<p>I've taken Spanish for 4 years in high school and like it, but I feel like I would be more into a language if I could pick it myself and start again. Has anyone started a new language once reaching Pomona? How tough is it to do, and what are the best options?</p>
<p>hey, i took 4 years of latin in high school, but i decided to take italian here. some people that taking a new language in college is silly because if you want to learn it, you can just study it by yourself. however, you probably won't learn it as quickly that way. at first it may seem a little daunting since most beginning language classes meet 5 days a week, but in my opinion there;s a lot less work outside of class than non-language classes. 4 days a week i meet w/ the prof., and then one day a week is the language lab where a native speaker comes in and we do (usually) fun stuff. for the most part, teachers use the immersion technique, so even from the beginning they'll speak mostly in the language of the class (unless it's impossible to understand what they're saying). overall, i've definitely learned a lot in italian, and it's actually a really easy class for most people (esp. w/ prior experience in romance languages). i can;t speak for other languages (i;ve def. heard that chinese, japanese, and russian are really hard though), but that shouldn;t discourage you if you really want to learn, since learning a new language is really helpful and probably a lot more practical than a lot of other classes here.</p>
<p>odan, starting a new language is no problem, but if you can, I would try to get the language requirement out of the way with Spanish. If you took the AP and got a 4 or 5, that would satisfy it, but a 650 or higher on the SATII works as well. This ensures that you won't have to deal with it later before you forget Spanish, and prevents you from being forced to keep going with the new language even if you end up not liking it very much. I'd also encourage you to take the placement exam for Spanish during orientation, even if you are sure that you don't want to take Spanish in college - it's just insurance for you later if you randomly decide to change your mind.</p>
<p>Well, I haven't taken the AP or the SATII in Spanish, and I doubt I'd do well in either. What's the benefit of taking the Spanish placement exam?</p>
<p>The placement exam helps to determine what you should take next, if you decide to continue that language. Pomona requires that you take up to the third semester of a language. However, if you've had previous experience, you can place into the second, third, fourth etc. semester of a language (however, placing into the fourth or fifth does not get you out of the requirement - you still have to take one language course if you didn't get a 4 or 5 on the AP or 650 or higher on the SATII). So lets say you place into the third - you'd only have to take that one semester to fulfill the requirement. The results of the placement exams aren't binding, but your advisor might be less inclined to approve something too far below or too far high above the test results. It's a matter of convenience to do it during orientation, when everyone else is, and you will still have the material fresh in your head. It will also give you an idea of what language level you are at for Pomona.</p>
<p>My S had stopped spanish sophomore year after 3 yrs of it so had no language jr and senior year of HS. He took the placement exam and actually tested out of some of the required spanish courses. He was extremely surprised. I would recommend taking it.</p>