French or Spanish?

[SCRdoc]

I say go with Spanish, especially if you want to practice in the U.S. Otherwise, if you're thinking of working for an organization like the United Nations, French would probably be the way to go. Anyway, it doesn't really matter 'cos you can always learn a language after college or anytime you want.

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[nu2004]

i took French, wish now that i had taken Spanish. my extended family will never let me live down the fact that i don't speak well.

no question, Spanish is far more valuable for practicing medicine in the US.

 

[Ashers]

Why not both? I'm minoring in both French and Spanish. Do what you enjoy !!!

I agree with taking both. I did, Spanish the useful one and German the not-so-useful one.

If you've already taken a lot of French, you'll probably place higher in the French program, especially if you can take an AP or some placement test at the school. I took the Spanish language AP test without taking the class, that's how I had 3 classes left in a minor. I had 7 classes left necessary for a major, but by then I was sick of studying Spanish, and the Spanish Dept at my college ticked me off, so I finished the minor and ran.

You can generally add on a minor fairly easily. My German minor was about 1 class/semester. It made it so I wasn't stuck in all science classes, so I had a break from them even though I liked them.

I also agree with studying what you like. If you don't like it, you'll be miserable. I hated every moment I had to do Spanish, though, so it was a rough 3 classes, and I just didn't do much homework, so I got Bs in all my Spanish classes. My dad basically made me minor in Spanish, and he made me graduate with Honors since I went to a state school (after turning down some good private schools). I was just happy that the AP had gotten me out of the language requirements.

 

[jaanleva]

neither - do gujarati instead - you'll learn a lot more and can use it whenever and wherever you go in india

 

[GreenShirt]

I am actually fluent in spanish, would like to take Latin in college. Since it is very useful for understanding medical terms. I actually tried to teach myself Japanese and stopped after three weeks, lol. I am going to take Japanese as well, being able to speak four languages will be awesome.

Ugh! Don't take Latin unless you really have nothing else to do. You'll pick up everything you need to know about medical terminology in medical school. Latin is easy to learn because you don't have to speak it (it's all text translation) but it has little utility beyond the vague "it'll help me learn other romance languages" and "understand some medical terminology". You're better off spending your time learning a spoken language.

OP: Take Spanish! I took French for 8 yrs and regret it. However, just taking Spanish doesn't mean you'll be able to communicate with your patients. First off you will not be 100% fluent after just a few classes and second you will need to be proficient in medical terminology in order to communicate with patients, which is not something you'll necessarily learn in a regular class. But in the end it will giv eyou base to work from.

 

[WSUCougar2012]

Do you think minoring in a language would make you fluent? or can you only become fluent if you major in it? or is it based on the person?

 

[LizzyM]

Do you think minoring in a language would make you fluent? or can you only become fluent if you major in it? or is it based on the person?

A minor usually means 18 credits or one course per semester for 3 years. A major is usually 30 credits or 10 courses over 8 semesters.

I doubt that many people learn a language fluently by starting at age 17 or 18and learning only through college classes. At some point, I think that gaining fluency requires living in a place where you speak the language exclusively, with native speakers in everyday interaction. It also seems to require reinforcement through regular use (use it or lose it).

As I've said before, majors seem take a lot of literature courses which do build reading comprehension and vocabulary and perhaps some verbal skills (listening to the teacher and speaking in class) but I'm not sure that they aren't going to be much help when a young mother needs to be educated and reassured regarding her child's colic.

 

[WSUCougar2012]

That's a good point, LizzyM.

Major courses involve literary analysis and writing papers and reading books and poems.

Minor courses is pretty much mostly grammar, right? or do I need to take a couple courses in literary analysis?

 

[Perrotfish]

Do you think minoring in a language would make you fluent? or can you only become fluent if you major in it? or is it based on the person?

Fluency requires immersion, not coursework. If you want to be fluent, start planning your semester abroad. Again, consider the cost of immersion when choosing a language. Mexico is cheap, France is expensive.

 

[scarletgirl777]

That's a good point, LizzyM.

Major courses involve literary analysis and writing papers and reading books and poems.

Minor courses is pretty much mostly grammar, right? or do I need to take a couple courses in literary analysis?

I think you are stressing this decision too much.

LizzyM is right, you'll never become fluent unless you study abroad or spend a summer abroad, and that's irrespective of whether or not you major or minor. What matters is immersion.

