Comparative Literature & Language Training

[graciela]

Hi!

I hope to apply to comparative literature programs for Fall 2011 admission. Right now my only very strong foreign language is Spanish. I did advance coursework in it, have taken literature classes in it, my parents are Cuban (not that it is by any means any formal qualification, but...), and during college I spent a summer in Spain taking classes as at the University of Salamanca. This is my second year in Madrid working as an English language assistant in a bilingual school. So living here has strengthen my Spanish even more, but I realized this past summer when I was considering applying for Fall 2010 that I didn't have any other languages.

I had a year of French in college followed by a summer in Montreal where I took French classes, but after that I (inexplicably-- WHY? with what regret I look back on this!!) dropped it. So my French is very, very basic and hazy.

I also realized that the literature I really admired was in two languages: Russian and German and that I didn't know either. After many many considerations, and bugging just about anyone that would listen about quandaries, and about how it would be possible for already 'old' twenty-four year old me could possibly learn a non-romance language ( I teach English to children so the idea of someone over 18 learning a language well enough seems an impossibility at times). So after much discussion on how i ever could learn such notoriously difficult languages, and talk of plans to pack off and be an English teacher in Russia just for the chance to read Babel or Dostoevsky... I decided to learn German. I'm taking a course now at the Goethe Institut in Madrid, A.1.1 (On the Common European Framework ) - in other words a lost beginners' introduction to the language.

I've decided to stay in Madrid another year just to make it possible for me to 1) Take German classes during this year and the next (nothing intensive because I'm also working full time) & 2) Go to German during this summer (2010) and the next (2011) & take intensive German classes at some university. If this very, very nicely laid out & perhaps too ambitious plan works out... I hope to reach B2 level by the time I fly back home to start a graduate program or barring that fly further east to continue my life as an itinerant English teacher.

B2 level on the European Common Framework (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Common_European_Framework_of_Reference_for_Languages ) means you are a pretty good user of the language but not yet proficient. According to the Goethe Institut it takes 600 to 800 45-minute teaching units approximately to achieve this level. I don't know what this equates to in college semesters of German.

Does this seem like enough?

More importantly however I am more interested in knowing about you. So a few questions for all the past, current or future comparative literature applicants. How much language training did you have? Were there (or are there) any languages whose literature you really admired in translation that you didn't (or don't) know? If so, what language do you plan on learning in the future? Have any of you felt limited in comparative literature by the languages you know? Have any of you started learning a language later? How did it go? Do you find you can do close reading -- can you pick up the subtleties -- do you have a good feel for the language?

And by chance if there is anyone who is already in a comparative literature program... how much of a chance do you get to improve you language skills in your program?

I think these are all the questions I can muster up for now though I am sure I have many more. Apologies in advance for the length of this post and a thank-you in advance for those who respond. Please share, I'm curious.

Edited March 5, 2010 by graciela

[Aquinaplatostotlestine]

Although I’ve been accepted into a few good Comparative Literature programs this round, my language abilities are nothing extraordinary. Like you, I’m fluent in Spanish. However, I’m not a native speaker and my knowledge of the language comes from living in Mexico for nearly two years and from taking Literature, Culture, and Anthropology courses at a local university there. I have the equivalent of four semesters of college French (3 classes + 1 summer intensive in Amiens, FR.) Finally, I took one accelerated Latin course. It claimed to the equivalent of a year’s worth of studies, but honestly the whole thing was pretty basic. Besides English, the only language I can study (and appreciate literary subtleties in) is Spanish.

I think there are two additional things that have really helped me, though. First, I have a Masters degree in English Literature and while I was finishing that degree I was able to publish an article in a peer reviewed journal in my field. That meant that I had a really polished writing sample that laid out pretty exactly what my focus was. In my SOP I also made sure to show how my previous work absolutely could be a springboard into what I want to do now in Comp. Lit. Secondly, I only applied to schools that had a number of faculty members--and in a number of different departments--working in my field (Inter-American studies, Utopian studies, and the discovery of the Americas). As much as I could, I made sure the “fit” quality of my application was really, really high. I knew I would be competing against “better” qualified candidates in the sense that they would have more language prep, so I wanted my application to be something potential Ad.Comm. members would notice and be excited about.

Hope this helps!

Cheers.

Edited March 5, 2010 by Aquinaplatostotlestine

[graciela]

Thanks for your response Aquinas. It's so interesting to hear about other people's language training/preparation. Do you foresee yourself further polishing up your French or embarking on any new language studies as you do your Phd?

Congratulations on your acceptances, and good luck with any schools you are still waiting to hear back from.

All the best.

g

[Aquinaplatostotlestine]

Graciela,

Yes, I am definitely working (and will continue to work) on polishing up my French. Ideally, I'd like to be able to read some primary and lots of secondary sources by the end of the first year of my doctoral program. Perhaps that's ambitious, but since my goal is to be able to read (rather than speak) the language, I believe it's doable. My background in Spanish is also helping me greatly.

I'm also hoping to be able to do a little more work in Latin. At the moment, with a good dictionary and a lot of patience on my part I can work a little in the language. However, it is so important for what I want to study that I need to spend a lot more time on it.

