Japanese and Spanish - where would be good?

Where would be good to study this subject? I would prefer a slight emphasis on the Japanese side of the course, if anything.
I will have an A-level in Japanese and Spanish. Cardiff have said they could accommodate this, and I know Manchester, Sheffield & UEA could too. I've also heard Sheffield may be good? Birmingham have said they cannot accommodate anything but ab initio :frown:

Which places would be the best for me, generally? I find it very difficult to compare! :biggrin:

(edited 8 years ago)

Reply 1

Dougieowner

16

Original post by a-98

Where would be good to study this subject? I would prefer a slight emphasis on the Japanese side of the course, if anything.
I will have an A-level in Japanese and Spanish. Cardiff have said they could accommodate this, and I know Manchester, Sheffield & UEA could too. I've also heard Sheffield may be good? Birmingham have said they cannot accommodate anything but ab initio :frown:

Which places would be the best for me, generally? I find it very difficult to compare! :biggrin:

What grades do you have in Japanese and Spanish? I'm just wondering because it might be easier to recommend specific places due to different requirements. But from what you've said, I've also heard good things about Sheffield - I applied there in my UCAS cycle this year and got an offer. I didn't accept them in the end because I didn't think it was 100% right for me, but the languages course and department seemed to cater for lots of different needs. I'm pretty sure I've heard good things about Newcastle too, but you'd have to check on their website.

In general, look at universities that have flexibility when choosing modules - I've only ever experienced one university (Durham), and I've just applied for my first year modules. Though I'm choosing to do 3 modules in each language (French and Spanish) because I want my studying to be balanced, if I wanted to, I could have chosen 2 modules in one language and 4 in the other. Courses with that kind of flexibility are a good idea to look into (I guess a lot of universities will allow flexibility, but it's best to check with each one you're considering just in case they're strict about the two languages being balanced).

Reply 2

a-98

OP

3

Original post by Dougieowner

What grades do you have in Japanese and Spanish? I'm just wondering because it might be easier to recommend specific places due to different requirements. But from what you've said, I've also heard good things about Sheffield - I applied there in my UCAS cycle this year and got an offer. I didn't accept them in the end because I didn't think it was 100% right for me, but the languages course and department seemed to cater for lots of different needs. I'm pretty sure I've heard good things about Newcastle too, but you'd have to check on their website.

In general, look at universities that have flexibility when choosing modules - I've only ever experienced one university (Durham), and I've just applied for my first year modules. Though I'm choosing to do 3 modules in each language (French and Spanish) because I want my studying to be balanced, if I wanted to, I could have chosen 2 modules in one language and 4 in the other. Courses with that kind of flexibility are a good idea to look into (I guess a lot of universities will allow flexibility, but it's best to check with each one you're considering just in case they're strict about the two languages being balanced).

I forgot to say, I've got an A in Spanish and Japanese and my AS grades were AAAAB

Reply 3

Dougieowner

16

Original post by a-98

I forgot to say, I've got an A in Spanish and Japanese and my AS grades were AAAAB

Considering your grades you can pretty much apply to anywhere that runs the course! All of the ones mentioned before sound great :biggrin:

You just really need to focus on finding a perfect course by looking into the modules on offer as well as a place where you'd be happy to live.

Reply 4

SosbanFach

14

I don't know if you've also looked at Leeds. Their website is ambiguous about whether, if you chose the joint honours course, you'd be studying ab initio Japanese, but on a page describing the Japanese-only course, it says there are two streams - that would be something to clarify with them. It is certainly high in the Times league tables: 6th in East Asian studies and 8th in Iberian languages, although that shouldn't be a major decision-maker for you. Perhaps more a tie-breaker.

As for what's best for you, that's for you to decide. Do you want a massive city like Manchester, the slightly more moderate size of Leeds, Sheffield or Cardiff, or the comparatively tiny Norwich? Which modules most interest you - they'll be on the course website. When you visit (you should), which ones feel like somewhere you want to study? Do you want literature? History? Politics? Even perhaps linguistics? Look what each one offers, talk to tutors at each place, just try to get an idea of what studying Japanese and Spanish at these institutions actually entails. You've shortlisted well-respected universities (not that, as a shortlist, you've got that much choice! It's pretty specific...) so you're making the most of your five applications. Good luck :smile:

Reply 5

VickyDoodle

14

I'm doing Spanish and Japanese at Newcastle, now in my 4th year :smile:

Although I started at ab-initio Japanese, we do have students who started with post-A level and came in to our second year class. If Latin America is your thing, then Newcastle is for you! :P

Japanese and Spanish - where would be good?

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