Needing to take a language class, prejudicae against Native languages??

[ipodtouch]

I'm a korean-american and have wanted to take Korean 101 for a while (I was born in america and don't know much)

I was wondering, is this a good idea? I know it would be a terrible idea for college applications because of the prejudice against people taking their native languages (ex. japanese people taking japanese 101) regardless of whether they knew the language or not.
I was wondering, is this a problem for medschool applications??

I'm debating whether to take French 101 or Korean 101, but really have no real world need for the french...

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[LiveUninhibited]

I'm a korean-american and have wanted to take Korean 101 for a while (I was born in america and don't know much)

I was wondering, is this a good idea? I know it would be a terrible idea for college applications because of the prejudice against people taking their native languages (ex. japanese people taking japanese 101) regardless of whether they knew the language or not.
I was wondering, is this a problem for medschool applications??

I'm debating whether to take French 101 or Korean 101, but really have no real world need for the french...

It's more a question of opportunity cost. Learning a second language requires a lot of time and generally people who don't keep up on it lose their skills in it over time. If any of your family speaks Korean, that may be less of a problem for you. Personally I've taken both French (3 years in high school) and Spanish (1 year in college), but I'm not fluent because I didn't stick with it and was never immersed in those cultures. I don't have social ties to people who predominantly speak either language, and was never competent enough in Spanish to serve as a translator. In retrospect it wasn't a total loss. Learning other languages gives you perspective on the peculiarities of your own language and exposes you to glimpses of other cultures. This can help you to relate to a wider range of people, which would be important for most doctors.

Learning a second language is generally seen as a very positive thing... But in most areas of America, Spanish would be more useful. If you were to practice in Quebec, Canada, however, French would be better. On the other hand, lots of people learn Spanish and few learn Korean. So it would make you stand out, but ideally you'd stand out with a patient-oriented purpose. I'm not aware of an area with a lot of patients who speak Korean and not English in America. Maybe I'm just unaware of them.

While I kind of doubt that there's a significant bias against taking the language of your ethnicity, you may want to clarify somewhere on your ap later that you are not a native speaker of it so that they can appreciate the effort that went into it.

 

[dr zaius]

I'm not aware of an area with a lot of patients who speak Korean and not English in America. Maybe I'm just unaware of them.

Outside of Montgomery, Alabama, there is a hyundai plant, and a large portion of the families of the Korean business men speak little English. My friend's mom is a Korean primary care doctor, and she travels from Birmingham once a week to work at a Korean speaking clinic.

I guess it just depends on what you plan to do. Ultimately in the US, Spanish would be the most beneficial when it comes to medicine in my opinion.

 

[tiedyeddog]

ADCOMS won't care. I'm sure tons of latino premeds take spanish and no one bats an eye. Just do what you think will be the most enjoyable and be able to explain it logically (Like saying my family speak it but I didn't and I wanted to gain a cultural connection to my roots. Any ADCOM member would be down with that, no worries.)

 

[vickpick]

hmmm.. y learn korean if u already know some of it...

french is derived from latin - so don't say it doesnt have real world use... it'll help u know terminology - korean won't..

just my penny in the pond

 

[Myuu]

Learning a second language is generally seen as a very positive thing... But in most areas of America, Spanish would be more useful. If you were to practice in Quebec, Canada, however, French would be better. On the other hand, lots of people learn Spanish and few learn Korean. So it would make you stand out, but ideally you'd stand out with a patient-oriented purpose. I'm not aware of an area with a lot of patients who speak Korean and not English in America. Maybe I'm just unaware of them.

Annandale, VA (and the surrounding VA, DC, and Maryland environs), Bergen, NJ, and pockets of major metropolitan areas including but not limited to Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco.

 

[VneZonyDostupa]

hmmm.. y learn korean if u already know some of it...

french is derived from latin - so don't say it doesnt have real world use... it'll help u know terminology - korean won't..

just my penny in the pond

You make my English degree weep, even moreso that this is a thread on language.

 

[Myuu]

ADCOMS won't care. I'm sure tons of latino premeds take spanish and no one bats an eye. Just do what you think will be the most enjoyable and be able to explain it logically (Like saying my family speak it but I didn't and I wanted to gain a cultural connection to my roots. Any ADCOM member would be down with that, no worries.)

To add to that, I usually get asked if I speak Korean--I don't. If you happen to speak other languages they may assume Korean is one of them. Or at least that keeps happening to me...

...besides, I'm sure it'd be a very useful language for you (the OP) (and me, probably) to learn.

 

[Stixman28]

I know it would be a terrible idea for college applications because of the prejudice against people taking their native languages (ex. japanese people taking japanese 101) regardless of whether they knew the language or not.

