I started my first year of college and I'm seriously considering getting a double minor in Chinese and translation studies, mainly because the requirements are pretty easy. My main motivation is learning more Chinese, while translation is more "just 'cause". My major is totally unrelated and I'd plan to work in the same field as my major, so these minors wouldn't really be helpful in a job sense, but I'm interested in it. Anyways, what have you done, or what would you want to do? Do you think I can learn enough skills without formal classes, and is it more worth my time to spend on other stuff? Just kind of hoping to open a discussion and get some input ^^ Edit: I noticed some people are saying things like "would be worth if it wasn't Chinese" so I thought I'd just clarify that I already know Chinese (as a heritage speaker, though) if you were aiming that advice at me ^^ But it's also good to have input for outside people who clicked the thread for general advice so thank you too~
I've always figured that, like many other fields of study in formal education, language learning in college is of limited real-world applicability, not focused on your personal needs and circumstances, and/or just too slow to be particularly useful. Err. In other words, self-study is the way to go. Want to learn Chinese? Study it on your own time. Hook up with people IRL or online who speak the language, use them for practice. Move to China. (Or not, because it's China). ... But, sure. Take a college course, if you want. You can use that as additional foundation and practice if nothing else, I guess. ... Or maybe you need the structure. I know that I, personally, suck at self-studying. (Ironic, I know). Structure makes a difference for some people. Keeps us focused, persistent.
I only plan on majoring in a language after I’ve graduated with my current major (Physics), and only when I have extra money to spare. You can learn outside of class but the problem with that is putting aside the time to do so as well as diligently doing it. Classes give you the time to learn/practice the language. In a way, it forces you to make time for it. But as Westeller said, it’s very limited. But self learning requires a lot of self discipline and really only manifest either based on how long you’ve studied it, or how diligently you’ve studied. Personally, I did both. I self studied and took classes. As a major though... Gotta think about salary and translating doesn’t seem lucrative nor does it have a lot of job opportunities. But if you immerse yourself in the language (like going to China), then that’s another thing but it’s the same as forcing yourself to self-study/learn.
If you can spare a minor, I would recommend studying business. Everything is a business, even managing your time. Cheers!
I think it depends on what the job market is like around you. I graduated in the U.S. in 2009 with a degree in Japanese. I could not get a job in it. At all. Not even when my teacher sent me to a conference with 132 companies that she usually had students at least get interviews from.
I would second what @Wujigege said. You don't need a minor if you just want to learn the language. Spend your time minoring in something more useful, like business/economics. At least learn basic accounting to understand financial statements. It's ALWAYS helpful regardless of where you eventually work, and you may pick up better Excel skills as well. Fun fact, MBA students with Excel skills are super popular. Because you'll be shocked how everyone else, even from McKinsey, are luddites in it. You can always pick up extra language classes (your current college or elsewhere cheaper that's accredited with transferable credits). That may fill some kind of course credit requirement in your main degree as well. And you'll still get to put that on your resume/CV's language skills, even if it's not business level language skills. I hate to spoil whatever worldview you have, but sometimes it's not necessarily about being good at the language ... just magically buffing your resume
I also have the same doubt. I was planning to get a major in English literature for the sake of improving. Is it worth it? or I would better get into a Chinese institute to learn mandarin?
I'd choose based on what you ultimately want: 1) If it's just for the heck of it and you don't care how long it takes, I'd take the self study route. Find a friend or someone who knows Chinese and can give you a roadmap to follow of what to learn and when. That's all you need really. Otherwise, you'll muddle around and never really progress. 2) If you think you do want progress in learning at a faster pace, then minoring would be your best choice or you're going to have three different areas to try and study, not to mention the language being Chinese of all things.
Get certification over a degree. It’ll be much cheaper, faster and do the same thing. There are tests for language proficiency and translation work. Getting professional experience is also much better than education in most of the relevant jobs. Unless you want to get into education or research, in that case go for the degree because it’s necessary to progress into a masters and phd.
Seven years sounds like a super long time! Thanks for your input, I've also realized that learning a language (any language) is really difficult if you aren't really interested. (I registered for Japanese 1 this semester and I'm doing well in the class but it feels like such a chore :/) That sounds really difficult... I will say that I'm currently majoring in Computer Science and my minors are very much an afterthought, but that really puts it into perspective how hard it can be. Thank you for saying this ^^ I might look into business/economics! I originally hadn't thought about it because I'd have to do a dual degree (I know dual majoring is a headache, but it looks like getting a minor is very different) between the colleges at my university, but I think I've greatly underestimated how it could help me. Thank you for the suggestion Thank you for the suggestion! I think I might do this over getting a translation minor. I wasn't really considering translation as something to boost my resume (it's not related to the field I plan to work in) and I honestly don't think the classes would be something I'd enjoy.
Good luck! Learning a language can be fun if it isn’t in class. Forcing yourself to do it is hard though. Hope you can enjoy it as much as you can, my university had some really fun Japanese classes because everyone became friends but who knows.
As with any Arts related degrees, go for it if you know the course is reputable/non-crap and if you have the foundation and passion to build from. Language/Literature related courses in universities are there to introduce you to concepts you might not know how to dig into, phrasings you might never think is common, perspectives you'd rarely stumble upon. It's not really there for you to learn the language. Just don't depend on it for munns.
I would say it greatly depends on what you want. Asking advice in this forum can give you another point of view to your question but the root of it is still what do you want to do in life. There are two main worries that your degree is useless but it really depends on the field you plan on heading into. Studies on languages can have jobs that are closely tied to lecturers and teachers. Meanwhile, I'll add another side to the suggestion of taking on a business major in university. Majority of it can be learnt from reading books and working on your own business. If not, working under someone else. You don't need a degree for that. At the end of the day, there are always two sides to an argument, and it distils down to what you want. Spend more time pondering about what you want out of life after university and don't be afraid to make a decision.
Thank you for your perspective! I'm thinking I'll probably take at least the class (my school actually offers a heritage Chinese path, which is super cool!) and then decide from there whether I'd like to pursue a minor ^^ I definitely like what you said about introducing things to us Yes, I do think in the end I'm moreso thinking about getting a Chinese/translation degree just for fun (since my major isn't related) ^^' Thank you for your advice~
So this is old but I figured I'd still respond. Just learn on your own. Especially if it's just an interest. If your worried about certification, even people who major or minor have to take exams to prove that the have the knowledge level. JLPT for Japanese, Topik for Korean and HSK for Chinese. Self study and then take the qualification exam you'll save money and won't risk your gpa.
Thanks for your advice Honestly I would say a language class is more of a chill class for me than something that would risk my GPA (based of my experience of four years of language in high school and one semester at uni so far). I think in the end I'll just need to take some time and see how I feel about the class next semester before I decide on my future path.