Language study as a doctoral student (Lessons in Polyglottery) Language Learning Forum

Language study as a doctoral student
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13 messages over 2 pages: 1 2

montmorency
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Message 9 of 13

26 April 2013 at 2:30pm | IP Logged

Not sure if this point has been made, or if it's too obvious to have been made, but one
could make a point of trying to find as much material as possible in the target
language(s), which pertain to the subject of the doctorate.
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newyorkeric
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Message 10 of 13

26 April 2013 at 2:41pm | IP Logged

Depending on the field, doctoral studies can be really intense, particularly in the first few years. You likely won't have the time or energy to work on new languages. And yes if your professors found out that you were "wasting" time on other stuff they'll hold it against you.
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vermillon
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Message 11 of 13

26 April 2013 at 5:50pm | IP Logged

montmorency wrote:

Not sure if this point has been made, or if it's too obvious to have been made, but one could make a point of trying to find as much material as possible in the target language(s), which pertain to the subject of the doctorate.

There again, it's unfortunately pretty disappointing. I wanted to do that with Chinese, knowing that I was studying natural language processing (so "computer" oriented towards languages), and I was clearly told that articles not written in English would be less likely to be good articles for my research... because they would not be published in top publications. It's unfortunate, but it makes sense.
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Pisces
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Message 12 of 13

26 April 2013 at 5:58pm | IP Logged

vermillon wrote:

tarvos wrote:

Quote:

I would recommend not telling anyone, as they will inevitably
think you are slacking off.

Most people don't think this actually. Think they'd see it as good self-development, especially if you're doing it
in your free time.

I don't know if you have a PhD, but many people (in academia) consider a doctorate as a moment of your life
when "free time" is a thing that doesn't exist... if you have fun, it means you're not working towards your PhD,
i.e. slacking off. (they think)

It varies a lot. Most PhD students I know have just as much time for their families and hobbies as everyone
else I know. In fact some people go to graduate school, it seems, because they can have a more flexible
schedule than in an ordinary job.
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AML
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Message 13 of 13

05 May 2013 at 11:57am | IP Logged

Po-ru wrote:

I have personally e-mailed Prof Arguelles this question, but I think I should also share it with the forum. I was wondering how a doctoral student, who was interested in also pursuing polyglottery the manner Prof Arguelles has, could possibly continue pursuing language study if it is unrelated to one's doctoral work? I will be entering a program soon and unfortunately probably won't need to obtain any new language skills, though I greatly want to. I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this or any tips on how to manage a doctoral workload and also continue in one's study to become a cultured polyglot?

From my experience, most doctoral programs allow you to take an extra course (in any subject) every term. Thus, during the course of your doctoral studies, you could take an introductory course to probably every language your university has to offer. The intro course could give you a base in the language, and then you can continue to study on your own from that point.

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