Spanish is infinitely more useful than French for people aspiring to be doctors in the USA. Even those Caribbeans who speak French will often not really speak French but some creole or pidgin version of it. It's just different enough that people will look at your credentials in France French and may assume it will not translate into understanding Creole (never spent enough time around Haitians to figure out if it's true, but their grammar structure on a cursory glance is very different). Also, in these societies, many of the people who speak the "pure" language will be better off and more likely to be bilingual anyway.

Just take whatever you want. It's unclear that taking a couple Spanish classes without spending time abroad is going to make you fluent. Again, it's not the number of classes, it's about immersing. That said, it does seem like you get extra points for fluency in any language because you get to check the box on the AMCAS

 

[CrouchingTiger]

Cougar,
The point is, do what YOU'RE interested in. If you want to major in a language, do it. If you want to do a minor, do it. BUT don't expect to get fluent from it, even if your just taking grammar classes. And don't expect anyone to be uber impressed with it. If you're doing it to impress people and you don't care to learn the language, you will miserable. I've said before that I took five years of Spanish classes and it impressed NOBODY. Thank goodness I liked it for myself. Furthermore, I learned little from sitting in class (literature or grammar focused) because it's different from the way people normally use the language; knowing the exact structure or grammar doesn't do much either. Most native speakers of any language, English included, don't know exact grammar that you're taught in class... they just know what sounds right and what doesn't, naturally. I learned more interacting with people who spoke the language.

Think about it. The English classes you took in high school or college....the ones that made you read Shakespeare or analyze the metaphors in "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings"..... how similar is it to the way people normally speak???? Not much. You can't be quoting Don Quixote or Voltaire or Mein Kampf to your patients. They will look at you like you're crazy! It makes you well rounded intellectually, but not fluent.

 

[BluePhoenix]

I would take French simply because it sounds like that's the one you're most interested in. Honestly, if you know French, Spanish is very similar only a million times more phonetic. Spanish is totally a language that you can teach yourself, there's nothing really difficult about pronunciation or structure, I find that French is much more complicated in that sense. I took maybe 7 years of Spanish and then took French classes in grad school for fun and I really enjoyed French a lot more...and I hafta say French came in handy far more often in Europe.

The previous posters are right, you need to be immersed to really learn a language and become fluent in it. However, you could probably learn basic spanish to the extent that you could figure out what hurt and as simple questions of a patient pretty easily.

 

[Ashers]

That's a good point, LizzyM.

Major courses involve literary analysis and writing papers and reading books and poems.

Minor courses is pretty much mostly grammar, right? or do I need to take a couple courses in literary analysis?

Since you asked, look at the course catalogs for the majors/minors. I had more options for which classes I could take or not take as a minor in languages, since as a major, I would've had to take them all. You can also talk to advisors at your school in the language departments.

 

[LizzyM]

That's a good point, LizzyM.

Major courses involve literary analysis and writing papers and reading books and poems.

Minor courses is pretty much mostly grammar, right? or do I need to take a couple courses in literary analysis?

Which courses you take as a minor depends on where you start. If you have already had 3-4 years of a language in college, you may start a minor with the 300 level courses. If you've had no exposure to the language you may begin with "101" and work your way up from there. I'd find it highly irregular for someone with no experience in a language to choose to major in that language in college.

 

[Perrotfish]

I'd find it highly irregular for someone with no experience in a language to choose to major in that language in college.

Why? Everyone I knew who majored or minored in a language (mostly the Asian Languages, engineering school) had no previous exposure to that language.

 

[WSUCougar2012]

A lot of students at my school are majoring/minoring in Japanese and Chinese and they took Spanish or French in high school. It's not uncommon, I'd say it's just daring.

 

[LizzyM]

A lot of students at my school are majoring/minoring in Japanese and Chinese and they took Spanish or French in high school. It's not uncommon, I'd say it's just daring.

Interesting... are these heritage languages for these students?

 

[Perrotfish]

Interesting... are these heritage languages for these students?

Not with the people I´ve met from the language programs at my school, and not with anyone else I know majoring or minoring in a language.

 

[WSUCougar2012]

No, not heritage languages.

I guess they've been interested in Asian culture for a long time.

 

[SaveThisLabRat]

They're just upping their geekiness by +10.