Diploma in languages vs Diploma in modern languages

[boysenberry]

1) What exactly is the difference between the Diploma in languages and the Diploma in modern languages?
2) Why is the Diploma in modern languages unavailable to students who are enrolled in the new generation degrees (or Bachelor of Engineering)?
3) Why is the Diploma in languages unavailable to students who are enrolled in the Bachelor of Arts (Media and Communications) and some other courses (which I'm too lazy to put down )?

...anybody know, just curious.

[rustic_metal]

Modern languages is the old course. The new one is the Diploma of Languages.

[Eriny]

nevermind. Didn't read OP properly.

[boysenberry]

Can a diploma in languages extend your future career opportunities in any way or is it just a way of officially showing off to employers that you can speak ________ to some degree? I am interested in studying Mandarin.

[rustic_metal]

Proving you can speak a language is what furthers your career opportunities. It's not going to make you a better doctor or anything, lol.

[Muuru]

If you're interested in learning Mandarin, why not go on exchange? Universities provide an incredibly poor environment for learning new languages. With such a complex language like Mandarin, you're better off spending one year in China rather than trying to learn Mandarin in a setting where everybody is struggling to learn the basics. How can you become competent in Mandarin in that kind of setting?

Like I said in a previous thread, the DipLang is just a money sink for universities in my opinion. They don't care what level of competency you have by the end; all they want is your money.

All of this may sound cynical, but I'm totally against universities aggressively trying to "sell" the DipLang to students. It's not all it's cracked up to be.

[boysenberry]

If you're interested in learning Mandarin, why not go on exchange?

Are opportunities to go on exchange limited and competitive? Let's say that I do go on exchange, do people usually find this difficult financially? I am aware that you can get OS-Help loans from the government, but would this amount of money be enough to live in a foreign country for 6-12 months or more? Also, generally are exchange/study abroad programs worth it or are they just one of the varied ways for universities to squeeze money off students and just not worth it? I am also aware there are scholarships around, but how competitive are these? Do many people go on exchange/study abroad programs from Australia to countries overseas for undergraduate courses? How many people from Victoria go each year?

[rustic_metal]

http://www.mobility.unimelb.edu.au/outgoing/apply/status/1_11.html

Here's the list of people who applied for exchange for this coming semester and how successful they were.

[boysenberry]

http://www.mobility.unimelb.edu.au/outgoing/apply/status/1_11.html

Here's the list of people who applied for exchange for this coming semester and how successful they were.

What determines whether an applicant is successful in their application? Are there any specific requirments needed to go on an exchange?

[boysenberry]

wow, i think the majority of people who applied got accepted. I like those odds.

[rustic_metal]

That's what I was thinking when I applied, haha. ^_^