Learning a language in grad school

[higheredhopeful]

Has anybody here taken language courses while attending a grad program (that's not language-based)?

 

I don't know if it's possible to take language classes as electives or if it's ever done. I know I'll have to talk to an advisor, but I just wanted to see if this was a totally crazy idea.

[TakeruK]

At my school, we are allowed to take random electives as long as our advisor signs off on them. So many graduate students (in my science program) take language courses just for fun (or in some cases, so that they can communicate with international collaborators in their collaborators' native language). Graduate students here also take fun philosophy, writing, and psychology courses because they are interested in the topic. A friend took a journalism course here taught by a former editor of the LA Times. We also have courses in guitar, pottery and t-shirt printing/silkscreening (no basketweaving though).

 

Because of the nature of my school, most of these courses are designed as breadth electives for undergrads or as enrichment opportunities for graduate students. So, they take place over lunch hours or in the evening, so very few advisors would object to them as they supposedly take place "on our own time".

[serenade]

My advisor let me register for more than my grad program's standard 3-courses-a-semester so that I could take language courses on top of a full load. Definitely not uncommon.

[fuzzylogician]

I took a language class for a couple of years after I was done with all my other coursework. I can think of 4 other people in my year and the year above me who also took language courses. I'm sure there must have been others as well. So, not entirely uncommon.

[Marst]

Don't you have a language institute associated to your university? Ours offers a variety of (fast paced) language courses for people who need to master a language for their research or just for fun, either for free or for a small fee.

[CBclone]

If not, you could look into a self-paced program. Rosetta Stone maybe? I've never used RS, but some friends have had success learning other languages.

 

I'm in the process of learning ASL via a free online program that's entirely self-study/self-paced. I have a couple friends who are either completely deaf or have some hearing (wear CIs and grew up only with ASL) who I can video chat with and they're great at helping me along. ASL will definitely come in handy in my field and I've wanted to learn it for a long time. I've only been doing it a couple weeks and I'll admit...I underestimated how hard it could be. I'm glad I'm doing it on my own time, at my own pace, and if I get super busy with schoolwork in the fall, I won't have to stress about an extra class. 

[felinebookworm]

 

If not, you could look into a self-paced program. Rosetta Stone maybe? I've never used RS, but some friends have had success learning other languages.

 

I second this. When I want to learn a new language or brush up on one I already know I look for self-paced programs. It's a great way to get an introduction to a language. I never took classes because I never could afford to pay for them and no language electives were available to me during undergrad, so finding or even creating my own program with a variety of resources is all I could do. It also helps if you could find someone to speak the language with who already knows it, but I wouldn't say it's absolutely necessary. Local public libraries  may have a section for language learning that include sets you can take out. I've never used Rosetta Stone so can't say anything about that.

 

But no, you're not crazy asking if you could learn a language as an elective. I think it's a great idea. If you never ask you will never know!