<p>I heard that tufts language classes (as well as study abroad programs) are excellent but was wondering how many semesters of language are required for graduation. I read somewhere that it's 3 years total.. is that true?</p>
<p>And how effective are the classes in achieving fluency in a brand new language that a student begins in college?</p>
<p>I know that if my S were a history or polisci major, he’d need six semesters, but for an IR major, it’s eight.</p>
<p>xcelr8t-
How many semesters are required depends on the what the student might have already taken. There are several ways to deal with the language requirement.
First, there’s a basic language requirement, which many students have filled before they get there, or can fill with perhaps one course at Tufts in a language which they have previously studied.
Then there is the option of continued language study or the “culture” option.
You might take a look at <a href=“The Bulletin | AS&E Students”>The Bulletin | AS&E Students;
<p>Does anyone know if you can fulfill your language requirements at another school in the Boston Consortium? I want to take Farsi, but Tufts doesn’t offer it. I was wondering if I could take it for credit at BU or BC?</p>
<p>You could fulfill it with courses via the consortium.</p>
<p>Does anyone have current info on the relative strength of Tufts Arabic language instruction?</p>
<p>Yeah, I’m taking Arabic right now. I think the program’s really good, albeit challenging. Several kids dropped the class first semester, mostly because it requires more work than other language classes due to the unfamiliar sounds and alphabet. I’m pretty sure all (or at least most) of the professors are from Arabic speaking countries, so they know their stuff, and all of the professors I’ve had or met are really nice too! The language program itself teaches you really well, focusing on Middle Eastern culture as well as the language, which I find helpful since I want to study abroad in the Middle East. </p>
<p>I can also provide a relative comparison of Tufts’ Arabic program to other schools. I’ve taken Arabic at another college (also strong in academics), but the rigor of the program was nothing compared to Tufts. Half of the material in the same course at Tufts as at the other school was completely new to me - we covered way more ground than I had before. I hope this helps you - if you have any specific questions, feel free to PM me.</p>
<p>Any word on the classes on Chinese? Are they as rigorous (but helpful) as those of Arabic?</p>
<p>ellopoppit, would it be possible to learn Arabic while continuing with French studies - or is it simply too time consuming? My DD would really like to do both. She likes that Tufts has culture classes too (not just language classes)… Have you studied abroad?</p>
<p>Coincidentally, I’m taking both Arabic and French right now. I definitely think it’s worth it, but you’d have to love learning languages to enjoy it. I haven’t studied abroad yet, but I’m participating in the Tufts in Talloires program this summer, which is a 6 week program in France. I’ll be taking 2 classes and living with a French host family, which I’m extremely excited about.</p>
<p>I’m strongly considering a major in International Relations- if I were to go to Tufts, would I need to take the same language for all eight semesters? I’m taking AP Spanish Language now, so I already know all of the basics and grammar, but I’d love to take some more classes to gain fluency; I’d also like to take Arabic, though. Does anyone know?</p>
<p>Also, thank you so much, ellopoppet, that was really helpful.</p>
<p>I don’t believe so. This is from the IR program’s website:</p>
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<p>ellopoppet, thanks for the info. I relayed it to my DD and she’s going crazy waiting to hear if she gets accepted. Do you recommend going to an Open House? Is it that different from the other visit days? She’s already been to campus but I KNOW she’ll want to go back if she’s accepted.</p>
<p>I want to take the Chinese intensive language courses, learn Arabic and continue with Spanish as a peace and justice studies major. I really hope to achieve fluency in all three languages while completing a second major. How manageable is this?</p>
<p>^^^ Unless one of those majors is Chinese/MiddleEastStudies/Spanish, it’s a fairly ambitious plan.</p>
<p>ohheyolivia,
Just saw this. S2 took five years of Spanish in HS (through AP/IB SL) and placed into fifth semester Spanish after not taking any senior year. He chose to start a new language at Tufts that’s more relevant to what he wants to pursue in his career, though has the Spanish placement in his back pocket should he have found the new language more challenging than he could handle. He will effectively have a minor in his new language by the time he graduates, though it would not take much more for a second major.</p>
<p>Here’s the link to the IR language requirement – <a href=“Homepage | International Relations Program”>Homepage | International Relations Program; and go to page 30. Note that it is eight semesters of language – culture courses do not fulfill the requirement. OTOH, I am told that a polisci major can take a lot of the same IR courses and have a six semester lang requirement and can count culture courses.</p>
<p>I’m in Arabic as well right now and would definitely agree that it is one of the more challenging language programs at Tufts. Comparing my workload to those of my friends, Arabic has significantly more work so you have to be dedicated. I lot of people drop in the first couple of weeks or after 3 semesters but I found that once you get accustomed to the increased workload each semester and you stick with it, you’ll be fine. There’s also a lot of support in place to help you. All of my Arabic professors have been very helpful. I recently declared and chose one of them as my advisor and she’s been beyond open to talking with me about my studies. There are also Arabic tutors who try really hard to get people involved and practicing their Arabic because they’ve been through the same thing and know how tough it is compared to a bunch of other languages at Tufts. </p>
<p>That being said, I know multiple people who have taken other language classes while in Arabic. In my freshman year, one of my classmates was starting both German and Arabic while also continuing with Hebrew, so it’s definitely possible, just probably more dependent on what you’ll be majoring in.</p>
<p>Hi my daughter looked through a course catalogue when she went to visit Tufts and something that really caught her attention was ‘sign language.’ This is something she has always wanted to learn and plans on taking it at Tufts. I think I read somewhere though that sign language does ‘not’ count towards the language requirement. Is that a correct statement?</p>
<p>It’s true that sign language doesn’t count, but I think some of the child development professors are pushing for it to count. Clearly that’s not guaranteed, but that could happen for next year.</p>
<p>thanks ellopoppet. I hope that the child development group is successful in having sign language count toward a language requirement. There are so many uses for it in our society and more people would be motivated to learn it if it counts towards a requirement.</p>