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"How to choose my language degree" Official Thread

Dinkydaisy

I've applied for a Russian and English joint, with Leeds as a firm, Edinburgh insurance. I only just realised that Leeds' year abroad is the second, rather than third, year and I've been trying to find out how you find somewhere to live when you get back. Do people generally move in with folks from the year abroad, or takes ads out, or what?

EDIT: What up, West Midlands? :tongue:

Hahahaha, another local! Wow that you got into Edinburgh, I thought they were really pro-Scot/northern border!

Reply 81

Dinkydaisy

9

Leggy Lucy

Hahahaha, another local! Wow that you got into Edinburgh, I thought they were really pro-Scot/northern border!

I was quite surprised too considering everyone else I know who applied got rejected despite being really good applicants. I guess with Russian being not as subscribed and the number of extra qualifications I do involving English helped me get lucky :redface:

Reply 82

Anatheme

OP

18

Could you stay on topic, please? :smile:

Reply 83

Leggy Lucy

5

*slaps wrist* (well done though Dinkydaisy)

Reply 84

Lizabeth :)

Leggy Lucy

Hahahaha, another local! Wow that you got into Edinburgh, I thought they were really pro-Scot/northern border!

and another west midlander....
hhehe

Okay,
You say the kinds of modules for taking a language are important, which i agree with. So would there be a change of brief over view of the modules for the 'main' universites for french excluding those with straight AAA requests :smile:

Please?

Reply 85

Gooner231

8

I think the IMML at Bath needs mentioning- very high regarded and Im already interested it in before A Levels.

http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/courses/undergraduate/international/pdf/imml.pdf

Reply 86

Anatheme

OP

18

Gooner231

I think the IMML at Bath needs mentioning- very high regarded and Im already interested it in before A Levels.

http://www.bath.ac.uk/management/courses/undergraduate/international/pdf/imml.pdf

It's just a combined honours degree, and these kind of degrees have already been mentionned :smile:

Reply 87

Gooner231

8

Anatheme

It's just a combined honours degree, and these kind of degrees have already been mentionned :smile:

True, but if you read through the brochure its a one or very few of a kind degree cos it has three elements rather than the language/management 2 element combination.

Reply 88

lowrax

1

Is there any way to study languages after/ or during my first degree, other than doing a second undergraduate degree?

I'm about to start my second year of an English degree and I'm thinking about adding Spanish as my minor (I have Spanish to A-level- A) however I also want to learn Russian which I studied only up to gcse and I don't think my university offers it as an extra subject or free choice module.
Any way to do this at all? I thought perhaps through open learning with the OU but I'd prefer something with more contact.
Thanks

Reply 89

Anatheme

OP

18

lowrax

Is there any way to study languages after/ or during my first degree, other than doing a second undergraduate degree?

I'm about to start my second year of an English degree and I'm thinking about adding Spanish as my minor (I have Spanish to A-level- A) however I also want to learn Russian which I studied only up to gcse and I don't think my university offers it as an extra subject or free choice module.
Any way to do this at all? I thought perhaps through open learning with the OU but I'd prefer something with more contact.
Thanks

Is there a language center at your university and if so, do they offer Russian? That's one solution, and you could also try to find a school in your area that offers Russian as evening lessons. The OU, afaik, doesn't offer Russian, and if you're already doing a degree, you'd need your uni to allow you to do another degree alongside the one you're doing now.

Reply 90

Deutsch_Beth

16

Hey Anatheme, I wrote a while ago saying I wanted to do German and/or Mandarin, well that's gone to pot now as I can't find a course I like involving Mandarin as well as German. I want to do a joint degree definitely now, only I don't know what language to do. I was thinking maybe Russian as I prefer Slavic (?) languages to ones like French, Italian, Spanish only I don't know where to start researching the language so I'm not sure how to tell a good course from a bad one. Any tips? :smile:

Reply 91

anon193

6

Can anyone offer insight into Mandarin grammar etc, because I think it would be really interesting, but I studied Ancient Greek last year and I really hated it, mainly because of stupid, ridiculous grammar points... However, that was partly because I didn't have the time to put the effort in, but at Uni, it would be my sole academic focus...

Reply 92

Zedd

12

Aloha folks, I'm due to start my chemistry degree in September and I've decided that I want to do a language alongside it but I can't decide which. My choices are out of French, German and Spanish.

