Taking a Class in the Fall?
I'm thinking of taking a language course next fall at the Harvard Extension School. It would help me prep for graduate school.* The question is, however, do I begin an entirely new language or do I improve my Spanish?
Here are the languages I am thinking of if I start a new one: German, Italian, Persian, or Hindi.
*If I do history then I need to prove reading knowledge in at least one foreign language, possibly more depending on the program. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good disciplined learner so improving my Dutch on my own to pass a reading test isn't going to happen. I need a structured learning environment. But I might not do history.
Class Options at Harvard:
SPAN E-1 Intensive Elementary Spanish I (10266)
Irene Bergel, PhD.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 16, 5:30-7:30 pm.
An introduction to oral and written Spanish for students with little or no background in the language, this course encourages students to communicate with each other and the instructor in simple language using role-play and other interpersonal activities. Students read short pieces on modern Spanish culture and write compositions on subjects of personal interest. Grammar includes present and past tenses. (4 credits)
SPAN E-1v Intensive Elementary Spanish I: Multimedia (10407)
Douglas Morgenstern, MA, Senior Lecturer in Spanish, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 16, 5:30-7:30 pm.
This course is for beginning students who want to learn as much Spanish as possible in four hours of class time weekly. The focus is on conversation, listening comprehension, and culture using a variety of multimedia materials, including the PBS telecourse Destinos as well as music, videos, and Web-based text documents. Students need Internet access for homework assignments. (4 credits)
PERS E-1a Introduction to Persian (13080)
Matthew C. Smith, PhD, Persian Bibliographer, Widener Library, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Wednesdays, Sept. 17, 5:30-7:30 pm.
This course introduces the student to the alphabet and basic grammar of Persian through extensive practice in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students are encouraged to communicate in Persian during role-playing exercises and read short passages from modern texts. (2 credits)
HNDI E-1 Intensive Introductory Hindi I (12741)
Naseem A. Hines, PhD, Preceptor in Urdu-Hindi, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Mondays and Wednesdays, Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 pm. Required sections to be arranged.
These courses are introductions to one of the most widely spoken languages of the world in its Hindustani form. Students are introduced to the Devanagari writing system. Conventional instructional materials are supplemented by popular songs and clips from contemporary Indian cinema. (4 credits)
ITAL E-1a Elementary Italian I (10178)
Arianna Mamoli, MA.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, Sept. 18, 7:35-9:35 pm.
This course is designed for students with little or no knowledge of Italian. We focus on basic grammar and comprehension of and conversation in the Italian language. (2 credits)
GERM E-1a Elementary German I (10131)
Emily E. Jones, AM, Teaching Fellow in German, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, Sept. 18, 5:30-7:30 pm.
In GERM E-1a and E-1b, students learn to speak and write German in unstilted and grammatically correct fashion. We listen to German-language broadcasts and songs, watch pieces of films, read texts on the Internet, and discuss them together. Prerequisite for GERM E-1b: GERM E-1a, or the equivalent. (2 credits)
Of course, I could always take a graduate level writing course for history and government. Considering the writing sample is so important in graduate school. This might be the path I want to go. But it's also very expensive.
SSCI E-100b Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences: Government and History (12576)
Vincenzo Bollettino, PhD, Associate, Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard School of Public Health.
Graduate proseminar. Course tuition: graduate credit $1,725. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Mondays, Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 pm.
Students who do not have Harvard ID cards must purchase $100 special borrower's cards at Widener Library.
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, history of science, and allied disciplines. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, and organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. In the fall, section 1 studies the peace building process, section 2 focuses on the evolution of conflict processes and addresses the scientific study of inter- and intranational relations, and section 3 examines the history of the Soviet Union in memoirs and first-hand accounts. In the spring, section 1 focuses on the research and writing skills required for advanced work in historical and social studies, and section 2 examines European empires from colonialism to decolonialization. Prerequisite: at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments. (4 credits)
Thoughts?
Here are the languages I am thinking of if I start a new one: German, Italian, Persian, or Hindi.
- German: Fun language, fun country, similar to Dutch/English, limiting in terms of graduate study (would also need Latin and likely Italian), would take a regular pace introductory course.
- Italian: fun language, fun country, similar to Spanish, limiting in term of graduate study (would likely also need Latin, and a little German, popular topic for people to study in grad school), would take a regular pace introductory course, fabulous excuse to go to Italy *A LOT*.
- Persian: fun, different, easily differentiate me in applications, limiting in graduate studies (but limiting to a fun awesome era so not as worrisome), harder, would take a regular pace introductory course, would be able to practice with Devon.
- Hindi: fun language, Bollywood!, would be an excuse to go to India, lots of exciting media stuff happening in India, differentiate me in applications, harder good for jobs, harder to learn, would take a intensive pace introductory course because it's all they offer in the fall.
