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If you went to college what did you major | ||
 Language Learning Forum : Languages & Work |  | |
| sebngwa3 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5951 days ago 200 posts - 217 votes  Speaks: Korean*, English | Message 1 of 169 27 September 2009 at 4:57pm | IP Logged |
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I was thinking majoring in a language isn't a good idea because it's not very useful in the real world and you can learn it much faster on your own than at the pace of their teaching. True?
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| modestblues Newbie Bahamas Joined 5344 days ago 33 posts - 54 votes Speaks: English* Studies: French | Message 2 of 169 27 September 2009 at 5:27pm | IP Logged |
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Majoring in English.
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| Levi Pentaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5354 days ago 2268 posts - 3328 votes Speaks: English*, French, Esperanto, German, Spanish Studies: Russian, Dutch, Portuguese, Mandarin, Japanese, Italian | Message 3 of 169 27 September 2009 at 5:31pm | IP Logged |
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I found language courses good for introducing me to languages, but of course you have
to take them outside the classroom to get enough exposure and practice to get any good at them. If you ask me, there are two main advantages to taking a language course (combined with independent study in your free time of course). The first is that you are forced to actually produce the language. Too often in self-study this gets overlooked and the focus is on input. The second is that you have regular access to a native speaker who can correct your mistakes. I don't think the pace of the teaching should be a major issue; if you find yourself picking up the language more quickly than the class is going, then just skip to some more advanced level courses for the next semester. The main drawback with a language course, I find, is that it can turn the language into a task that you have to do rather than an enjoyable activity that you choose to do. All the homework and studying for tests, if it gets overwhelming, can stress you out and make the language less fun, and that will only get in the way of acquiring the language. This actually caused me to drop out of one of my language courses (2nd year Mandarin), and as a consequence I didn't practice my Mandarin at all for a couple years after that. Only now am I getting back into it and finding the fun in it again. Personally, I majored in linguistics. Sure, it doesn't have a lot of application in the "real world", but it is my primary intellectual passion and I'm a firm believer in studying what you are passionate about. And besides, I don't think I could have made it through four years of college studying any other subject. I went to school with a lot of people who chose majors solely on the basis that they were useful for getting high- paying jobs, majors that they had no passion for and hardly any interest in. They generally did poorly in their classes and many of them failed to graduate. Not that you shouldn't consider how useful your major is in the real world, just that it's critical you choose a subject you find particularly interesting. Edited by Levi on 27 September 2009 at 5:50pm 12 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Choscura Diglot Groupie United States Joined 5335 days ago 61 posts - 82 votes Speaks: English*, Thai | Message 4 of 169 27 September 2009 at 5:52pm | IP Logged |
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Majoring in computer science. Working on my education whenever school doesn't interfere.
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| ericspinelli Diglot Senior Member Japan Joined 5570 days ago 249 posts - 493 votes Speaks: English*, Japanese Studies: Korean, Italian | Message 5 of 169 27 September 2009 at 6:20pm | IP Logged |
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I majored in both Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics. I took zero language courses in university and, at the time, was quite pleased about that. Later I did look into an additional degree in East Asian Studies (Japanese) but opted to come and work in Japan instead.
I think majoring in a language is just as acceptable as majoring in, say, history - whether you have the intention to become a teacher or not. If you truly enjoy the subject and, in the case of languages, enjoy not only learning how to speak it but also learning about it, it's no less of a pursuit than anything else. On the other hand, I do feel that most people should be at least warned of the practical uses of a language degree. It's important to remember that there will always be many (often millions) of native speakers who are not only your better linguistically but spent those same four years learning an additional skill. Even in cases where your skill in multiple languages (the easy example being translation/interpretation) you are still likely best off gaining a practical skill or formal qualifications in another field (e.g., law, medicine, engineering, etc.). 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| ExtraLean Triglot Senior Member France languagelearners.myf Joined 5781 days ago 897 posts - 880 votes Speaks: English*, French, Spanish Studies: German | Message 6 of 169 27 September 2009 at 6:28pm | IP Logged |
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Double degree in International Business and International Relations minoring in Italian...
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| LatinoBoy84 Bilingual Triglot Senior Member United States Joined 5362 days ago 443 posts - 603 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish*, French Studies: Russian, Portuguese, Latvian | Message 7 of 169 27 September 2009 at 6:58pm | IP Logged |
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My Degree is in Psychology, with a minor in Biology. I'm currently working on my MBA with an International focus. I would like to go back for a BA in French with a minor in Russian or German once I'm done with my MBA.
I think a BA in a language, combined with international relations, business, or political science minors; can be extremely useful depends on the drive of the individual. Are you interested in going after a Graduate Degree? Language degrees with a good minor open a lot of Graduate School possibilities. 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| sebngwa3 Diglot Senior Member United States Joined 5951 days ago 200 posts - 217 votes Speaks: Korean*, English | Message 8 of 169 27 September 2009 at 7:31pm | IP Logged |
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Wouldn't it be a waste of money to go to college to get a language degree?
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