<p>I am hoping to be a comp lit major and am hoping to study three languages as a component of my course of study.
I have (essentially) decided upon French, German, and then a non-Latin script language. I have been leaning towards Persian, but I want to hear from those in-the-know on which languages are the most respected, best taught, or most enjoyable at Emory. Please post your opinion!</p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Have you taken German and French before? If not, then it will be incredibly difficult to study three languages at once, especially since you also need to take your gen Ed courses.</p>
<p>I have not, but I am familiar with language learning and language bits are my strong point.
I most likely would not start all three the first year, but I shall see. I have heard about the quality of the French department, but I have not heard anything (good or bad) about the others.</p>
<p>With the scheduling change, you can take 5 classes a semester plus some one credit classes like PE and health (I believe it’s required at the Atlanta campus). You also need to worry about completing your general education requirements. Language classes at Emory meet 4-5 times per week and, assuming Oxford’s work load corresponds with that of the Atlanta campus, 45mins-1hr of work between sessions, plus studying for tests. </p>
<p>Since you’d be starting at the intro level, you likely wouldn’t get to the literature part until at least the second semester of your junior year though this depends on the language. I believe German, owing to its similarities with English, gets to literature a semester or two earlier. I don’t think you realize how difficult studying three languages at once, while taking a number of other gen ed classes will be. Besides, even if you can manage it (I’m not even sure you’ll be able to schedule intro languages into your schedule), language majors usually study abroad, which means you spend a semester perfecting one language at the expense of the others. While learning three languages is a great goal, it’s simply not feasible unless you plan on staying at Emory for 10 semesters.</p>
<p>It is a fairly common course of study for Comp Lit majors (see Brown’s, for instance) and I am not overly worried about the workload. I’ll suffer if it’s a mistake, but I’m hoping for my guidance on the quality of the programs.</p>