<p>College senior here trying to figure out what to do. When I transferred to my current school, three waivers are at the university's discretion to put on your requirements for Gen Ed. The one waiver I did not receive was for a Foreign Language class, I've never heard of any other school putting in a foreign language requirement but that's beside the point.</p>
<p>In high school, I really struggled with languages. I did so-so in ninth grade Spanish class and in tenth grade I was doing so poorly right out of the gate, the teacher decided to switch me to a "pass" or "fail" grade based more on effort and work ethic than actual classwork. At my current university, I'm taking an Italian class that extends over the whole academic year (a level one class in the fall then a level two class in the spring). The only reason I say I'm struggling right now is that early test and quizzes have not been very strong. We had our first real test earlier this week and I get the feeling it will not be a very strong grade and the whole class struggled with our first "warm-up" quiz. I'm just really concerned that it's only going to go downward from here but I'm not sure what I can do. I'm going to try talking to my adviser about options but I want someone to help me in the right direction with possible ideas. Withdrawing is out of the question for the time being and since this is (hopefully) my last school year on campus, I have no idea what I should do in the small, eight-month window of time I have.</p>
<p>Talk to your professor. Tell them you are struggling and what do they suggest. How much should you be studying. Can you use an app like DuoLingo to practice? Can you get a tutor? Can you form a study group?
Can you listen to audio CDs of Italian? Is there an “italian” table in the cafeteria where people only speak in Italian? I think you need to work more on it and in different ways.</p>
<p>First, I just wanted to say that having a foreign language requirement as a GE is not uncommon. You may have wanted to skip it, but you knew when you transferred to this school that there was a possibility that you would have to take a foreign language.</p>
<p>That being said, I agree that you should talk to your professor or a TA about it. What are you struggling with? Vocabulary, grammar, speaking, writing, reading, listening? Knowing what aspects of the language you’re struggling with could help in figuring out what you can do to rectify it. Make flashcards to learn the vocabulary, practice speaking with other students or with Italian speakers at your school, get a tutor, see if there are any online resources to help you with listening and pronunciation. </p>
<p>When you say “not very strong,” what do you mean? You’re getting B’s when you want an A, or you’re in danger of failing the class?</p>
<p>Baktrax is totally right: first identify which area you’re struggling in. It’s usually either the listening/speaking or writing/reading area, so once you can pinpoint where exactly it’s not clicking, you can work more closely with your professor to get some extra help. </p>
<p>Learning a language is very hard. It takes hours of studying and it requires you to work on it every day. I do think that most schools require at least a semester of a foreign Language because it does require a different kind of thinking. </p>