Can anyone substantiate such a claim? My adopted chinese sister shouldn't take chinese b/c she wants to learn more about chinese culture?

When I was in college, tons of south koreans girls who were adopted to america at young ages took korean. If you dont know the language, take it if you're interested.

My persian neighbor (born in America) is a persian studies GS, I dont think anyone (espeically adcoms) will think anything less of his PhD b/c of his Iranian heritage.

 

[Myuu]

Can anyone substantiate such a claim? My adopted chinese sister shouldn't take chinese b/c she wants to learn more about chinese culture?

When I was in college, tons of south koreans girls who were adopted to america at young ages took korean. If you dont know the language, take it if you're interested.

My persian neighbor (born in America) is a persian studies GS, I dont think anyone (espeically adcoms) will think anything less of his PhD b/c of his Iranian heritage.

Well, the only thing that gets discriminated against in language classes (as far as I know) is native-speakers of these languages taking the courses for the easy A. Yes, it's a GPA boost, but it often ends up being an impediment to people actually trying to learn.

If you don't know a language and you want to, by all means, get someone to teach you!

 

[Stixman28]

regardless of whether they knew the language or not.

Fair enough, taking classes below your level for the grade is bs, and really, it is an act of dishonesty in my mind.

But the OP's question asserts something much more drastic, that being of a given heritage means you are generally discriminated upon by adcoms if you take classes or even earn a degree in that subject. That just doesnt seem correct to me.

Am I understanding you right OP?

 

[NotAndrew]

Annandale, VA (and the surrounding VA, DC, and Maryland environs), Bergen, NJ, and pockets of major metropolitan areas including but not limited to Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco.

If you take 29 east out of Fairfax there are tons of Korean churches, markets, and even a few radio stations.

 

[Myuu]

If you take 29 east out of Fairfax there are tons of Korean churches, markets, and even a few radio stations.

I get four (five?) Korean TV stations. It's kind of awesome.

(Centreville's another high-density spot.)

 

[NotAndrew]

I get four (five?) Korean TV stations. It's kind of awesome.

(Centreville's another high-density spot.)

Who is your cable provider? I have Fios and I don't think I get any.

 

[bellakk]

I would definately go with Korean and I think any admissions committee would like to see that you're interested in your own culture; it adds to the "diversity" they seek for new med school classes. It might be good to take more than one semester of Korean, 2 semesters would be good, 3 better.

 

[Myuu]

Who is your cable provider? I have Fios and I don't think I get any.

Cox. Comcast had one or two. No idea about fios.

Edit: You can get feeds from stations broadcasting from Korea with satellite, but it's not worth the cost.

 

[NotAndrew]

Cox. Comcast had one or two. No idea about fios.

I don't know if you get the Ion station, but the Drew Carey pilot episode is on at 4:30.

 

[Myuu]

I don't know if you get the Ion station, but the Drew Carey pilot episode is on at 4:30.

Ha! I do, but I won't get home in time to see it.

 

[ipodtouch]

stixman28 has the jist of what I'm asking


I am not a native speaker of korean, But I do know a little bit
But I am not taking this class as a GPA booster but because of its use

The thing many americans don't understand is that the language of your enthicity is much more important/useful than another second language that can be learned
Spanish will be of greater use for latinos
Japanese will be of greater use for japanese
and korean will be of greater use for Koreans
because these are the languages you will most likely be exposed to socially
French/german/russian are most always useless to us



I feel the need to take Korean, but afraid that med schools will say
"this guy is taking this as a GPA booster"
**I need all the edge I can get... I won't take it if it will hurt my application

Would it be best for me to take French or Korean??

 

[Myuu]

stixman28 has the jist of what I'm asking


I am not a native speaker of korean, But I do know a little bit
But I am not taking this class as a GPA booster but because of its use

The thing many americans don't understand is that the language of your enthicity is much more important/useful than another second language that can be learned
Spanish will be of greater use for latinos
Japanese will be of greater use for japanese
and korean will be of greater use for Koreans
because these are the languages you will most likely be exposed to socially
French/german/russian are most always useless to us



I feel the need to take Korean, but afraid that med schools will say
"this guy is taking this as a GPA booster"
**I need all the edge I can get... I won't take it if it will hurt my application

Would it be best for me to take French or Korean??

Take Korean. It's not seen as that because you don't actually speak Korean and will indicate that on AMCAS (yes, you do mark spoken languages).

 

[LiveUninhibited]

Annandale, VA (and the surrounding VA, DC, and Maryland environs), Bergen, NJ, and pockets of major metropolitan areas including but not limited to Los Angeles, New York, Atlanta, and San Francisco.

Then it could give schools in those areas some incentive to admit some Korean-speaking med students to serve those populations in their area. That's good news for ipodtouch.