regarding spoken language section

[zellyen]

---

Members do not see this ad.

on the app, it says:
Dental students interact with patients from many backgrounds. Other than English, indicate any language in which you feel comfortable conversing with native speakers:

I am fluent in mandarin so naturally, I am putting that down. however, I've also studied abroad in Japan for a chunk of my college career but have somewhat forgotten the language. But I can converse comfortably about everyday topic regarding sports, parties, girls and such haha but not more serious topics like politics and science. So should i list Japanese as one of my languages? or should I bring this up somewhere else in the application? if I vie for the latter, where could I do it in the application?

again, sorry for the bombardment of new threads I am bringing up, appreciate it.

 

[amalgamgrillz]

on the app, it says:
Dental students interact with patients from many backgrounds. Other than English, indicate any language in which you feel comfortable conversing with native speakers:

I am fluent in mandarin so naturally, I am putting that down. however, I've also studied abroad in Japan for a chunk of my college career but have somewhat forgotten the language. But I can converse comfortably about everyday topic regarding sports, parties, girls and such haha but not more serious topics like politics and science. So should i list Japanese as one of my languages? or should I bring this up somewhere else in the application? if I vie for the latter, where could I do it in the application?

again, sorry for the bombardment of new threads I am bringing up, appreciate it.

Whatever languages you say you're fluent in, you'd better be able to converse on the spot during an interview. My friend had her interviewer bust out the alternative language on the spot, and she was caught off guard and didn't comprehend what he said (even though she legitimately speaks the language)..and he just moved onto the next question. So even if you are fluent in Mandarin/Japanese, be prepared. Not just conversational, but formal, scientific, informal, slang, etc.

You could always just mention your trip to Japan in your PS if it's that important to you.

 

[zellyen]

damn better not put it down then haha i only know young ppl talk lol

 

[ItalianPrincess]

Whatever languages you say you're fluent in, you'd better be able to converse on the spot during an interview. My friend had her interviewer bust out the alternative language on the spot, and she was caught off guard and didn't comprehend what he said (even though she legitimately speaks the language)..and he just moved onto the next question. So even if you are fluent in Mandarin/Japanese, be prepared. Not just conversational, but formal, scientific, informal, slang, etc.

You could always just mention your trip to Japan in your PS if it's that important to you.

omg i'm so glad you posted this! i'm already submitted but i speak italian and spanish and was wondering if someone would randomly bust into the language during an interview.... do you know how your friend recovered from that, i feel like that would totally ruin the interview 🙁

i hope my spanish doesnt leave me after i spend the next month in italy...

 

[rejuvenatedsoul]

do they expect us to know how to understand a textbook/newspaper written in that language?? or just be able to speak to a patient about everyday life?

 

[KittySquared]

^I think if you can have a nice daily conversation, then you should be okay. i.e. if you can get dropped off in that country right now and survive off your language abilities then you'll be alright.

Sorry, but knowing how to say hello and goodbye does NOT count. Don't try to flaunt what you don't got. I'm sure admin can smell bullcrap if you're a faker. Not directed at anyone in particular. Just sayin'.

 

[ItalianPrincess]

do they expect us to know how to understand a textbook/newspaper written in that language?? or just be able to speak to a patient about everyday life?

i think you should just be able to speak, not textbook stuff i feel like a lot of people who know second languages do because they learned it at home from families speaking it or because they lived abroad for a while, not because they are a language majors

^I think if you can have a nice daily conversation, then you should be okay. i.e. if you can get dropped off in that country right now and survive off your language abilities then you'll be alright.

Sorry, but knowing how to say hello and goodbye does NOT count. Don't try to flaunt what you don't got. I'm sure admin can smell bullcrap if you're a faker. Not directed at anyone in particular. Just sayin'.

👍

 

[zellyen]

for those wondering, AADSAS replied with this:

.this is a personal choice that you will need to make. If you don’t feel comfortable enough on having a conversation with a native person from Japan in depth about a topic then you should think about it before you make your decision. .

 

[redchesus]

Okay, it matters what language too.

Specifically, you probably shouldn't put down you're fluent in Spanish if you're just okay at it, because that will come up down the road. But if you're just "proficient" at Swahili, seriously... what is the chance that someone is going to know the difference?

 

[ItalianPrincess]

Okay, it matters what language too.

Specifically, you probably shouldn't put down you're fluent in Spanish if you're just okay at it, because that will come up down the road. But if you're just "proficient" at Swahili, seriously... what is the chance that someone is going to know the difference?

👍👍 excellent point my friend. also i was told Arabic is a big language that comes up, at least at Buffalo SDM