<p>As a high school senior, I've taken three years of Spanish, and since my school is predominantly Spanish, I've grown to develop an intermediate foundation on the language. The thing is, when I enter college, I really want to learn another language, but at the same time, I don't want to abandon Spanish. Would it be wise to try to take upper-level/conversational Spanish courses my freshmen year and then begin a new language my sophomore year or would it make sense to just begin my new language courses freshmen year (probably French)?</p>
<p>Don't learn French.</p>
<p>lol.</p>
<p>I learned German on my own outside of HS for two years and took a year of Russian. I've forgotten some German, but it's easy to brush up, I don't imagine it'd be too difficult to brush up on Spanish if you forgot some. I would just take whatever fits your first semester and long-term schedule better</p>
<p>French would be really easy to learn if you have a good mastery of Spanish.</p>
<p>And French is awesome.</p>
<p>French major who has dabbled in other languages.</p>
<p>What level are you aiming for with Spanish, and <em>French?
(</em> or whatever you choose.)</p>
<p>I'd recommend you take an upper-level Spanish courses to see if they suit you and to help you decide how far you want to go with it. If you have room, also check out a new language so that if you decide you enjoy it you have enough time to pursue it. French and Spanish at the same time might be a little weird, but I'd think doable. Being in a 101 language class again is a strange experience, and it can be nice to remain involved with another foreign language you can actually carry on a conversation in.</p>
<p>Short answer: do both if you can, even if it's only for the first year/semester. If not, take the new language and try to keep up with the old one on your own time.</p>
<p>I think you should go ahead and try to master Spanish and then learn French. It would be easier, I think, to master one romance language and learn another.</p>
<p>it's doable, but if you're in the U.S., you'll most like be far better served by just focusing on further developing your Spanish. I'd strongly suggest continuing to take just Spanish and develop your skill in that language until you are truly fluent</p>
<p>Unless you really want to stick with something closely related to Spanish, why not try something completely foreign? If your HS was like mine, you probably only had Spanish, French, German, and Sign Language to pick from. Your college (unless its tiny) will have at least 10 times that many... Try Chinese (more useful than French) or Russian or Arabic or Latin (more fun than you think) or Indian or Penguin (if you're weird).</p>
<p>Don't let the bounds that high school put on you tie you up for life... you're at a better place now.</p>
<p>If you're interested in just cointinuing and improving your conversational Spanish, there are plenty of opportunities on campus- Latin American related clubs, Spanish Club, and there are language tables. Contact the department of Spanish and ask if there are other opportunities besides classes to keep up with your Spanish. They're filled with native Spanish speakers and Spanish majors so you'll definitely improve your Spanish if converse with them in Spanish.</p>
<p>Don't let Spanish rob you of learning another language that you're interested in unless you have a very specific goal (social worker, working with Spanish speakers, volunteer, etc). Which by all means, continue your Spanish classes and just concentrate on that. French will always be there- those classes aren't going anywhere! :)</p>
<p>These days there are so many ways to keep up with a foreign language that weren't possible even a few years ago. You can listen to streaming radio, watch movies, read newspapers, etc. all online. And at college as an earlier poster suggested there are many ways to interact in person. So while you may not make fast gains you can continue to improve and certainly maintain what you've worked to achieve.</p>
<p>However I'd say charge full speed into French since that's what you say you want. Already knowing one related language you're probably going to find it comes a lot quicker than the first. And the college years offer a wonderful opportunity to study abroad for a semester, often living with a host family or dorm. You get a chance to explore your host country, and often travel to neighboring areas as well. People who spend time abroad often say it was their most rewarding college experience. This is something you're not going to have time for later in life if you're like most people, to say nothing of how strange it would be to think about living with a host family if you're in you're 30's or 40's ;)</p>
<p>why not french Rusell7??Im planning a possile minor so I'd like to know</p>
<p>"Unless you really want to stick with something closely related to Spanish, why not try something completely foreign? If your HS was like mine, you probably only had Spanish, French, German, and Sign Language to pick from. Your college (unless its tiny) will have at least 10 times that many... Try Chinese (more useful than French) or Russian or Arabic or Latin (more fun than you think) or Indian or Penguin (if you're weird).</p>
<p>Don't let the bounds that high school put on you tie you up for life... you're at a better place now."</p>
<p>Well, you're right-- I was essentially forced into Spanish because it was the only language course that my school offered. I do enjoy learning it, though, and it would be extremely useful language to have in the future.</p>
<p>At my level of proficiency, I think I can find other resources (internet, movies, music, etc) to sharpen my skills. Now it's just a matter of choosing between potential languages.</p>
<p>I'd also like to know why French wouldn't be a good choice. Aside from Spanish, I'd either want to learn French or Mandarin.</p>
<p>French is a good choice for many people. It is a bad choice for many people.</p>
<p>I'm interested in international law, working abroad, possibly in Europe or Africa. I enjoy France and francophone culture in other parts of the world. I find it interesting and challenging to speak and learn. I'm good at it. Clearly, continuing French is a good idea for me.</p>
<p>If you plan to live your entire life in the states, French is a bad idea. If you don't like francophone countries, French is a bad idea. If you're more interested in South America, the Middle East or Asia, French is a bad idea. Chinese or Japanese would probably be better for a business student, though French ain't have bad there either.</p>
<p>^^ Actually, French is very useful in Middle East and Southeast Asia if you're interested in history and diplomacy (as in if you're going for political science or international relates).</p>
<p>I am heading to college this fall.. and i think learning another language would be great for most careers.. which is the easiest language to learn? Is German easy?.. Is Latin more useful than German?</p>
<p>btw, do the Swiss use German.. let's say I would love to live in Switzerland.. would German be adequate?</p>
<p>I know English, Chinese (native) and Malay..</p>
<p>German can be doable. Doesn't matter which language you take- they all require intense commitment if you want to do well. If you can master English as a ESL speaker, then German shouldn't be much of a problem.</p>
<p>Swiss German is VERY different from other dialects in Germany and Austria. Germans and Austrians have a difficult time understand Swiss German- something to do with the pitch. Germans and Austrians can somehow manage to understand each other. I would just sign up for German and let the language take you whatever it leads you. The dialect you will hear and learn from your German instructors tend to be from Germany- many studied in western Germany or Berlin. So if by any chance you wind up studying in Switzerland, it'll take a little extra effort to learn the new dialect.</p>
<p>What are your schools language requirements? If you can get those out of the way by taking an advanced Spanish course or two, you might want to go ahead and do that. Then you will have plenty of time to try other languages with no pressure.</p>
<p>YOU: As for the Latin being more useful than German--sorry, but German's more useful. And I say this as someone who took four years of Latin in high school and loved them. Latin's great for learning English grammar and good for English vocabulary (although I have found Greek roots to predominate as far as medicine and very technical terms are concerned), but it's not something that you'll use much in a day-to-day sense. If you want useful, take the German.</p>