I only took German to standard grade/gsce level and well...I never really paid any attention so what I learned and still remember is very basic. I'm thinking about doing introductory Latin alongside the language so I'm thinking French or Spanish would be a better fit but I can't decide which.

Any advice? Is there any resources that let me try to learn a bit of both?

Danke! oh shi-

Reply 93

Anatheme

OP

18

Deutsch_Beth

Hey Anatheme, I wrote a while ago saying I wanted to do German and/or Mandarin, well that's gone to pot now as I can't find a course I like involving Mandarin as well as German. I want to do a joint degree definitely now, only I don't know what language to do. I was thinking maybe Russian as I prefer Slavic (?) languages to ones like French, Italian, Spanish only I don't know where to start researching the language so I'm not sure how to tell a good course from a bad one. Any tips? :smile:

Slavonic languages as opposed to Romance languages :smile:

Madarin to Russian is a pretty great change, what made you change? You didn't like the degree structures, or the Chinese civilisation or else?

First, to have an idea of which universities offer Russian, you can check league tables (in general, Oxbridge, Bristol, Birmingham and UCL are considered as the best for Russian). Manchester, Durham, Exeter, St Andrews, Edinburgh, etc. also offer it, so I'll let you check that. I don't think there are good or bad courses, though, there are those you like and those you don't like. If you think Oxbridge will be too intensive or too literature-based for you, then it's not the best you could choose.

Check the modules you can do, they're generally in the uni handbooks, that you should be able to see on the Internet. When you do a language degree, in general you can do language papers and content papers, so that includes History, Literature, Politics, whatever they want, really. You should see what you're interested in and which degree would offer you what you like, depending on the flexibility, or the year abroad, or something like that.

If you have questions about the degree at Manchester, or about Russian in general, I'd be happy to answer!

apotts

Can anyone offer insight into Mandarin grammar etc, because I think it would be really interesting, but I studied Ancient Greek last year and I really hated it, mainly because of stupid, ridiculous grammar points... However, that was partly because I didn't have the time to put the effort in, but at Uni, it would be my sole academic focus...

As far as I'm aware (I'm not an expert), Mandarin grammar isn't the worst grammar you could find in the world, the difficulty of the language being the memorisation of the ideograms and the pronounciation, from what I understood. However, you will have to do quite a lot of grammar at uni, so even if I don't think it'll be as difficult as Ancient Greek grammar, you'd better like grammar in general, haha. What are your motivations to do Mandarin, by the way, and why do you hate Ancient Greek or didn't have enough time for it?

Zedd

Aloha folks, I'm due to start my chemistry degree in September and I've decided that I want to do a language alongside it but I can't decide which. My choices are out of French, German and Spanish.

I only took German to standard grade/gsce level and well...I never really paid any attention so what I learned and still remember is very basic. I'm thinking about doing introductory Latin alongside the language so I'm thinking French or Spanish would be a better fit but I can't decide which.

Any advice? Is there any resources that let me try to learn a bit of both?

Danke! oh shi-

If you search on Google, you'll find lots of videos on Youtube and thousands of websites offering podcasts and lessons that would let you see which language you prefer :smile:

I don't really have any better advice, you seem to want to do it just for fun rather than for a real purpose, so apart from saying that Spanish may be a bit easier 'cause it's slightly closer to Latin than French (barely any closer, really) and that they spell everything as they pronounce it (French doesn't), both languages shouldn't be a real problem if you're doing Latin, they work the same way and when you learnt one, the other will be easy to start as well, so good luck with that :smile:

Reply 94

anon193

6

Anatheme

As far as I'm aware (I'm not an expert), Mandarin grammar isn't the worst grammar you could find in the world, the difficulty of the language being the memorisation of the ideograms and the pronounciation, from what I understood. However, you will have to do quite a lot of grammar at uni, so even if I don't think it'll be as difficult as Ancient Greek grammar, you'd better like grammar in general, haha. What are your motivations to do Mandarin, by the way, and why do you hate Ancient Greek or didn't have enough time for it?

Oh, I'm normally a bit of a grammar whore, but I never took the time to learn it properly at the beginning, and it was just horrendously(sp?) awkward, with loads of nasty tricks, like aorists :shifty:

... motives for Mandarin are that I am really interested in China and the whole far east, I adore languages and I think it would be fun to study something with another alphabet (one of the reasons I did Greek), and of course because it will probably be the biggest BRIC and I reckon there will be an advantage in speaking it for buisness contracts and dealings. [Disclaimer: It is not mainly because I like Chinese food :erm:

]

Reply 95

KayleeLand

16

Anatheme

*just asking a question*

How about making a set format to help people write reviews? It will ensure that people comment on the same aspects so as making comparisons between courses, languages and unis much easier.

