be so much of a problem as will it be too much to handle with my other classes. I took three languages all throughout high school and the only possible issue i saw was that i would lack in one of my other seven classes (maybe i shouldn’t have taken seven classes?). I know my major at most schools requires a minimum of four semestres of a single language os that will cover at least part of what i want. I have AP Language credits (Spanish and French (4s); gonna take German and Italian next year hoping for 5s!) that will cover that requirement. But i wanna continue these languages at a more advanced level (possible 300-level). I wanna take Korean and possibly Arabic and/or Hindi too. and thats all. I think that will be enough for me. Oh, and Tagalog too!</p>