Completing Language Requirements

[asleepawake]

Are any of you as worried as I am about completing PhD language requirements?

I know that many/most programs require proficiency in 2 languages or fluency in one. Until this year, I hadn't taken a foreign language since High School thanks to some lax requirements at my undergrad institution. This year I took a one-semester translation course to complete my MA language requirement, but I doubt it would transfer to most PhD programs.

I know that some schools have a joke of a translation exam, and I suspect I could do fine on those with enough time and a good dictionary, but some programs require the completion of junior-level undergraduate literature courses in the language. I wish I had devoted more time to learning languages, but there aren't enough hours in my days! I cannot imagine trying to learn two while in a program in addition to my other requirements. I've even considered crossing a school or two off my list for their strict requirements, but that seems silly. Is it possible? What has been your experience? Why can't I just push a button and magically speak 9 languages? Where are all of those "language teachers hate him: he gained fluency in 5 days" ads when you need them?

[Augusta]

Well, at this point in time, I'm thinking, "Let's just see if I get accepted anywhere first and then I'll worry about it."

If I had known earlier that I'd be pursuing graduate studies, I might have taken more foreign language classes in college. I've been studying French on and off for about five years now. Ideally, once I submit applications, I'll have time to sit down and brush up on the language so that I'll be in good shape by the fall. As for that second language that some programs require, I don't even know how to determine what that should be. I'm under the impression that the languages are supposed to be relevant to your field of study, right?

[TripWillis]

I think you'll find that most schools are fairly accommodating and have ample opportunity for you to complete the requirement. The CUNY system has a "Reading Language Program," which consists of intensive 6-week summer courses (or 10 week fall/spring, I think(?)) in French, German, Spanish, and a number of other languages. I took the 6-week one in French last year, having NEVER spoken French in my WHOLE LIFE. It was pretty difficult, but I passed the translation exam. Now I just need one more, and I'll probably do that next summer.

Rutgers also has something like this that I've heard of, but even if your school doesn't, I remember that in my reading language class there were kids from other colleges who were taking the class and having the result transferred to their schools.

So I guess I wouldn't get too stressed out about it.

[asleepawake]

I think you'll find that most schools are fairly accommodating and have ample opportunity for you to complete the requirement. The CUNY system has a "Reading Language Program," which consists of intensive 6-week summer courses (or 10 week fall/spring, I think(?)) in French, German, Spanish, and a number of other languages. I took the 6-week one in French last year, having NEVER spoken French in my WHOLE LIFE. It was pretty difficult, but I passed the translation exam. Now I just need one more, and I'll probably do that next summer.

Rutgers also has something like this that I've heard of, but even if your school doesn't, I remember that in my reading language class there were kids from other colleges who were taking the class and having the result transferred to their schools.

So I guess I wouldn't get too stressed out about it.

Thanks. I know my MA program had a translation class, which I also took in French. Of course, I still don't know French, I just have a better understanding of its grammar. However, I'm mostly concerned about schools like Case Western, where the website describes the language requirement like this:

Prior to advancement to candidacy, all Ph.D. students must demonstrate reading proficiency in one foreign language (including Latin and ancient Greek) by earning a grade of A or B in a 300-level CWRU course that requires the student to read literature extensively in the language. (These will normally be courses in the Departments of Classics and Modern Languages and Literatures. Note that advanced courses in business writing, composition, and conversation will not normally fulfill the requirement.) Such courses will not count toward the 24-credit doctoral course requirement. However, if students register for the course using the Fellowship Course Option, tuition will not be charged for completing the Foreign Language Competency Requirement.

Prior expertise in a foreign language, attested by an undergraduate major or minor or a previous graduate degree in the language, can demonstrate proficiency. Proficiency in these cases will normally be certified by the Graduate Committee, in consultation with faculty in Modern Languages and/or Classics. Students for whom English is a second language will be understood to have demonstrated linguistic proficiency by their enrollment in the graduate program in English.

If 300-level literature courses in the student’s approved language are not available at CWRU in the semester(s) in which the student is to have established proficiency, the student may petition the Graduate Committee to accept an alternative method of fulfilling the requirement.

Completing upper-division courses in a foreign language or literature at another institution will not normally be an acceptable way to fulfill the language requirement.

[asleepawake]

Well, at this point in time, I'm thinking, "Let's just see if I get accepted anywhere first and then I'll worry about it."

If I had known earlier that I'd be pursuing graduate studies, I might have taken more foreign language classes in college. I've been studying French on and off for about five years now. Ideally, once I submit applications, I'll have time to sit down and brush up on the language so that I'll be in good shape by the fall. As for that second language that some programs require, I don't even know how to determine what that should be. I'm under the impression that the languages are supposed to be relevant to your field of study, right?

That's a good way to look at it! I'm getting a bit ahead of myself here.

Yeah, most schools want the language to actually directly benefit your work. For me, the several languages that would be directly relevant to my work aren't available on most campuses, though.

[RelaxButterfly]

Oh, threads like this just make me love Matthew Arnold even more. *sarcasm* He's to blame for all of this! Anyways. This is a little out of left field, but if you're willing to switch countries to do your PhD, I've never even encountered a PhD Lit program website here in Canada that says you need two languages besides English, just one. Regarding how strict schools are with this, the grad coordinator at the school I finished my undergrad told me that it really does depend on the institution, but it does look good to be dealing with a language that has some relevance to your area. For example, she specializes in the Romantics, and her language was Greek.

[Stately Plump]

Like Trip said, many schools offer a course that is designed specifically to help grad students pass translation exams. The department has no interest in "flunking" you for not passing a foreign language requirement; you will likely find that they are much more accommodating than their website makes them seem.