Modern Languages Degree

Discussion in 'General Distance Learning Discussions' started by Simurgh, Jul 28, 2014.

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  1. Simurgh

    Simurgh New Member

    Hi DegreeInfo,

    I have really appreciated all of your posts and advice. Thanks to your combined help I am scheduled to graduate from Thomas Edison State College with a BA in Natural Sciences and Mathematics and a BA in Social Sciences. I have been interested in the field of modern languages and am looking for any type of degree that involves learning multiple languages as part of the curriculum.

    I however have not been able to find any that were offered online, distance, or correspondence learning. While I have seen degrees that were specialized in say spanish, french, or german I have yet to see one that is interdisciplinary like a in person modern languages degree. If any of you know of such an online degree, I would be more than happy to check it out. Thank you all again for your help! :D

    -Simurgh
     
  2. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    Our own Moderator, Maniac Craniac might be able to assist not to mention the esteemed Johann might be able to point you in the right direction(s). In the meantime perhaps you could say something more about preferred languages and how you'd hope to use this degree.
     
  3. Kizmet

    Kizmet Moderator

    After thinking about it for a couple of minutes, the only degrees that I could come with that might afford you the opportunity to learn multiple languages would be something in the line of International Relations, Diplomacy or Conflict Resolution/Peace Studies.
     
  4. Maniac Craniac

    Maniac Craniac Moderator Staff Member

    May I ask what your goal is with the degree? If you are studying out of interest, I might want to steer you away from learning a language in college, but obviously that is up to you. If you are looking for career opportunities, I can't think of any where it would make sense to have degrees where you learned little bits of different languages but reached proficiency in none.

    Possible options for you would be to double major in two different langauges or to pursue a degree that falls under either the linguistics or applied linguistics umbrella, but again, that would depend on what you wish to get out of it.

    FYI, I've been an interpreter/translator for nearly a decade and have a lot of experience in helping others learn languages. I know what's what ;) With more information, I can help steer you in the right direction.
     
  5. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    The esteemed Johann? Who he? :smile:

    You might try a very good Canadian distance school - Athabasca University. It's also RA - they like US students! They teach several courses by distance in each of - English, French, German and Spanish. You might well be able to put together an arts degree there including some courses from all four languages. Check the requirements; they're not hard to follow.

    I'm not an interpreter/translator as Maniac is -- although I was occasionally required to do such work - mostly written translation - during my career. I've just taken a bunch of language courses over the years - some in day school and the rest in university, community college or from local cultural organizations. I've never taken a distance course to learn a language, though I'm currently attempting to learn Polish through free resources (books, MP3s etc) largely gathered from the internet. Maniac seems to feel there are better places than University to learn languages. I won't disagree -- but you said specifically you're looking for a degree -- so I'll confine my remarks to University - because that's where degrees come from.

    I feel that distance language study is best for the experienced language student. Much easier to learn your fifth or eighth language by distance, than your second or third.

    Have a look at Athabasca. It might have what you need. Athabasca University - Focused on the future of learning.

    Johann
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jul 29, 2014
  6. japhy4529

    japhy4529 House Bassist

  7. Simurgh

    Simurgh New Member

    Thank you Kizmet, Maniac Craniac, and Japhy for the kind messages and advice! :)

    The languages that I know are English, French, and Spanish. I learned english and french when I was young, and I am a dual citizen of the USA and France. I learned up to Spanish V at the University of Wisconsin. Later I decided to go the distance education route and graduate from TESC. Just sent my last transcript to TESC, but as everyone knows, it take like 20 business days for them to evaluate it. XD

    Currently I am learning Mandarin and I am also interested in Japanese, Russian, Hindi, and Arabic. Of course, I understand that it will take a lifetime to learn that many languages, but I am comforted by the example of Kato Lomb the famous Hungarian polyglot who learned most of her languages after the age of 40!

    Thank you for sending me those recommendations. I will have to take a look at those courses from V-Tech, Athabasca University, and other places. I appreciate all of your feedback and advice.
     
  8. Simurgh

    Simurgh New Member

    Thank you Johann as well! Have you been taking classes at Athabasca?

    As a side note, have any of you esteemed veterans really enjoyed a particular degree or school? I would be interested in one that was fun or at least entertaining to take.

    Best Regards to You All
    Simurgh
     
  9. Johann

    Johann Well-Known Member

    No - but my son did - and he speaks highly of the experience.

    Johann
     

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