<p>Okay so in school i've always been good at spanish but decided to drop it so i could take other classes my junior year of HS.. so now at tufts, i dont want to just take a class to "fill" the req... rather i want to take a class to actually learn the language and become fluent..</p>
<p>right now im kinda debating on whether or not to start a new language (thinking of chinese/japanese) or continuing spanish again from where i left off (which was just basic spanish... not ap/pre-ap that my school offers). I also want to be able to speak the language fluently so i can possibly go abroad junior year to that country.. What do you think about this? Also i am planning on going to tufts on a pre med track so what language do you think would be good/doable as a supplement without having to kill myself over in order to be able to speak it well.</p>
<p>thanks, srry about the length of this post :/ - just trying to give the whole picture here on my dilemma</p>
<p>Yeah, it’s definitely doable. One of my friends this last year who was a freshman engineering student decided coming in that he wanted to learn Chinese despite the lack of a language requirement for engineers (and the difficulty of fitting it in). He took it both semesters and is planning to continue next semester, hoping to ultimately be able to go abroad to China. So while he hasn’t gotten there quite yet, it’s definitely possible to start a new language and do well in addition to everything else you have to do.</p>
<p>Well in terms of applicability, if you want to be a doctor Spanish will be a huge asset. A significant proportion of your patients will speak Spanish, quite a high one if you work in an urban area or anywhere in the southwest.</p>
<h2>Well in terms of applicability, if you want to be a doctor Spanish will be a huge asset. A significant proportion of your patients will speak Spanish, quite a high one if you work in an urban area or anywhere in the southwest.</h2>
<p>I couldn’t agree with this more. Learning Chinese would also help too, but Chinese is a (in my opinion) much harder language to learn.</p>
<p>Yes, thats probably one of the biggest factors for me – i was also wondering though if i were to go abroad junior year, would i be able to take my bio/premed courses there? or how does that work? because from the site: [Tufts</a> University - Office of Programs Abroad](<a href=“Homepage | AS&E Students”>Homepage | AS&E Students)
it says: “The U.A.M. offers a large selection of courses including Spanish language, literature, linguistics, history, geography, economics, business, law, political science, archaeology, Arab studies, Asian studies, sociology, art history, education, and psychology.” which doesnt include any hard science classes except the psychology…</p>
<p>and would the “All courses are taught in Spanish.” be a big problem? i mean, the courses are probably hard enough already…</p>
<p>Well first of all, you would still be able to fulfill your pre-med requirements if you didn’t take any pre-med courses while abroad. Its only one semester, so if you plan it right, it should be fine.
Second, I’ll note that there are two different routes for going abroad. You can do a Tufts program, allowing the classes you take abroad to count for a grade towards your GPA. Or, you can do a non-Tufts, but Tufts-approved program. For these programs, the classes you take will count as credits toward graduation, toward distribution requirements, and usually toward your major, but the grades you get will not be factored into your GPA. If you choose this latter method of going abroad, you’ll have many times more options, allowing you to find a program that offered pre-med courses.</p>
<p>ah i like the sound of that. are the non-tufts, but tufts-approved programs all taught in spanish? im just worried about that bc im nowhere near fluent – its such a fast language!</p>
<p>You can find programs to fit any level of language-learning. Many programs offer English language courses even on site in Madrid or Buenos Aires or what-have-you, along with Spanish courses. [Here’s</a> a list](<a href=“Homepage | AS&E Students”>Homepage | AS&E Students) of non-Tufts programs pre-approved for credit, but if you find a program you like that’s not on the list, it may still be possible to get credit for it if you speak with the Abroad Office.</p>
<p>I studied in Madrid with NYU - I did an intermediate program, as I had studied French in high school and only had two semesters of Spanish under my belt. I had two hours of grammar instruction a day, plus ninety minutes of culture courses taught in Spanish, but conducted as conversation classes, with the primary purpose being the acquisition of facility with the language rather than absorbing too awful much information about culture.</p>