Foreign Language Question

[bella_dottoressa]

I'm a freshmen at OSU, pre-med of course, and I had a question regarding what language I should take to fulfill that requirement....German b/c I took it in high school and placed at 102 rather than 101? Spanish b/c of it's relevance in the US? Or...Latin b/c it could help me with terminology once medical school rolls around? Thanks for any input!!

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[Curci]

Spanish is definitely the most useful out of those three. The Latin won't really help you learn terminology, and there aren't as many German speaking people in the US as there are Spanish. Therefore, the Spanish might look good to adcoms IF you can attain some fluency with it, as in taking it for four years during college. If you're not prepared to make that commitment and aren't too interested in learning Spanish, then just take whichever language you find most interesting.

 

[Pickle Salt]

ESPANOL.

SPANISH.

SPANISH, I SAY.

 

[Cydney Foote]

Take the one you want to take. You've already got a strong background in German, and could build on that in college. Sure, it won't be as useful if you're practicing in the southwest, but you never know when it might come in handy. Our department had a visiting fellow from Heidelberg for two years, and became great friends with another fellow who'd taken German in college. The important thing is not necessarily how you see yourself using the language, but also what you get out of learning it.

 

[jot]

i think there is a right answer to this question - take spanish - uber (except for that word) usefulo. i took french for 5 years all so i can get annoyed looks while speaking in quebec. spanish could actually help your professional career in the us.

 

[chopsuey]

in defense of french...i've used it pretty often and intend to continue to do so (translating for patients in the ED i work for now...and hope to spend time doing some international work in africa later on).

that being said .....i agree that spanish would be the most useful in the US, but take what you think is fun and interesting. languages can either be torturous classes or really fun depending on how you feel about the language (and the prof and reading material....but that's out of your control).

if you're not planning on pursuing it beyond the reqs, then it really really doesn't matter. it is really not possible to become fluent through just the required classes, in my opinion, unless you continue with German. so i guess it depends what your goals are and what interests you.... because usually when you learn about a language, you learn about the cultures associated with the language, too.

 

[carddr]

Take Spanish!!!! Se Habla Espanol???? you want to be able to answer...Si, senor,senora. And make sure it's Spanish conversational, not all theory and get a GOOD teacher, makes all the difference in the world. And live the language, by that I mean start using it everyday. Seek out the natives and practice on them, the'll laugh at you but that's ok, you're learning the language.

 

[Doctora Foxy]

i think you should take german

 

[carddr]

Muy comico,senorita!!!

 

[Diogenes]

Originally posted by jot
uber (except for that word) usefulo.

yeah, muy util.