proficiency in a foreign language required for some programs?

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Hey All,

I'm one of the rare students, at least at my undergrad linguistics department in South Florida, who is an English monolingual. As linguists we all understand that "how many languages do you speak?" is a general misconception among non-linguists. However, through researching some grad programs to apply to I've realized that some schools expect the same thing. Is this common or am I reading it wrong? Schools like Minnesota and Pittsburgh have under general requirements: proficiency in a language other than your own. So I guess me not being bilingual did end up biting me in the ass?

Edited June 23, 2012 by JoeyBoy718

[ladyling]

Most programs expect you to have reading proficiency in at least one foreign language. What this means, typically, is that you can pass a translation exam where you translate a few paragraphs in a foreign language into English, with the aid of a dictionary. Depending on the program, you might have to do it in a set amount of time. However, few programs require that you take those sorts of exams in your first year, so you can take classes in a foreign language once you enter the program, and many schools offer intensive summer language programs that can help you prepare. You should contact someone in the program directly once you are admitted to discuss your options. In the meantime, if you have the opportunity to take foreign language courses, you might want to get started.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Most programs expect you to have reading proficiency in at least one foreign language. What this means, typically, is that you can pass a translation exam where you translate a few paragraphs in a foreign language into English, with the aid of a dictionary. Depending on the program, you might have to do it in a set amount of time. However, few programs require that you take those sorts of exams in your first year, so you can take classes in a foreign language once you enter the program, and many schools offer intensive summer language programs that can help you prepare. You should contact someone in the program directly once you are admitted to discuss your options. In the meantime, if you have the opportunity to take foreign language courses, you might want to get started.

Thanks, ladyling. I recently completed my mandatory 2 classes of a foreign language that basically all colleges require. However, I wouldn't say completing basic Spanish 1 and 2 would make me any bit fluent. Some of the sites I checked said "proficiency" in a language other than your own is required. I don't see why not being bilingual would prevent me from pursuing a linguistics degree. I have a 4.0 with a bachelor's in linguistics, and my language-of-focus is English. Proficiency is a vague word. I took required Spanish but I'm by no means bilingual. Well, I'll end up emailing the department to see how proficient they require one to be. However, there were some schools that clearly stated that being monolingual is perfectly fine. I don't mean to sound bitter. If some schools prefer bilingual students that's fine. And I'm not opposed to brushing up on a language enough to pass a translation exam.

Edited June 24, 2012 by JoeyBoy718

[ladyling]

Again, I think there's a big difference between reading proficiency, which is what most programs require, and fluency/bilingualism (the latter would be a terrible requirement, as bilingualism is a technical term usually indicating exposure to and use of two languages from no later than the age of 4 onward). This isn't an arbitrary requirement--much of the literature for our field is in foreign languages. For example, a recent project required me to read an entire dissertation in French. You'll find articles you need, about phenomena in English, written in other languages; thus, it's useful to have enough of a grasp on at least one other language to get by reading those articles with the help of a dictionary. The point isn't knowing the language for its own sake; it's to ensure you have the tools you need to conduct serious scholarship in linguistics. Even two semesters of college classes should be enough to get you close to that point, if not all the way there.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I just looked at about 40-50 linguistics grad programs and all but about 4-5 "true" linguistics programs require "advanced proficiency" in a non-native language. Most require at the minimum 2 years (4 semesters) of college-level foreign language. Some require 3 years. Some even require the non-native language to be a non-Indo-European language. Also, what I meant by "true" linguistics programs is that some of the interdisciplinary degrees, such as MA in English with a concentration in linguistics, don't require foreign language. This is definitely disappointing as a monolingual English speaker who has gotten a 4.0 and had much success at the undergrad level in linguistics who wants to go on to pursue it further. I'm definitely a little disappointed. There is much more to being a linguist than being a polyglot. The only true linguistics programs I've found that don't require "advanced proficiency" are Washington, Georgetown, CSU Fresno, and Wayne State. Oh, and by the way, I've ruled out schools that only offer Applied Linguistics because that is not my interest. I've also ruled out schools that only accept students into their PhD programs, and I also haven't looked into many schools in the south. But still, about 40-50 schools on the west, north and northeast, and all I found were 4.

