<p>I just started taking Russian this semester, and I definitely want to stay in it from now through my senior year. Last year I took an intensive German class for one semester, but I still really like the language and don't want to lose what I learned. Would it be too confusing if I took Intermediate German I and Elementary Russian II next semester? They both meet 3 days/week. If anyone has tried this before, please let me know if it's a good idea or not. Thanks! :)</p>
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<p>I think that’d be a LOT of work. If you’re really good at languages maybe it’d be okay, but I can barely handle one with a full schedule much less two. You could always look to see if there’s a German club or something to see if there are easier ways to keep your german. It’s up to you!</p>
<p>I’m a German major and just added French, and my only difficulty has been keeping the genders straight. If anything, French is easier for me to learn because I know how to study. However, I’m highly proficient in German (have passed their equivalent of the TOEFL) and an absolute beginner in French. I’m not sure how it would play out if you’re at more or less the same stage in both languages.</p>
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<p>I would not take another language class with Russian freshman year. You have yet to hit the good (aka hard) stuff, especially since it’s only been like a month of school so far. Unless you want no sleep or your majors are languages/all your classes are about those languages or you are fluent in the other language.</p>
<p>I’m taking 5 classes in 4 different languages this semester. Upper-level Spanish linguistics, upper-level English grammar, intro to linguistics (in English), French I, Tagalog (Filipino) I…</p>
<p>The Spanish and French go together well, except I tend to pronounce my French like Spanish if I’m not paying attention (the cognates help though). The Tagalog is different enough from everything else (though there is some Spanish influence with the vocab) that I don’t get any interference from the other languages. </p>
<p>I think because German and Russian are different kinds of languages, you shouldn’t have a problem studying both simultaneously. It’ll just take some effort.</p>
<p>I did that with Norwegian, but I’d been studying German for a while. I had a little trouble doing it because German and Norwegian are very similar, and I would always mix up my pronouns, conjunction words, and so on. My Norwegian professor spoke German though, so she always knew what I was saying, but it made my German professor wonder what was wrong with me. =P It was also helpful though, because there was a lot of overlap between the two languages, and I knew how to study a language because of how long I’ve studied German.</p>
<p>Now, I think if you’re comfortable with your German, you’ll be okay. You’re stating with just Russian and not taking both at the same time, so again, you’ll be okay. Keep up with your German this semester though. They’re also very different languages, so I think that will be easier to keep them separate (but then you don’t get the previous knowledge, and the sounds of the languages are very different, so you won’t get to “cheat” off your German knowledge). It’ll be a lot of work, but if you want to do it, you can do it. :B I think once you start to get towards the end of your first semester of Russian you’ll have a better idea of whether or not you can handle both at once.</p>
<p>As long as the two languages are fairly different, you can pick up two languages at once with very little confusion and it’s very possible to learn both languages at once. German and Russian are quite different so you’d be fine there if you’re willing to do the work.</p>
<p>It depends on what your major is, what your other classes are and what classes are required. Why are you taking Russian? Will you be able to learn both at the same time?</p>
<p>Seriously, I would not learn two languages at the same time (I am taking Russian right now). You might not be able to reach the level of proficiency expected of you if you have to divide up your time, especially if you have other demanding classes. </p>
<p>If you are awesome at picking things up and great with vocabulary then I guess go for it but remember you’re going to have to learn thousands of words for both languages, practice in both languages, do homework in both languages and it adds up fast. Right now I am taking Russian + 4 other classes and its taking a toil. I cannot imagine taking another language if I did not have a good reason. </p>
<p>If you get overwhelmed your GPA is going to suffer BIG time. I think language classes are the worst ones to experiment with since at my school they affect GPAs way more than any other class.</p>
<p>It is doable. But the extra time I spend reading Russian that is not school related, listening to Russian music and watching movies would be spent on another language and I’d loose that extra practice that I need outside of class.</p>