How important are foreign language qualifications for an English PhD application?

[eviltoaster]

I'm planning to apply for a PhD in English (Literature) and I'm wondering about the foreign language component. All of the schools I'd most like to apply to require 1 or usually 2 foreign languages examined by the end of the second year or so. Yale also mentions on its admission requirements that they want 'preparation in languagessufficient to satisfy the language requirement' and Harvard says that 'While there are no specific prerequisites for admission, a strong language background helps to strengthen the application'. None of the others seem to mention languages at all in their admissions sections, only in the details of what's required during the course.

Does anyone know how important the language background is relative to other elements of the application? My personal situation: I have a UK A-Level in Latin and a GCSE in German. I've been working on my German online (duolingo etc.) but I have no new qualifications to show evidence of progress. I did an informal assessment at the Goethe Insitut in London, and they reckon I could probably handle a B1 exam, which the internet reckons is about equivalent to a UK AS-level, halfway between GCSE and A-Level, but I don't know if it really counts for as much on an application. If I did take the exam, it might show that my German is ongoing and improving, but I have relatively little time to prepare for the exam, it's alarmingly close to the application deadline, so if my results don't come on time it might count for nothing anyway, and I think it might be a better use of time to work on my writing samples/preparing for GREs etc.

Any advice would be very much appreciated. Thanks a lot.

[cowgirlsdontcry]

Every university's foreign language requirement is different. Somewhere on the website of every program is a description of how to satisfy the foreign language requirement. If you have 4-6 semesters of college level foreign language acquired in the last five years, that will usually satisfy the requirement for one language. If you don't have the required academic background, you will have to take some sort of translation test. Some programs will supply you with copies similar translation tests. You can use a dictionary and will be given a couple of hours to complete. Unless you are going to study Old English lit, Latin won't help you much. There is a good bit of scholarship in German. The other languages that are useful in the English field are French and Spanish. 

[Dr. Old Bill]

27 minutes ago, cowgirlsdontcry said:

Every university's foreign language requirement is different. Somewhere on the website of every program is a description of how to satisfy the foreign language requirement. If you have 4-6 semesters of college level foreign language acquired in the last five years, that will usually satisfy the requirement for one language. If you don't have the required academic background, you will have to take some sort of translation test. Some programs will supply you with copies similar translation tests. You can use a dictionary and will be given a couple of hours to complete. Unless you are going to study Old English lit, Latin won't help you much. There is a good bit of scholarship in German. The other languages that are useful in the English field are French and Spanish. 

This is mostly correct, but I would add that it also depends on what field you're in. Some programs don't care much about what language you use to fulfill the requirement, so long as you can go ahead and fulfill it. But there are many subfields wherein certain languages are seen to have far more value. I'll be taking an intensive Latin course to fulfill my req, even though I'm an early modernist, and Latin will probably only have a moderate impact on what I study. I could brush up on my undergraduate Spanish to fulfill the req if I really wanted to, but my advisor is strongly suggesting I take Latin. In other words, sometimes it's not so simple as just fulfilling a req, but rather doing it in a certain way. Unfortunately, it's very much a case-by-case basis, depending on what you already know, what your probable field is, and what the program things you should do.

[cowgirlsdontcry]

2 hours ago, Old Bill said:

This is mostly correct, but I would add that it also depends on what field you're in. Some programs don't care much about what language you use to fulfill the requirement, so long as you can go ahead and fulfill it. But there are many subfields wherein certain languages are seen to have far more value. I'll be taking an intensive Latin course to fulfill my req, even though I'm an early modernist, and Latin will probably only have a moderate impact on what I study. I could brush up on my undergraduate Spanish to fulfill the req if I really wanted to, but my advisor is strongly suggesting I take Latin. In other words, sometimes it's not so simple as just fulfilling a req, but rather doing it in a certain way. Unfortunately, it's very much a case-by-case basis, depending on what you already know, what your probable field is, and what the program things you should do.

Eviltoaster is looking at English programs and had general questions about foreign language requirements of PhD programs. I discussed it from that POV. I do no research in foreign languages because there is little scholarship on Cormac McCarthy in other languages. What little there is, has no impact on what I'm working on. Yet, I still needed a foreign language, because English Departments require it. Sometimes, it is as simple as fulfilling a requirement. Eviltoaster is trying to ascertain if he meets certain requirements. What you write of, cannot be predicted prior to admission to a particular program. All that can be done in anticipation of applications is to look at program requirements to see whether it may take additional work after one is in a program. In your particular case, the additional requirement does not appear to be a set-in-stone requirement from the program, but rather one your advisor deems necessary now for you to succeed. Obviously, you could not have anticipated that prior to applying, as you state it will only have a moderate impact on what you are studying. That is a completely different set of things that often become necessary once a person is admitted to a program. 

[eviltoaster]

On 19/08/2017 at 6:46 AM, cowgirlsdontcry said:

Eviltoaster is looking at English programs and had general questions about foreign language requirements of PhD programs. I discussed it from that POV. I do no research in foreign languages because there is little scholarship on Cormac McCarthy in other languages. What little there is, has no impact on what I'm working on. Yet, I still needed a foreign language, because English Departments require it. Sometimes, it is as simple as fulfilling a requirement. Eviltoaster is trying to ascertain if he meets certain requirements. What you write of, cannot be predicted prior to admission to a particular program. All that can be done in anticipation of applications is to look at program requirements to see whether it may take additional work after one is in a program. In your particular case, the additional requirement does not appear to be a set-in-stone requirement from the program, but rather one your advisor deems necessary now for you to succeed. Obviously, you could not have anticipated that prior to applying, as you state it will only have a moderate impact on what you are studying. That is a completely different set of things that often become necessary once a person is admitted to a program. 

