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would it be too hard to study two languages at degree level?

as in BA French and Spanish ?

I have only good GCSE standard French and almost no knowledge of Spanish (this why I would be doing the foundation year, which Iv been assured I can get onto)

but do you think the very concept of it sounds very hard, doing two languages at once that is, for a person who despite being very enthusiastic about languages, does not have a firm background in them?

thanks. :smile:

Reply 1

undercover agent

OP

12

bump'd

Reply 2

kjc_us

14

No, not at all. Loads and loads and loads of people do 2 languages at degree level, often with no previous knowledge at all of one of them.

If you're prepared to put the work in, I don't see how it should be a problem.

Reply 3

dans

12

Goodness gracious no! If you're going to do a languages then it is somewhat expected that you would do two languages. Those who only do one language on its own, such as BA French Studies or something are not regarded as highly as those who do two. It's sort of the norm if you will. Plus, at Nottingham, it is possible to study three languages, as it is at many other unis, and my friend is even studying four at the Uni of Essex. So yes, it's perfectly normal.

As for being someone who has not got a firm background in them, you mention that you are going to do a foundation year. Having completed this, you would have more of a grounding than many A level students as you would have studied it to the same level, if not slightly higher, plus have the experience of the university system and what it's like to study there.

You'll be fine!

Reply 4

spartakist

14

I do 3 languages at degree level (2 from scratch) and it's not really a problem, you'll just have to accept you have to do a bit more work than most degrees

Reply 5

city_chic

13

Of course not. Most people study two languages. I'm going to do French and ab initio Spanish.

Reply 6

Anatheme

18

Same for me. Russian and ab initio Arabic.
And actually, I think that only one language is not enough.

Reply 7

Dr. Blazed

16

dans

Those who only do one language on its own, such as BA French Studies or something are not regarded as highly as those who do two.

I'm sorry, but that's absolute nonsense. It's important to remember that at uni, you aren't just studying the language itself, but the literature, history, politics and culture of those countries in which it is spoken. Focusing on one language is just as valuable as doing two.

To the OP: don't worry. If you're accepted onto a degree programme, the admissions tutor clearly thinks you're capable of succeeding, and you can always use the first year (when no one does any work whatsoever) to catch a leap on your peers by studying hard.

Reply 8

dans

12

Dr. Blazed

I'm sorry, but that's absolute nonsense. It's important to remember that at uni, you aren't just studying the language itself, but the literature, history, politics and culture of those countries in which it is spoken. Focusing on one language is just as valuable as doing two.

To the OP: don't worry. If you're accepted onto a degree programme, the admissions tutor clearly thinks you're capable of succeeding, and you can always use the first year (when no one does any work whatsoever) to catch a leap on your peers by studying hard.

This is your opinion, not mine. I personally would not consider only studying one language at university if taking a modern languages degree, but that's only my opinion.

Reply 9

Dr. Blazed

16

dans

This is your opinion, not mine. I personally would not consider only studying one language at university if taking a modern languages degree, but that's only my opinion.

I'm sorry to have to be so blunt about this, but it's important for the sake of the OP that what you presented as fact simply isn't that:

Fact: Doing one language will get you a deeper understanding of one subject area (i.e. what I said).

Insubstantiated fact (Opinion): Those who only do one language on its own, such as BA French Studies or something are not regarded as highly as those who do two (i.e. what you said).

Reply 10

dans

12

Yes, as that is what I find them to be and also many other people who I speak to; which also needed to be said.

Reply 11

54201

One of my friends is studying four languages at KCL, so I'm sure two is definitely mangeable. I am sure it will be demanding like most degrees, but I wouldn't have thought it would be an insurmountable task.

Reply 12

laughingwithpicasso

9

I'm sure you would manage wonderfully if you have the dedication and passion.

Reply 13

jonnythemoose

15

Doing two languages certainly makes you more employable. Unless one of the languages is like, Swahili or something. But it depends what you want from a languages degree. I personally don't want culture/politics/literature/history to be part of my degree so much. I know many linguists would chastise me for saying that, but I'm more interested in the linguistics! I can learn about the culture/history/read literature in several years when my competence in the languages is much higher.

So I'm doing two languages and linguistics. :biggrin:

The more languages you do, the fewer modules on history/literature/etc you have to do :smile:

Reply 14

Zoedotdot

18

jonnythemoose

Doing two languages certainly makes you more employable. Unless one of the languages is like, Swahili or something.

Surely doing a less popular language makes you more employable if you apply for the right jobs? I mean, there'll be loads of people who've stuck to languages like French, Spanish, Italian, but Swahili is interesting. And moderately important, according to Wikipedia:

Wikipedia

Swahili (called Kiswahili in the language itself) is the first language of the Swahili people (Waswahili), who inhabit several large stretches of the Indian Ocean coastline from southern Somalia to northern Mozambique, including the Comoros Islands. Although only 5-10 million people speak it as their native language, Swahili is a lingua franca of much of East Africa and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, is a national or official language of four nations, and is the only African language among the official working languages of the African Union

Reply 15

jonnythemoose

15

Zoedotdot

Surely doing a less popular language makes you more employable if you apply for the right jobs? I mean, there'll be loads of people who've stuck to languages like French, Spanish, Italian, but Swahili is interesting. And moderately important, according to Wikipedia:

Well of course if you apply for a job in somewhere like Kenya, having Swahili makes you more employable than say, having Spanish. But as far as employability is general, the European languages, as well as Mandarin and Arabic, are certainly more useful. Most countries in Africa still aren't developed much, so businesses don't correspond with them, therefore don't need a Swahili-speaking employee. Plus, English is an official language of many African countries, anyway, so it's almost a moot point.

I'm not saying that learning more obscure languages is a bad thing - aesthetically I imagine it to be quite pleasing. But a graduate of German and Spanish would generally have better employment prospects than a graduate of say Tamil and Finnish.

And just to finish, although French and the other common European languages are the most popular for language graduates, language graduates with English as their first language are still so few in number, that a degree in such languages are still invaluable, with high employment-prospects. :smile:

Reply 16

dismal_laundry

15

Mark Renton- if you are proposing to do French and Spanish, there are advantages to doing two languages from the same family. Although there is room for confusion between the two, doing two Romance languages will be easier than doing more remotely related languages, like Anatheme (Wo Anatheme, Russian and Arabic, I'm full of admiration!). Usually a Modern Languages BA is a two language combination, so it's perfectly normal. You have some experience of French too, so that's good. If you're sure that's what you want to do, you'll be fine. It's what you bring to the degree that matters most- your motivation and hard work and enjoyment.

would it be too hard to study two languages at degree level?

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