Learning Modern Languages at St Andrews University

All I know is that the course content has A LOT of literature.

In which way does it have a lot of literature? I mean...do the students have to learn the literature of all the languages they choose? Or it`s only a lot of English literature?

You read books, watch films, read poems etc in the target language then you write an essay on these texts in English. In my personal opinion I think it's a bit silly and a waste of time because it doesn't further your language skills or develop your knowledge of the culture or history of the language. That's why I prefer places like Heriot-watt or Strathclyde as they actually teach you the language.

So at the universities you mentioned there is more emphasis put on the structural part of the language- such as grammar, morfology etc.?

Pretty much, they give you more opportunity to practise your language skills and talk to natives (I heard it's a lot of speaking). You still get to learn about the culture and history. It's just no literature because they believe it's not needed in language learning.

Thank you very much for the information you gave me!

No problem! Are you wanting to study in Scotland or in the UK in general?

I don`t know yet. I`m trying to understand the way in which the educational system works in UK because I`m afraid I will spend a lot of money on something i could get in my own country. I want to practice my English on a daily basis and this is why I`m considering UK as an alternative. But in Scotland, from what I gather, there are no taxes for the European students, so it could be an advantage. So, I`m in a quandary and try to get as much information as I can in order to eventually make up my mind.

What country if you don't mind me asking?

I am from Romania. What about you?

Scotland haha It's free for us to study in Scotland so that's why I am only interested in scottish uni's

That`s great! And what are you studying?

I want to do French and Spanish in Strathclyde And you?

Well, I have been studying English and French thus far and I want to improve the last one. But I was also considering learning German and maybe Arabic, but I am not so sure this last one will help me in the future. About Spanish, I was thinking of doing a course after I finish university, because it pretty much resembles the Romanian language. Could you recommend me some universities from Scotland, which are good in the `modern languages` field?

St Andrews is the most praised university and if you like literature then this is the uni for you. Glasgow and Edinburgh are pretty good too however Glasgow don't do Arabic. If you're interested in Arabic defintely consider the Persian language too! Many find it easier than Arabic and at times more interesting because there's more History, culture and famous literature in the Persian language.

I bet the Persian course is interesting, but I want to study languages which are still spoken. I have heard that Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt are good too. What do you know about them?

Persian is still spoken
I havn't looked into Aberdeen so I can't say too much. One of my German/French teacher went to Heriot-watt and she said it was a wonderful experience there. When she graduated she got a job in interpreting and translating then she changed secondary school teacher because she always wanted to be a teacher. I think Heriot-watt is good because many who studies there tend to get employed/go on to further study shortly after thet graduate

I see...thank you very much for yout help! I may return with other questions, but right now is really late and I can no longer concentrate ) Good night!