I also add a great website for people to use when preparing for their year abroad: http://www.iagora.com/istudy/index.html You can select any uni in Europe and read past students reviews on a variety of aspects.

Reply 96

Anatheme

OP

18

KayleeLand

How about making a set format to help people write reviews? It will ensure that people comment on the same aspects so as making comparisons between courses, languages and unis much easier.

I also add a great website for people to use when preparing for their year abroad: http://www.iagora.com/istudy/index.html You can select any uni in Europe and read past students reviews on a variety of aspects.

That's a good idea, I'll ask some more people to give their views about their courses soon, a kind of form would make it easier, indeed, and thanks for the website!

Reply 97

etudiant

10

I don't mind filling out a form about what it's like to do a language as a 'minor' as I think it's altogether different from doing the language as part of a complete languages degree.

Reply 98

afua12

15

Deutsch_Beth

Hey Anatheme, I wrote a while ago saying I wanted to do German and/or Mandarin, well that's gone to pot now as I can't find a course I like involving Mandarin as well as German. I want to do a joint degree definitely now, only I don't know what language to do. I was thinking maybe Russian as I prefer Slavic (?) languages to ones like French, Italian, Spanish only I don't know where to start researching the language so I'm not sure how to tell a good course from a bad one. Any tips? :smile:

Hey, I'll be starting German and Chinese in 2010 so maybe I can help a little? :smile:

There aren't many universities that offer this combination as it's quite uncommon. But there is Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield, Nottingham, I think Nottingham Trent and also Edinburgh if you twist the system a little bit.

I applied to all them apart from Nottingham Trent and got all 5 offers.

From what I've heard Leeds concentrate more on the language side of Chinese, as do possibly Sheffield if I remember correctly. Manchester had a great variety of options varying from History, Philosophy and Culture through to Politics, Business and of course language and appeared to have the most variety/choice. Edinburgh were more traditional and had a strong focus on history and literature and pointed out studying ancient philosophical texts (Confucius, Daoism, Buddhism etc.) in the original language as a strong point of the degree (which I actually loved). I'll be going to Nottingham which are a little different as they actually do a "Contemporary Chines Studies" degree and are placed under the business school rather than the Modern Languages department. So their focus is entirely on Modern China from around 1940 or so to the present. There's a strong focus on Business, Politics and international relations between the west and the "new" China.

So even though there are very few options of unis, the courses are all quite different giving a decent choice from the traditional to very modern.

There is a wider choice of unis offering straight Chinese including SOAS, Cambridge, Oxford, Westminster, Wales Lampeter and Newcastle as well as of course the ones mentioned earlier.

Birmingham also offer the option of a Modern Languages degree on which you take 2 languages plus Mandarin ab initio but I think it only counts for a very small part of the degree which I probably wouldn't recommend if you want to learn mandarin seriously. However, it may be an option for you as you may then be able to take German, Russian and Mandarin? That sounds pretty horrific though :s-smilie:

It would be a shame for you to give up the idea of Chinese if you're really interested in it. I was the same situation as you and thought that Chinese would be silly as I'd never fully master the language and I have no real desire to be strongly linked to China for the entire of my future career and so Russian seemed more sensible. (Although looking back now, I wouldn't want to be involved with Russia at all either!) A Chinese degree has so much to offer though and I'd definitely advise you to just go with what you'll enjoy :smile:

I'm certainly glad that I made that decision and now I can't wait to start!

Let me know how it goes :smile:

Reply 99

afua12

15

apotts

Oh, I'm normally a bit of a grammar whore, but I never took the time to learn it properly at the beginning, and it was just horrendously(sp?) awkward, with loads of nasty tricks, like aorists :shifty:

... motives for Mandarin are that I am really interested in China and the whole far east, I adore languages and I think it would be fun to study something with another alphabet (one of the reasons I did Greek), and of course because it will probably be the biggest BRIC and I reckon there will be an advantage in speaking it for buisness contracts and dealings. [Disclaimer: It is not mainly because I like Chinese food :erm:

]

haha, one of the things I'm looking forward to on my year abroad is having Chinese food every day and seeing how it compares to the Chinese we have over here! (I've heard it's sometimes quite a drastic difference!)

"How to choose my language degree" Official Thread

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