Finally, Portuguese. I can already read quite a bit just thanks to knowing Spanish, but I would like to be able to speak this language by the time I finish my PhD. Having graduate level skills in both Spanish and Portuguese will really help me (I think) achieve my long term goal, which is a cross-appointment in comparative literature and Spanish/Portuguese (or Romance Languages) departments.

Now, if only accomplishing all of this were as easy to do as writing it out!

Best of luck with your future applications.

[callmelilyb]

Hello,

I think your language training will be more than sufficient for many solid programs. I was recently admitted to a top 20 program (you can PM me or look through my other posts on the forum if you really want to know which program) with fluency in Spanish and one semester of French. When I had an informal interview type thing with the DGS she said, "So you're lanuguage skills are basically Spanish, is that correct" and I said yes and then sort of mumbled something about elementary French and loving languages...and she basically replied, "Oh, well great you'll just learn two more languages while you're here!" Which leads me to believe there must be opportunities for language study while in the program.

At any rate I think if you've got at least ONE language down to fluency, and thus show a capacity for learning language at all (which I honestly believe some people just don't have) I think you'll be fine. Also, keep in mind technically you only need a "reading competency" of that language....which I think comes much easier than actually speaking or writing in a new language. I know it varies by program but after looking up the criteria to pass language requirements at some top programs I SWEAR I could pass damn near any romance language requirement if I studied on my own over the summer or something.

Anyhow, don't let people scare you off with their: "Hello I'm fluent in sixteen completely unrelated languages that I've been speaking since birth" stories.

Of course this is all assuming that you aren't trying to get into Harvard...that's a whole other story. But for most solid (top 15-30 programs I think you'd be fine).

[poppyensemble]

Hi Graciela,

I had very similar concerns to yours before applying this cycle.

I would also say not to worry too much. I have less extensive language preparation than you — in fact, besides English, I only have *one* other language (Chinese, which I'm fluent in). From what I could tell, comp lit grad students all seem to have at least three fluent languages under their belt (some even five or six!)... I was so unsure of my language credentials that I almost didn't apply to comp lit programs this year at all. But I did (only to a couple), and was recently admitted to a top comp lit program, to my very great surprise.

Of course, this will mean a tougher time once grad school actually starts. I'm planning to spend a lot of time and energy on language catch-up over the next several years. But that's only to be expected, and I'm sure I'll find it extremely worthwhile in any case.

In short, my feeling is that as long as you've demonstrated interest in learning more languages, you'll be fine. Obviously, additional language fluency is a plus, but it seems that, essentially, languages alone won't make or break your application (EVEN at the top programs), as long as you have one other very strong language besides English.

Good luck!! From your post it looks like you already have all the motivation you'll need. : )

[manatee]

Hi,

I applied to 12 Comp Lit programs and placed into 4, among them Emory and NYU, along with an Ivy (which is where I'm going). I have to confess that my languages aren't that strong either. I majored in English and Spanish and then learned some German at college (3 semesters), and improved it by living in Germany for about a year and a half. My interests are really transnational and ueber-interdisciplinary, so I think that is what made my application [relatively] successful. Actually, I got into my dream school, so that's that. I did not even mention a desire/willingness to learn more languages in my SOP. I think Spanish and German are enough, and if I really have to, I guess I'll learn French.

I think the most important thing to do for an application is to write a REALLY good SOP and then show them a writing sample that captures their attention and makes them want to know more. Easier said than done, right? I really believe that my writing sample, which was on a very strange and risky topic (not literature--but on a theoretical topic that nothing has been published on) was what got me in. At these visits, I started feeling that national language foci are sort of in decline in some complit departments, and are being replaced by transnational and interdisciplinary studies. And of course, if you want to do really heavy theory stuff, Comp Lit is a better place than most English programs (At my undergrad institution--top 12 English program-- there was no talk of Freud or Marx, but both were alive and well in the Comp Lit department). I was also surprised to find out that speaking the target languages is not important but of course reading is.

Research the departments to see where you fit in. My feeling is that Harvard, Stanford, Princeton, Yale Chicago, are all super traditional. Places that are more "open" might be Emory, UCLA, Berkeley, WUSTL, Duke (very theoretical), maybe Cornell, probably Brown and UPenn. By traditional, I mean stressing national lit competencies over theoretical concerns, which might even include making you learn languages you'll never use for your research just to pass your qualifying exams (including an ancient lang req at places like Harvard). By "open" I mean programs that foster a more flexible and individualized approach, from designing a course of study to working with profs outside of the lit departments on your committee. You have to decide what you want. If you are a student who is pretty confident in her interests, then working in one of these more open departments might appeal to you (and maybe even make employment a little easier in the future by cross-appointments and such). This is why I didn't apply to English--I know what I want to study and I want the independence to do it. Although core courses were useful in undergrad, I don't need/want to perseverate over Milton again.

Good luck!

[jesszilla23]

I would also add that there are plenty of opportunities for acquiring language skills in a short time through immersion programs. If you're interested in German, Russian, or French, I'd highly recommend the Middlebury College summer language schools. You could definitely acquire an ACTFL intermediate-mid reading competency in a single summer, especially if you have prior language learning background. You can then continue by taking second and third-year courses in the language during your PhD. Just my two cents.