Studying Foreign Languages in College

[Anonymous]

Is anyone majoring in a foreign language(s)? If so, what language and what do you intend to do once you graduate?

I am noticing that more businesses (of course some gov't agencies) are requesting a knowledge of additional languages.

[Anonymous]

I minored in French as it gave me a break from my STEM field. I don't use it at all now, but I don't regret it as it gave me a chance to be exposed to other people in college.

[Anonymous]

Double majored in biology and French. Now I work in international environmental policy/development with a regional focus on Central Africa, where I use my French a lot! A few times I almost dropped a major but am now glad I didn't!

[Anonymous]

I see college-level foreign language requirements for some Honors international business programs. I notice because I have a HS senior who eliminates any college or program with a FL requirement (beyond high school language requirements).

[Anonymous]

I double-majored in Philosophy and Spanish and lived abroad for several years. I have used the Spanish in every job I have had since college.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone majoring in a foreign language(s)? If so, what language and what do you intend to do once you graduate?

I am noticing that more businesses (of course some gov't agencies) are requesting a knowledge of additional languages.

A major in a foreign language is interesting, but the real deal from a business perspective is to be fluent in that language, with you can prove with some certifications better than by saying you majored in ABC.

[Anonymous]

I double majored in Spanish and haven't gotten a chance to use it other than for my own travel. My DH is a FSO and I thought I could use it overseas, but since DH doesn't speak Spanish he can't apply for Spanish speaking countries. Fail!

I work in a policy office in the government.

[Anonymous]

I think it would be more useful to major in something else and get fluent in a foreign language. You don't have to major in it.

[Anonymous]

I double majored in French and Spanish. I'm a lawyer now at a big firm and use my languages whenever someone needs help. Not super useful but not unuseful. I like having languages on my resume.

[Anonymous]

PP who did biology/French here. I'm not sure I understand the posts saying don't major in a foreign language just become fluent. At least for me, majoring in French was a path to fluency! In addition to ensuring that I stuck with the language and had lots of conversation courses, I did a semester abroad that really strengthened my speaking and listening comprehension. I actually didn't use my French for 5 years after college, then was tossed into traveling to Francophone Africa and my French came back completely--thanks to having spent so much time on it in college.

Not to mention getting to a level of fluency that lets you operate in a professional setting isn't just about speaking a language. It typically requires the ability to effectively read and write the language as well. For my job I have to be able to corresponded via email with French speaking, reading their reports, and provide feedback to them in French. This is actually a major gap that many of my colleagues who acquired language in different ways (e.g. by living in a certain country or through programs focused on training speakers) have noted to me. They can speak and read basics, but they aren't as strong on either spoken or written grammar. That is an advantage I feel my language major gave me.

Obviously majoring in a language isn't necessary, but how else do most people become fluent in other languages, outside of on the job training (e.g. Peace Corps, Foreign Service)? Sure, some people are incredibly self-motivated at doing things like Rosetta Stone, but without the structure of studying language as part of my college coursework I would not be fluent in anything today.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone majoring in a foreign language(s)? If so, what language and what do you intend to do once you graduate?

I am noticing that more businesses (of course some gov't agencies) are requesting a knowledge of additional languages.

A major in a foreign language is interesting, but the real deal from a business perspective is to be fluent in that language, with you can prove with some certifications better than by saying you majored in ABC.

+1 the degree is irrelevant, the key is fluency (though the degree SHOULD help achieve fluency)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP who did biology/French here. I'm not sure I understand the posts saying don't major in a foreign language just become fluent. At least for me, majoring in French was a path to fluency! In addition to ensuring that I stuck with the language and had lots of conversation courses, I did a semester abroad that really strengthened my speaking and listening comprehension. I actually didn't use my French for 5 years after college, then was tossed into traveling to Francophone Africa and my French came back completely--thanks to having spent so much time on it in college.

Not to mention getting to a level of fluency that lets you operate in a professional setting isn't just about speaking a language. It typically requires the ability to effectively read and write the language as well. For my job I have to be able to corresponded via email with French speaking, reading their reports, and provide feedback to them in French. This is actually a major gap that many of my colleagues who acquired language in different ways (e.g. by living in a certain country or through programs focused on training speakers) have noted to me. They can speak and read basics, but they aren't as strong on either spoken or written grammar. That is an advantage I feel my language major gave me.

Obviously majoring in a language isn't necessary, but how else do most people become fluent in other languages, outside of on the job training (e.g. Peace Corps, Foreign Service)? Sure, some people are incredibly self-motivated at doing things like Rosetta Stone, but without the structure of studying language as part of my college coursework I would not be fluent in anything today.

I think the point is that majoring in a language is not the end all be all. For example--you double majored so you had another usable skill set. Someone else who majored in languages then got a law degree. If you only major in a language, then you may not necessarily have enough skills to successfully use that language professionally. However, you can major in pretty much any field and dedicate time to becoming fluent in another language. You don't have to have a degree in french to speak french fluently. Yes, it might be easier to do it that way--but how many jobs are there for people with french degrees and no other degrees?

[Anonymous]

I majored in Spanish and am also a lawyer.

I didn't want to teach, foreign service didn't really interest me nor did translation work, so I can't say it was a terribly useful major.

My neighbors are native speakers, so at least I get to use it at our Sunday night dinners with them so I keep up my fluency as best I can.

[Anonymous]

I think the point is that majoring in a language is not the end all be all. For example--you double majored so you had another usable skill set. Someone else who majored in languages then got a law degree. If you only major in a language, then you may not necessarily have enough skills to successfully use that language professionally. However, you can major in pretty much any field and dedicate time to becoming fluent in another language. You don't have to have a degree in french to speak french fluently. Yes, it might be easier to do it that way--but how many jobs are there for people with french degrees and no other degrees?

I think the point about being able to write proficiently is a major one, though. I see many people who are native English speakers who can barely string a sentence together if they have a poor education, and there is a huge difference between being fluent in a language and being able to put together a professional document. I think it is far harder to become proficient in writing in a non-native language outside of a school context than to become conversationally proficient.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

I think the point is that majoring in a language is not the end all be all. For example--you double majored so you had another usable skill set. Someone else who majored in languages then got a law degree. If you only major in a language, then you may not necessarily have enough skills to successfully use that language professionally. However, you can major in pretty much any field and dedicate time to becoming fluent in another language. You don't have to have a degree in french to speak french fluently. Yes, it might be easier to do it that way--but how many jobs are there for people with french degrees and no other degrees?

I think the point about being able to write proficiently is a major one, though. I see many people who are native English speakers who can barely string a sentence together if they have a poor education, and there is a huge difference between being fluent in a language and being able to put together a professional document. I think it is far harder to become proficient in writing in a non-native language outside of a school context than to become conversationally proficient.

There is tremendous value in verbal fluency even if you can't write well, but the ability to read and write is a plus.