Thanks for your response. So, to clarify, are you saying that I shouldn't be worrying about further language work until during the course (assuming I get in)? I thought perhaps already getting fairly decent qualifications in two languages before applying might be very advantageous, but from your responses it sounds like it's more something to worry about once you actually arrive and have discussed it with the directors of studies there.

[eviltoaster]

On 19/08/2017 at 3:23 AM, Old Bill said:

This is mostly correct, but I would add that it also depends on what field you're in. Some programs don't care much about what language you use to fulfill the requirement, so long as you can go ahead and fulfill it. But there are many subfields wherein certain languages are seen to have far more value. I'll be taking an intensive Latin course to fulfill my req, even though I'm an early modernist, and Latin will probably only have a moderate impact on what I study. I could brush up on my undergraduate Spanish to fulfill the req if I really wanted to, but my advisor is strongly suggesting I take Latin. In other words, sometimes it's not so simple as just fulfilling a req, but rather doing it in a certain way. Unfortunately, it's very much a case-by-case basis, depending on what you already know, what your probable field is, and what the program things you should do.

Thanks for your response. I want to ask you the same as cowgirlsdontcry: So, to clarify, are you saying that I shouldn't be worrying about further language work until during the course (assuming I get in)? I thought perhaps already getting fairly decent qualifications in two languages before applying might be very advantageous, but from your responses it sounds like it's more something to worry about once you actually arrive and have discussed it with the directors of studies there

[Bumblebea]

 

1 hour ago, eviltoaster said:

Thanks for your response. I want to ask you the same as cowgirlsdontcry: So, to clarify, are you saying that I shouldn't be worrying about further language work until during the course (assuming I get in)? I thought perhaps already getting fairly decent qualifications in two languages before applying might be very advantageous, but from your responses it sounds like it's more something to worry about once you actually arrive and have discussed it with the directors of studies there

Correct. Your foreign language ability and experience will have little bearing on your ability to gain admission to a PhD program--unless, of course, you're a Medievalist. Programs are more interested in your writing first and foremost and then your "other variables" second (recs, CV, stats, other things you bring to the table). Foreign language ability, if it matters to them at all, is going to be way, way down on the list. 

And IME, for most subfields the foreign language requirements are rather easy to fulfill. Mine just required a translation test that was graded rather gently. @Old Bill is correct in pointing out that certain subfields will probably want to see you learn certain languages (Spanish, for instance, if you're studying US Ethnic; French, perhaps, if you're an Anglophone Africanist), but for most grad students it's usually something of a formality. 

Edited August 23, 2017 by Bumblebea

[cowgirlsdontcry]

21 hours ago, eviltoaster said:

Thanks for your response. So, to clarify, are you saying that I shouldn't be worrying about further language work until during the course (assuming I get in)? I thought perhaps already getting fairly decent qualifications in two languages before applying might be very advantageous, but from your responses it sounds like it's more something to worry about once you actually arrive and have discussed it with the directors of studies there.

Your foreign languages won't have any effect on getting into a program, as far as I know. I agree with Bumblebea, that's it's a formality for most grad students. You could need it, like Ole Bill does. While I have a foreign language requirement, I have already met it through a foreign language undergrad minor, and there is almost no scholarship (none that I have seen) on the author I'm researching. However, my field is contemporary American literature and while there is scholarship in foreign languages (French, Spanish, German), I don't need anything special.

[Indecisive Poet]

Hey all, I just wanted to revive this thread quickly to see if I can scrounge up some more up to date info. I noticed on Yale's admissions page that they say previous work in language is considered as part of the application, and on Michigan's that they look for evidence that the applicant can complete the language requirement within the first 2 years of the program (I assume this means they look for previous language courses). I haven't looked through a ton of admissions pages thoroughly yet so I assume others are similar.

I have been self-studying both German and French, the languages I intend to use for my translation exams, for a little over a year, and I also took 2 semesters of basic German during undergrad. The latter is my only language background that would show up on an application. I'm considering doing one or both of UoW's online language for reading classes during my gap year between MA and PhD, but that wouldn't be done in time to make it onto apps either. Will this be a detriment to my applications? Should I be wary of applying to programs that say language background is considered with the application? German philosophy and Romanticism might be loosely relevant to my interests somewhere much further down the line, but I'm really only going to be doing work in English during my PhD program.

Edit: out of curiosity, does anyone have an opinion on the best languages to choose for a poetry/poetics concentration and possibly some peripheral work in Early Modern poetry? I chose the above 2 for Romanticism and some work in philosophy, but I'm interested in those other areas as well.

Edited August 5, 2018 by indecisivepoet

[Bumblebea]

FWIW, Yale has a reputation for having the most rigorous foreign language requirement. I don't think most programs require what they do, though I'm unfamiliar with Michigan. 

23 hours ago, indecisivepoet said:

have been self-studying both German and French, the languages I intend to use for my translation exams, for a little over a year, and I also took 2 semesters of basic German during undergrad. The latter is my only language background that would show up on an application. I'm considering doing one or both of UoW's online language for reading classes during my gap year between MA and PhD, but that wouldn't be done in time to make it onto apps either. Will this be a detriment to my applications? Should I be wary of applying to programs that say language background is considered with the application?

I would not be worried and would advise you to apply anyway.