<p>I am taking General Chemistry during the summer session. I am doing extremely well in the subject. I am going to take Organic Chemistry this fall, I don’t think I will have too much trouble with it, I already know that it is a demanding course but I think that if i put in alot of time I will be fine. My question is whether I should begin a new language (Russian) the same semester that I begin Organic chemistry. It will be my first semester at a new University as a transfer. I don’t want to be overwhelmed. Will I be with such a schedule? Thanks in advance.</p>
<p>(I’m not sure if this is the right place for my Q, but I don’t know where else to put it, maybe in “college life”?)</p>
<p>To me, starting a new language is the funnest part of the language learning process. It isn’t difficult if you give it time, and it feels pretty cool to look at a text or hear a conversation that used to be perfectly unintelligible, but is now in possession of sounds, words and phrases that are familiar to you.</p>
<p>That’s what students usually accomplish by the end of an introductory language course. It will take considerable amounts of effort and time to actually learn the language to a comfortable level, and you must always remember that in the midst of the excitement you may have now.</p>
<p>Being a Russian major I hate to do this, but I’d have to recommend that you avoid elementary Russian if you are worried about being overwhelmed. It’s by no means an easy language, and I can almost guarantee you that you’ll know 5/6ths of the cases by the end of the first semester - this is the most difficult part of the language, and something that you will spend years perfecting. You will learn the alphabet within two or three days and you’ll get used to how the language sounds over the semester.</p>
<p>If you aren’t a language person, or if you aren’t willing/able to spend 2-3 hours on homework a day, I don’t recommend that you pick up Russian.</p>
<p>(On the other hand, the language is fascinating, the literature is incredible, the history and culture are amazing, and being able to say that you speak Russian will look great on resumes. Plus, it’s a good language for science research.)</p>
<p>I took 2 semesters of Russian while taking Organic Chemistry. Atmjuk is right, Russian is a very complex language and learning a foreign language will require serious dedication.</p>
<p>How are your grades? If you can handle science/technical classes, go ahead and take them both. It might be rough but if you work hard, you’ll ace them both.</p>