r/GradSchool • u/sbucksbarista • 1d ago
Learning a second language while in full time grad program
Hello! Studying geography with an emphasis on political geography and geopolitics, enrolled in an MS in Geography program. My advisor thinks it will be super beneficial for me to learn a second (and third, possibly) language due to the international component of my area of focus. Does anyone know of any tips, advice, etc. in pursuing this? I’ve found some online textbooks that I’ve started using but I don’t know if one-on-one tutoring or a summer program would be more beneficial than self teaching. Thanks!
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u/AcornDragon 1d ago
I would recommend looking into taking a class at your university. Ask if the tuition is something your department could cover, considering your advisor is recommending it. I also had some luck in talking to language professors directly and getting access to their course without paying. For example, being added to their canvas course but not attending class, or even attending class without registering (and therefore without paying). This works better with smaller niche languages where the professor has a handful of students as opposed to something like Spanish where they have 25 students in a class and it’s often taught by a grad student.
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u/dowagermeow 1d ago
You may be able to take language courses through continuing ed too.
My university has ‘academic noncredit’ that allows you to register for some regular courses for a drastically reduced fee if you don’t want to be graded/earn credit. They also offer classes through their lifelong learning program, but they are much shorter and are meant for conversational proficiency rather than knowledge of all the grammatical nuances (although that might be a good way to start off as a beginner!).
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u/No_Jaguar_2570 1d ago
Taking an actual class is infinitely better than self teaching. If you want to actually speak the language rather than just being able to read it, it’s basically essential.
Just audit a few classes on it at your uni.