Arabic or Spanish?

Britty3092
Thu, 12 Aug 2010 00:31:26 +0000

Hi everyone, I am an incoming freshman in the Elliot School, and I have a question for anyone who might be able to answer it. Registration for classes last month went very well, and while I am very happy with my courses and excited for the upcoming school year, I need some advice about the Elliot School language requirement. I emailed my advisor, but apparently she’s on vacation for the rest of this month. Greatttt.

Anyways, during my college years within the Elliot School, I plan on pursuing a degree in International Affairs with a concentration on Conflict & Security, and perhaps a secondary concentration in Middle Eastern Studies. That being said, I think it would also be beneficial to learn Arabic sometime in the next four years.

Here is my dilemma however - I originally planned on satisfying the Elliot School language requirement by continuing with Spanish. I was placed into Spanish 3 with the placement exam, and earned a 6 on my IB exam, so I will most likely begin taking that class in the spring. However, I do really want to start Arabic, so I can head in the right direction for the Middle Eastern studies concentration.

I would like to know which is the wisest course to take…
Continuing with Spanish and getting the Elliot School requirement out of the way with a language I am already familiar with, or should I go for my true goals and start all over with Beginning Arabic I? Or could I do both? Would that be a reasonable idea, taking on two languages? Do I even have the option of learning two within the Elliot School?

Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!