<p>I am an undergrad at a liberal arts college and am interested in the following </p>
<p>I would like to major in a liberal arts degree so I can have the time to concentrate on learning foreign languages abroad, but would also like to get a vocational degree, major in business or specialize(such as accounting) so I have better job stability after graduation so I can be sure to pay off my student loans. My curiousity of the world has already led me to study abroad in Thailand, and I am planning to study abroad to Korea this fall. This will be my last semester until I am a junior so this is the time to commit to an education plan but I can’t decide what I want to do.</p>
<p>Like I stated before, I want to know how I can have the time to study languages abroad but have degree that provides job stability at the same time. Ideally I would like to study language at an intensive level, 4-5 hours a day for 3 or 4 months to gain proficiency in a short period of time. This time commitment will cut out a lot of my time to take regular business classes if I decide to take this route. What should I do? Give up studying something I passionate about and worry about paying off my loans, or study business and miss out on the time I have now to learn foreign languages.</p>
<p>Would it be possible to go to a program like Middlebury’s language intensive in the summer? That might allow you to do both. It’s so hard to know what will lead to a job that it may be worth pursuing your passion.</p>
<p>I want to have a management degree and i’d also like to learn 3 or 4 asian languages so i have more options abroad. the problem with taking the management route is fulfilling all of the required courses and then trying to fit intensive language in the undergrad program. maybe i should focus on an interdisciplinary degree program that allows more flexibility and then go for an mba program later.</p>
<p>Lots of colleges and universities offer the summer language programs. I would not recommend going cold (no prior experience in the language) into an intensive program. DD’s advisor recommended that she only start one new language at a time.</p>
<p>yeah i am a little worried about going “cold” because I am going to a top school in korea and having trouble deciding whether to focus on intensive korean, or take senior year management courses.</p>
<p>yes i would like to pursue both options, by studying business in the main academic year and study languages as a supplement in the summer. the problem is that while i am abroad taking business courses i won’t have any language skills to function there. Also, there are visa restrictions that won’t allow a stay during the summer unless its an accredited program. thats probably the main reason why this option is difficult. i am now thinking about night courses at a small language school.</p>
<p>My daughter’s summer program is six hours a day, five days a week for ten weeks. She will earn ten credits. She is completing year two of her language, so she had a base.</p>
<p>You might also look into StarTalk programs. I know that it offers scholarships for Chinese.</p>
<p>If you take the management courses, are they taught in English or Korean? </p>
<p>Also keep in mind that it isn’t always necessary to major in something. You may be able to do a concentration or minor in one area. And to major in a language, you will have lots of culture classes in addition to the language requirements. You may want to see how you can combine the two.</p>
<p>Once you get a job, your company may send you for additional language training. It is always a nice thing to have someone else pay your tuiton.</p>