Arts degree...two languages? (1 Viewer)

[Kazuya]

Does anyone do, or knows anything about doing, two languages at uni for an Arts degree (either by itself or combined)? Is it way too hard? I plan on continuing French next year at uni but I was thinking about also taking up beginners Japanese if i can manage. At the UNSW open day I spoke to a few advisors and was given the impression that doing two languages, even if one is beginners, would involve tons of work. Is that the case?

I dropped German in year 11 and stayed with French but I was pretty good in both, and French is still my best subject this year. I have a friend who is first in both Indo and German in my year, so he seems to be coping. I guess it's much more demanding in university, though huh?

Anyone have any info?

 

[babydoll_]

I do beginners Japanese at UNSW, and it's probably going to be one of my majors. I'm doing Science/Arts, and I would've done French or Korean as well, but my timetable didn't allow it because Science needs more beginners subjects. Next year I'll probably pick up another language; I'm still tossing up between French, Korean or Latin, among others.

With languages at uni, like most subjects, its all about how much work you put into it. I have a natural affinity for languages (I got Distinction last semester for Japanese) and I have a personal interest in Japanese culture so I get along fine.

At uni, they just guide you, and you're expected to learn more by yourself. The timetable is 1 one hour lecture, where the lecturer just talks about what you're expected to learn in the upcoming unit; and 2 two hour tutorials where you get to practise the reading, writing, speaking and listening. You're expected to put in more hours at home practising.

According to most people I've spoken to, uni Japanese goes a LOT faster than the HSC course, but it's not too bad IMO.

Any other questions..

 

[Kazuya]

Yeah me too i'm more of a language person, i should've continued German as well instead of picking up chem, but oh well. I also am interested in Japanese culture and that's why initially i thought of doing it at uni, but then i thought it would be wasteful to set aside French after 5 years of studying it, so i thought of trying out both.

I was wondering though if you do language at uni how are you assessed? In some universities i've read that there are no exams, rather they mark you on your participation, which is something i wouldn't really expect in a language course (at least not in high school). How exactly does that work? I also heard there's more focus on speaking than reading/writing...

 

[babydoll_]

They assess you a bit on everything. They try and spread it out evenly because they want to make sure you do well in ALL aspects of the language. This is the assessment schedule for this semester's Japanese:

Interaction 2 assessments 20%
Listening 1 assessment 15%
Quiz 2 assessments 10%
Writing 1 assessment 15%
Homework frequently 10%
Class Participation 5%
Session Final 1 assessment 25%