<p>Would anyone have any advice on fitting in language classes alongside the typical academic workload? I am currently studying modern standard Arabic at the intensive introductory level with intentions to continue to fluency. I studied German for four semesters in high school and after writing several papers this semester, I realized that some sources with which I consulted were written in a level of German that I simply didn't understand. I will be a sophomore this coming fall at a very highly ranked liberal arts college, and I am trying to plan my sophomore course schedule. I can possibly brush up on my German over the summer and head into the intermediate German course alongside intermediate Arabic, but is it normal and ok to spend half of my academic schedule on languages? Also, what other European languages would be particularly helpful for research in the history of the Middle East and North Africa?</p>
<p>Actually French would be more useful if you’re looking at history/literature, not necessarily archeaology. My friend studied a LOT of Arabic in college and spent a year traveling around North Africa and Turkey on a grant and she was shocked that French was spoken more often than Arabic. So she had to scramble to find a French tutor so she could continue her research project. </p>
<p>I would do French over German. But I would just spend your sophomore year concentrating on building on your Arabic skills up to literature level before starting a new language. You can pick up a new one in your junior year (or this coming summer). I am speaking from experience given that I dabbled on 5 languages over the last 5 years (and really studied 3 in the last 2-3 years) and it’s not pretty. Unless you have incredible talent for languages.</p>
<p>I agree with TMP. I’d also recommend French.</p>
<p>Do you remember what grant this was, ticklemepink?</p>
<p>As an undergrad in Middle East/N African Studies, I spent most of my time on languages…took Hebrew, French, Persian and Arabic…which helped greatly with grad school admissions.</p>
<p>I would have to agree that French is more helpful than German. Though there is a lot of academic scholarship in German, the French sure left an imprint on the area. Many upperclass schools in NA, the Levant and even in places in Iran have French schools (ie kids learn in French). This not to say that you shouldn’t pursue German (as it is also a research language), but French might be more useful in the long run. Of course, it really depends on what you plan to do in the future.</p>
<p>It was a travel grant that my university provided.</p>