warblersrule86

I had planned on studying abroad in Cairo next year, preferably for the entire year. I dropped by the Study Abroad office and picked up some info, a course catalogue, etc. When flipping through the brochures, I noticed that one said "Students on Duke-administered and Duke-approved programs taught in English in non-English-speaking countries (e.g., Duke/OTS-Costa Rica, Denmark's International Study Program, Syracuse in Strasbourg, etc.) are required to take at least one course in the native language while on the program abroad. The only exception to this policy is the ICCS program in Rome, where Greek or Latin may be substituted for Italian."

Well, that's a problem. I've already taken 3 semesters of German, and I *really* don't want to have to take Arabic. If I wanted to learn Arabic, I would do that here!!! I had planned on applying for the Simpson Scholarship, which requires at least 3 courses each semester on Egypt, leaving me only one course per semester as an elective. I NEED those electives for my geology major. I emailed the study abroad advisor, asking if I could take Egyptian instead of Arabic (thus killing two birds with one stone), since they make an exception for Greek and Latin. No go. My question is: why?!?! One or two semesters of a foreign language isn't enough to be helpful, and I'm already competent in a foreign language. If I had known I'd have to take a foreign language abroad, I wouldn't have taken German for my FL requirement. It's pretty irritating because I don't think I can go; I may have to limit myself to English-speaking countries. Do other colleges have this requirement?

mathmom

I don't know, but I can tell you from my experience living in foreign countries you'll have a much better time the more you can speak even a little of the local language. Really.

corranged

I know that many study abroad programs at my school include a language course while in the country. It makes sense that if you're going to be living and studying in a different country that you should have a basic grasp of conversational language. It's too bad that it conflicts with your requirements. Can you take an extra course one term? Or take one during the summer at a local school?

warblersrule86

Yeah, I know. Mostly I'm just kicking myself because I wish I hadn't taken German. Many of the graduate programs I've looked at require French, so I'm trying to fit that into my shrinking schedule too.

corranged- Yes, I could take a class or two over the summer, which I hadn't thought of. Thanks!

mini

Because if you are going to do serious geology in a country where Arabic is the lingua franca, you are going to need to conduct business in the lingua franca. I'm frankly surprised they don't require more.

soozievt

My daughter is studying abroad right now in Italy. She is fluent in French. Her program is through an American university (not hers) and so the courses are taught in English. However, a requirement is to take Italian. The aim isn't so she'll be fluent in another language. The idea is that she is living in a foreign country (most students are in homestays though the architecture students live in their own apts., and she is the latter), and she should have some basic language skills to use while living there. It makes sense. It doesn't mean she'll be taking years of Italian but she is picking it up (not so hard when you know a somewhat related language). I know she volunteered recently in an Italian classroom and taught a lesson, but she said the teacher knew NO English and she had to converse with the teacher and so that is one instance where her use of Italian was needed. Of course, in public, in shops and transportation, etc. etc., she uses what she is learning. So, I have a feeling, such a requirement is common in abroad programs for these reasons. You are living there and hopefully will be interacting with natives.

By the way, this requirement is NOT her own college's. She attends Brown. There is in fact, no foreign language requirements at Brown though she chose to study French there since she had been taking it her whole life since first grade and likes it (and coincidentally is in France as I write this). But the requirement to take the foreign language of the country she is doing the abroad program in, is a requirement of THAT abroad program (which is through Syracuse). Every person in the Florence program must take Italian, no matter their major.

kathiep

My daughter ran into the same problem when she did her study abroad in Peru. Because the abroad was offered after her freshman year she didn't know what classes would be covered in the abroad and consequently, took 2 of the 3 classes (she's on the quarter system) before the abroad. She then had to make up two more classes and did that over the summer by taking one on-line and one at a local CC. The two make up classes cost us about $900 but the study abroad was amazing and worth the time and effort.

DianeR

For some time, my daughter was also assuming Cairo next year and it was always her understanding that Arabic was part of the deal. While she wants Arabic at some point, she has now found that she can actually find more of the Egyptology/archaeology courses she wants in England! AUC's website won't disclose which courses are going to be offered next year, nor has it responded to emails about scheduling, course priority and the like. You see, looking at courses now (hard to find but if you search it's there -- I had to click on summer to get access to the general course schedule site), we noticed that courses have limited enrollment. My daughter didn't want to go all the way to Cairo to take specific courses and then find they aren't offered that year or she isn't allowed to enroll.

On top of this, AUC no longer is a Brown program but an approved program. No one will be specific, but apparently there were problems with the school not being cooperative in terms of housing, classes, and the like. Hence the downgrade.

Put these factors plus the lifestyle restrictions at AUC (didn't think she could last more than a semester) and my daughter is in the anomolous position of being an Egyptology major wanting to go to London. Currently she is planning on applying to UCL and SOAS.

So check out the English-speaking schools available to you. Perhaps you can find what you want there in the way of courses. Then take a trip to Egypt over semester break with some of the new chums you meet (much cheaper leaving from the UK). I'm sure my daughter would willingly go with you!

Be sure to check on the deadlines for applications soon. The English schools my daughter has looked at have much earlier deadlines than AUC.

Or accept that you have to learn Arabic if you definitely want Cairo...

garrr!

You don't have to limit yourself to English-speaking countries. You could go to Germany

DianeR

About French ... my daughter needs that too and the Reading French course at Brown is only offered in the summer. Her advisor recommended self-study with the Assimil program. She's been doing that for a few minutes a day since last summer and has reached the point she can get the gist of academic articles with the use of a dictionary. Since you are also a classics major (aren't you -- that's what sticks in my mind anyhow), you will probably be able to learn to read French with a little bit of effort. Or do the grad schools you are looking at actually test for French competency? For D, it seems like the requirements are for German competency, with an indication that French is really needed too (but they don't test you from what I can tell).

warblersrule86

Thanks for those posts, DianeR. I've been considering UCL, so I'm going to take a closer look at it. As for the languages...apparently this varies. Some of the grad programs I've looked at test you (translating a scholarly article) on one language fairly soon after admissions and the other after a year or so. It's really great to know that self-studying French is a viable option- classes here tend to focus on speaking and conversation, but I need the reading skills.

DianeR

There are specific French reading courses out there, usually designed for graduate students or those looking at graduate school, but such aren't offered everywhere. I remember trying to find distance learning courses for this and finding one offered by U of Kansas: http://www.kuce.org/is/fren.shtml

There is a summer class at Brown, as I mentioned before.

Of course, taking a reading class doesn't give one complete proficiency. The relevant vocabulary for a given academic field has to be picked up or translations are pretty slow. My daughter took a reading class for German and she figures she needs a lot more experience before she can easily use German sources.

TheAnalyst

"I emailed the study abroad advisor, asking if I could take Egyptian instead of Arabic (thus killing two birds with one stone), ..."

I'm not sure I understand this point. Egyptians speak Arabic. There is no such language as "Egyptian", although there is a Cairo dialect. Presumably, this would be the dialect that you would be taught, assuming any conversational Arabic is involved in the course. Modern standard Arabic is only a written language. Have you asked your geology folks if they would count a language course as a course on Egypt?

DianeR

I think warblersrule86 is referring to Middle Egyptian, spoken in the mid-dynastic period. This is a language offered at AUC.