Edited June 27, 2012 by JoeyBoy718

[ladyling]

You seem more interested in complaining than listening, and I'm not sure why. I've told you about my program. We're a top ten theoretical program in California, we accept students for terminal master's, and we do not require fluency. Half the programs you've listed offer theoretical degrees they can't support (Wayne State has only two theoretical linguists on their faculty, and both are P-side. If I remember correctly, you were more interested in semantics?). Looking at a handful of top programs, I see very few which require advanced proficiency/fluency (Berkeley does for one of their options, but I don't think they accept MA students anyway). Most require reading competence, which is what I described above.

Also, you're dead wrong if you think this is a linguistics-only requirement. Most graduate programs in the humanities require reading competence for just the reasons I mentioned. Heck, I know for a fact that UCLA film school requires their graduate students to take a language exam before advancing to candidacy. I recommend you stop complaining about how the system works and start figuring out what you actually want to do and why.

[radiowires]

Would just like to add that programs outside of the humanities and social sciences have this requirement as well. I know a few people who have PhDs in chemistry and they had to pass a language exam, too. One of them took two semesters of German and did just fine, so the level of fluency required isn't anywhere near what you're worried it is. Like ladyling has said, it's more about being able to do research in another language than it is about being able to speak it.

Edited June 30, 2012 by radiowires

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

You seem more interested in complaining than listening, and I'm not sure why. I've told you about my program. We're a top ten theoretical program in California, we accept students for terminal master's, and we do not require fluency. Half the programs you've listed offer theoretical degrees they can't support (Wayne State has only two theoretical linguists on their faculty, and both are P-side. If I remember correctly, you were more interested in semantics?). Looking at a handful of top programs, I see very few which require advanced proficiency/fluency (Berkeley does for one of their options, but I don't think they accept MA students anyway). Most require reading competence, which is what I described above.

Also, you're dead wrong if you think this is a linguistics-only requirement. Most graduate programs in the humanities require reading competence for just the reasons I mentioned. Heck, I know for a fact that UCLA film school requires their graduate students to take a language exam before advancing to candidacy. I recommend you stop complaining about how the system works and start figuring out what you actually want to do and why.

I spent about 20-30 minutes on the websites of 40-50 different schools. I was looking for a school that accepted master's students, offered theoretical or general ling, and didn't require proficiency in a foreign language. Now, many of the schools did not accept master's students; many offered MA's but only awarded them to their PhD students. Now, of the schools that did accept master's students, all but about 4-5 CLEARLY STATED on their websites MUST HAVE 2 years (4 semesters) of a European foreign language or 1 year of a non-indo-euro language. I don't see how it's complaining when it's the truth. You act like I didn't do my research, email countless schools, and spend countless hours reading through requirements.

Edited June 30, 2012 by JoeyBoy718

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Oh, lady ling, I did look into your program actually, and you are another one that fits what I'm looking for. But, as I said, almost every other school specifically stated the requirements for "proficiency." I even emailed them to make sure and they verified it for me. Wayne State, Santa Cruz, SDSU, Georgetown, Washington, and CSU Fresno are the only schools I know of that don't require something very specific. However, I don't think Georgetown offers funding to master's students. This is proving more difficult than I orginally thought it would be.

[LinguisticMystic]

I never looked much into the language proficiency issue while applying since I didn't need to, but can't you just take (an) additional Spanish course(s) during your Master's/PhD to meet their language competency requirements since you've already taken Spanish 1 and 2? I never got the impression that you had to have proficiency before being admitted, just that you had to pass a certification exam at some point (depending on the program). Maybe you're confusing application requirements with degree requirements?

