<p>I'm not sure why I'm having such a tough time finding this, but I was just curious as to what foreign language classes are available at Tufts. In specific, I'm interested in Hindi.</p>
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<p><a href=“Tufts User Authentication - Stale Request”>Tufts User Authentication - Stale Request;
<p>While Tufts doesn’t normally offer Hindi or Urdu, it has been offered in the past as an ExCollege course</p>
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<p>So have Swahili, ASL, and Haitian Creole.</p>
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<p>The languages with full departments, and the ability to go to higher levels are the Romance languages (French, Spanish, Italian), and German, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic and Hebrew.</p>
<p>You can see the department pages to look at specific classes offered. [Department</a> of Romance Languages - Tufts University](<a href=“Tufts University”>Tufts University) or [Department</a> of German, Russian & Asian Languages and Literature - Tufts University](<a href=“Homepage | Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies”>Homepage | Department of International Literary and Cultural Studies) .</p>
<p>Generally Hindi is not offered, a group of students petitioned to have it offered but were turned down 2 semesters in a row, so we kind of gave up on it. It has been offered in the past as an Experimental College class, but not for a while.</p>
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<p>I also know quite a few people who are interested in taking Hindi but didn’t know about the petition. How big was the group of students who signed the petition? Is it possible to take it through independent study, or to have it offered in the Ex-College again if a teacher can be found? Given Tufts’ emphasis on international studies, I’m really surprised at least one South Asian language isn’t offered. That’s really irking actually.</p>
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<p>You forgot Russian, Greek, Latin. </p>
<p>My understanding from talking with the folks working on getting Hindi at Tufts (and I’m open to being corrected) is that the obstacle lack of student or administrative interest, but the challenge of finding a professor. In order to have it count for the language requirement, students would need to finish at least three semesters of coursework. Finding someone qualified and interested in teaching the course, who is able to commit to three consecutive semesters remains a challenge.</p>
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<p>How important are languages at Tufts to the overall campus environment? I’ve done four years of language at high school (and it was a MAJOR obstacle getting that last year of Spanish into my schedule, let me tell you) and I’ve participated in the Spanish Honor Society, but I’ve found my language experience in high school to be, on the whole, extremely negative. How is the experience at Tufts? I understand Study Abroad is a huge component, but if I’m admitted, I’ll probably only do Study Abroad as a summer program, unless I am accepted into Tufts at Oxford.</p>
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<p>S1 HATED his high school Spanish classes. Much better luck with his Arabic classes at Tufts. Not easy, but worthwhile (and required for his major). </p>
<p>Unfortunately, he was not able to do a semester abroad. A lot of students spend semesters or summer programs in places where they can hone their speaking skills. Study abroad through a non-Tufts program is not always as easy as it sounds. Look into it well ahead of time if you’re interested.</p>
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