- And if I stay with Spanish: easy to pick up again, lots of options to take classes, lots of opportunities to speak, good for jobs, large number of countries/eras I could study in graduate school but none that I'm that interested in, less differentiating, easier by a lot, more time consuming 'cause I would take an intensive introductory course. Would likely take the multimedia Spanish course, and not just because it's taught by an MIT faculty member, boring.
*If I do history then I need to prove reading knowledge in at least one foreign language, possibly more depending on the program. Unfortunately, I'm not a very good disciplined learner so improving my Dutch on my own to pass a reading test isn't going to happen. I need a structured learning environment. But I might not do history.
Class Options at Harvard:
SPAN E-1 Intensive Elementary Spanish I (10266)
Irene Bergel, PhD.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 16, 5:30-7:30 pm.
An introduction to oral and written Spanish for students with little or no background in the language, this course encourages students to communicate with each other and the instructor in simple language using role-play and other interpersonal activities. Students read short pieces on modern Spanish culture and write compositions on subjects of personal interest. Grammar includes present and past tenses. (4 credits)
SPAN E-1v Intensive Elementary Spanish I: Multimedia (10407)
Douglas Morgenstern, MA, Senior Lecturer in Spanish, Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Tuesdays and Thursdays, Sept. 16, 5:30-7:30 pm.
This course is for beginning students who want to learn as much Spanish as possible in four hours of class time weekly. The focus is on conversation, listening comprehension, and culture using a variety of multimedia materials, including the PBS telecourse Destinos as well as music, videos, and Web-based text documents. Students need Internet access for homework assignments. (4 credits)
PERS E-1a Introduction to Persian (13080)
Matthew C. Smith, PhD, Persian Bibliographer, Widener Library, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Wednesdays, Sept. 17, 5:30-7:30 pm.
This course introduces the student to the alphabet and basic grammar of Persian through extensive practice in reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Students are encouraged to communicate in Persian during role-playing exercises and read short passages from modern texts. (2 credits)
HNDI E-1 Intensive Introductory Hindi I (12741)
Naseem A. Hines, PhD, Preceptor in Urdu-Hindi, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $950. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Mondays and Wednesdays, Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 pm. Required sections to be arranged.
These courses are introductions to one of the most widely spoken languages of the world in its Hindustani form. Students are introduced to the Devanagari writing system. Conventional instructional materials are supplemented by popular songs and clips from contemporary Indian cinema. (4 credits)
ITAL E-1a Elementary Italian I (10178)
Arianna Mamoli, MA.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, Sept. 18, 7:35-9:35 pm.
This course is designed for students with little or no knowledge of Italian. We focus on basic grammar and comprehension of and conversation in the Italian language. (2 credits)
GERM E-1a Elementary German I (10131)
Emily E. Jones, AM, Teaching Fellow in German, Harvard University.
Course tuition: noncredit and undergraduate credit $690. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Thursdays, Sept. 18, 5:30-7:30 pm.
In GERM E-1a and E-1b, students learn to speak and write German in unstilted and grammatically correct fashion. We listen to German-language broadcasts and songs, watch pieces of films, read texts on the Internet, and discuss them together. Prerequisite for GERM E-1b: GERM E-1a, or the equivalent. (2 credits)
Of course, I could always take a graduate level writing course for history and government. Considering the writing sample is so important in graduate school. This might be the path I want to go. But it's also very expensive.
SSCI E-100b Graduate Research Methods and Scholarly Writing in the Social Sciences: Government and History (12576)
Vincenzo Bollettino, PhD, Associate, Program on Humanitarian Policy and Conflict Research, Harvard School of Public Health.
Graduate proseminar. Course tuition: graduate credit $1,725. Limited enrollment.
Fall term: Mondays, Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 pm.
Students who do not have Harvard ID cards must purchase $100 special borrower's cards at Widener Library.
This proseminar addresses problems and methods related to the study of government, history, history of science, and allied disciplines. It stresses the critical analysis of sources, constructing explanatory models, standards of logical demonstration, and organizing and presenting research results. Emphasis is on developing both writing and research skills. In the fall, section 1 studies the peace building process, section 2 focuses on the evolution of conflict processes and addresses the scientific study of inter- and intranational relations, and section 3 examines the history of the Soviet Union in memoirs and first-hand accounts. In the spring, section 1 focuses on the research and writing skills required for advanced work in historical and social studies, and section 2 examines European empires from colonialism to decolonialization. Prerequisite: at the first class meeting, students must complete a writing assignment that demonstrates their graduate-level reading comprehension and ability to write coherent, logical arguments. (4 credits)
Thoughts?