I have a friend doing a PhD in anthropology and he was in the same situation as you (only had beginner Spanish during undergrad). He just had to take an intermediate Spanish course during his first year and he was fine. It wasn't an issue for him at all during the application process. Similarly, my undergraduate advisor told me she just took a couple of semesters of Swahili during her PhD program to pass the non-Indo language requirement.

Hope I'm understanding your issue correctly and that this helps! You definitely shouldn't be expected to be bilingual, that much I know.

[ladyling]

1. UT Austin - top 20 program; requires a demonstration of "effective knowledge" of a foreign language. I contacted a friend in that program, and she confirmed that their language exam is roughly the same as ours.

2. Indiana University - top 20 program; require "reading knowledge" of one language and "structural knowledge" (i.e., the type of knowledge you'd gain from a field methods or structure of X course) of another.

3. UCLA - top 10 program; fully funded for MA students according to their site; "students must demonstrate reading knowledge of a foreign language." I have several friends in this program; their exam is the same as ours.

4. UI Urbana-Champagne: reading exam.

5. UPenn - unfunded MA; top 20 program; reading knowledge of 2 languages (the exam is described in detail here: http://www.ling.upenn.edu/grad/procedures.html#Language Requirement). This is for the PhD program--I couldn't find evidence one way or another about their MA language requirement, but it won't be stronger than this.

There. I named 5 programs in addition to the ones you listed. I found all this information on their websites and confirmed it, when possible, with people I know in those programs. Not a single one of these programs said on their site or in their grad handbook that they required 2+ years of foreign language coursework. I found all this information in about 20 minutes. I hope it's useful to you. I also hope this helps you understand why it's so hard to take seriously your assertion that you've done your research; in 20 minutes I found a bunch of data contradicting what you've said.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

Thanks. I appreciate it. I should have specified I have no interest living in a place like Texas or Indiana. The schools I checked were basically every city on the west coast, out west, far north, northeast. I appreciate your help though.

And UCLA's site says: "Although the department offers both the M.A. and Ph.D. degrees, it normally admits only those students who plan to ultimately pursue a Ph.D. Students are admitted to begin residence in the Fall quarter only."

Edited July 1, 2012 by JoeyBoy718

[fuzzylogician]

Look, you can only have so many demands on a program and still hope to find a significant number of good matches. Theoretical linguistics is a small field. In any field, MAs are rare and normally unfunded. You only want to live in certain places (which is understandable) and for some reason you refuse to accept what a number of posters here have told you - the language proficiency requirement is not a good reason to dismiss a school. I wish you luck in your search, but with an attitude like the one you've demonstrated in this thread you're going to have a hard time. Things don't always turn out exactly as you want them to, you know.

[Guest Gnome Chomsky]

I do appreciate all the help. This thread has gone pretty downhill. I admit, I was frustrated when I created this thread because I was caught off guard when I found out that most of the schools I was originally interested in had requirements that I did not meet. I understand that proficiency broadly means basic reading competence. However, all I'm saying is, just as many schools, if not more, have very specific foreign language requirements, more so than people so far on here have acknowledged. And I actually did spend 20-30 minutes on about 40 or so schools' websites, and sometimes it took 20 minutes of reading and clicking before I came upon the part where those requirements were clearly stated, which is why I don't think taking 20 minutes to show me 5 schools that don't have those requirements really proves anything. I do appreciate everyone's help, though. All in all, I do have pretty specific requirements myself, and I think I've earned some say in where I will go to grad school based on my undergrad achievements. One of those requirements is going to a school that accepts master's students, unlike many schools, such as UCLA, that award MA's to their PhD students. I just don't want to make the commitment to a PhD program just yet. I understand PhD students do get preference when it comes to funding, which I'm fine with; however, I would hope to find a place that does award funding. Overall, I need about 6-7 schools that I'm really sold on, and I am almost there, so despite my initial whiny frustrations, I have confidence that things will work themselves out. And, yes, I am looking into many of those schools that have broad language requirements, because I can definitely achieve some level of fluency within the next year to be able to pass a translation or reading exam.