Should I double major with a language I've already been studying?

College Majors Foreign Language & Culture Majors
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I’ve had a long-time interest in the Japanese language, and for a while now have seriously considered pairing it with another major in college (if it’s offered at the college). I will be attending Smith College next year, and right now I am thinking of a Government/East Asian Languages and Cultures double major, with focuses on International Relations and Japanese, respectively. However, I have studied Japanese for roughly 6 years, 2 of which being self study when I was young and the other 4 being a high school language class (currently in 4th year). My class isn’t the most rigorous – most students hover around the level of the second years – but with my previous experience and continued interest in the language, I’m somewhere in the middle intermediate level. I can communicate well and hold a conversation easily, even with a fairly limited vocabulary, as well as communicate through text, though my reading level is low due to knowing a relatively small amount of kanji (200 to 300 that I can recognize). I’m also considering taking the AP Japanese test, though I don’t know if my college will take it over a placement test yet.

Because of my previous experience and relative proficiency in the language, would it be worth it to study in college as a major? Smith also offers East Asian Studies, which looks like it could be a better option… several approved courses count for both Government and East Asian Studies, but in East Asian studies I would have less focus on the language, and more focus on a wider view of cultures, and I’m not sure which one would be the better choice (or if the language itself would be a good choice at all). It’s still early to have this all sorted out, but I’d still appreciate any advice on the matter!

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You will be surprised at how much you still need to learn to be able to speak Japanese :slight_smile: self study and 4 years of high school is not much. You might be able to place in a higher level course, but do not rush yourself. I would go for double major.

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Based on what you describe you’ll e able to skip two semesters of college Japanese. Yes it’s worth it to try and major in it - but you don’t have to decide right now, you can simply take a Japanese class in the fall and go from there. :slight_smile:

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@jupiter98 Oh I know! I’m not anywhere near fluent, but my proficiency is much higher than many who have been studying in a formal class setting for as long as I have, and I’m just worried that the college learning might not be as advanced as I’d like it to be… I am curious to see how I’ll do on the AP test, though!

Which would you suggest doing, the language major or the East Asian Studies major (including language study)?

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Take classes in Japanese and 1 East Asian Studies class freshman year and you’ll take it from there.
Don’t worry about College Japanese being too easy. Think that what you learned in High School Japanese 1&2 (roughly 80 weeks, 5 periods a week) is covered in one semester (4 periods a week for 15 weeks). That’s how intense college language is. If you place into College Japanese 201 or 202 there’ll be a lot of challenge, you have to be ready for it.

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@MYOS1634 is right. My DD was in a similar position as you are in terms of proficiency (another difficult language), and it was not a walk in the park for her during the first year. The course is very fast paced, lots of contact time, very demanding even for heritage speakers. Either do double major or East Asian Studies, both with a year abroad. IMHO :slight_smile:

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