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Studying languages at UK university? | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : General discussion |  | |
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4371 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes  Studies: English*, German | Message 1 of 6 23 August 2014 at 3:34pm | IP Logged | ||
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Hi,
I'm in the UK and currently going into my first of two years studying a-levels and I have chosen science based subjects. My aim is to study a science based subject at university. If I were to change my mind and wanted to pursue something like French at university, could I get in without an a-level? Would it be suffice to show that you have completed the French B2 exam instead of an a-level? I've tried to research this online but I don't think it's a very common dilemma that someone would have. I am not looking at studying French at university, it's more of a hypothetical question that has bugged me for quite a while. Thanks! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| montmorency Diglot Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4624 days ago 2371 posts - 3676 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Danish, Welsh | Message 2 of 6 23 August 2014 at 6:01pm | IP Logged | ||
Given the academic bias of the UK educational system, my guess is they'd want something a bit closer to A level. But the chances are you wouldn't be able to study just French - it would be more likely to be Modern Languages, with say, French and German as your chosen languages. I don't know if it's still the case, or if it's a fashion whose day has passed, but there was a time when universities were offering science plus language options. If those are still available, might that be more useful, and possibly more interesting to you, since you probably have an interest in both? IMHO, a purely languages-based degree might somewhat limit your career options, unless you were really really set on a languages-based career. Languages plus science, or science plus languages could be a really powerful option. (Or possibly engineering plus a language / languages). Another possibility you might think of is studying abroad, e.g. Germany. I think you can now take courses there entirely in English if you really wanted to, although you might be better off getting your German up to a good level before you go, so you could actually study through the medium of German. There are courses you can take there as well to try to make sure your German is up to the right level (and you'd have to sit a test), but I'd think it would be worth it. If you think of Germany's reputation in science and technology, and given that it's the economic power house of Europe, and that it has some great universities to choose from, why not think about it? Do lots of research now before you commit yourself. (And you could almost certainly fit in French courses while there, just as well as you could have at a British University). 5 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| cpnlsn88 Triglot Groupie United Kingdom Joined 4833 days ago 63 posts - 112 votes Speaks: English*, German, French Studies: Spanish, Esperanto, Latin | Message 3 of 6 23 August 2014 at 10:11pm | IP Logged | ||
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My advice is to look around at your preferred courses then look at what language add ons
are included in those Universities. Some allow study of languages ab initio or from a lower level, others will set up some kind of language course on top of the degree. Some will allow for study or work abroad. Languages courses where languages are the main thing are likely to focus on literature, culture, society, history etc which might not totally be to your tastes so looking into what other universities offer might be a good idea. Other people might have more specific ideas! 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| EnglishEagle Senior Member United Kingdom Joined 4371 days ago 140 posts - 157 votes Studies: English*, German | Message 4 of 6 24 August 2014 at 2:57am | IP Logged | ||
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Thank you both for posting. I thought I had replied earlier but I'm not too sure what happened. There are so many
paths that I can take and I am currently doing some more research. 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| garyb Triglot Senior Member ScotlandRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 5003 days ago 1468 posts - 2413 votes Speaks: English*, Italian, French Studies: Spanish | Message 5 of 6 25 August 2014 at 11:39am | IP Logged | ||
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I agree that a language degree on its own isn't the best for job prospects. Also bear in mind that language degrees here in the UK tend to very much focus on literature and culture rather than speaking, and many people graduate from them without a particularly high spoken level; whether this is a good or a bad thing obviously depends on your interests but it's something to be aware of. I've met quite a few French graduates and most speak at a level of around B1 or B2, which is quite achievable in a couple of years of spare time self-study.
Personally I'd stick with the idea of a science-based subject and study languages in your spare time, taking advantage of all the opportunities that student life offers: free time and flexibility, social opportunities to meet people from all over the world, possible language classes as an outside course in the first and second year or free/cheap evening classes offered to students, and last but not least, study-abroad opportunities like Erasmus. My old university even has a "Tandem" organisation that organises regular language meetups and helps people find exchange partners. Given all that, I really wish I had been interested in languages when I was still a student, rather than only developing the interest afterwards, and not doing Erasmus is a slight regret of mine. Montmorency's idea of studying abroad is also worth considering. Edited by garyb on 25 August 2014 at 11:43am 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| beano Diglot Senior Member United KingdomRegistered users can see my Skype Name Joined 4418 days ago 1049 posts - 2152 votes Speaks: English*, German Studies: Russian, Serbian, Hungarian | Message 6 of 6 25 August 2014 at 1:08pm | IP Logged | ||
Yes, I've noticed this. I don't have any formal qualifications in German but I'm in the fortunate position of being in regular contact with native speakers and I spend 3-4 weeks every year in an immersive environment in Germany. We also have German guests a couple of times a year, so our home in the UK becomes a German-speaking zone during these periods. I've supplemented all this with self-study and I attend conversation groups on a regular basis. It used to surprise me that when I met British people who had studied German at university, I often spoke at a far higher level than what they did. Edited by beano on 25 August 2014 at 1:14pm 2 persons have voted this message useful |
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