Spanish or Japanese?!?! Please help me decide!

[gemgem49]

I have a lot of electives to use up and I can do one more first year subject. Definitely want to be a language as that is where my interests lie but I won't continue on with it after this semester (predominantly because I've run out of first year units).

I can't decide between the two and was hoping people doing the subjects can shed some insight.

Pros for Japanese: 4 hours only, have become interest in language after wanting to travel there and watching animes recently + my uncle who just died was a Japanese teacher which kind of gives me more interest in it (lawl)
Different: Could be more difficult because of the different way of writing/not really any familiarity with grammar or whatever

Pros for Spanish: have had an interest in longer, possibly easier because similar alphabet used as English/similar grammar?
Cons: 6 contact hours which is soo many for just an elective...



Those who have done it: thoughts? How did you find it and which one do you think would be easier. I'm also going to be doing level 3 German if that makes a difference.

[Fyrefly]

It would probably be easier for you to learn Spanish, given native English speaker and learning German. I know people who, when learning two similar languages at once, get confused and mix them up. If you think you won't run into this problem, then study Spanish.

I found Japanese 1 to be a lot of fun, if that counts for anything. It's also relatively easy, imo. German and English are very different to Japanese, which eliminates the "getting them mixed up" problem but makes studying Japanese more difficult in other ways.

Both languages have their merits, so studying either would be really valuable, even if it's only for a semester.

(predominantly because I've run out of first year units).

You should investigate your ability to take language units as level two or level three units. I know with Japanese, there are about five different unit codes for the same Japanese unit. They do this so people (like you) can take Japanese as second or third year electives, because they've run out of first year electives. I've done this - I'm enrolled in level three Japanese 8 for sem 2 2012. If you click on the link, see how the course code is ATS3148, making it a level three unit? Scroll down to the prohibitions for this unit. All of these prohibitions are also Japanese 8 - level one, level two, honors level and postgraduate level. Everyone takes this same class together and sits the same exam, it's just that some people are enrolled under different unit codes.

Edit:
You can do Japanese 2 as a level two unit: http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/units/ATS2142.html
Unfortunately though, you cannot do Spanish 2 as a level two unit: http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2012handbooks/units/ATS1192.html

So I guess if you want to be able to continue beyond one semester of study, you should study Japanese.

[gemgem49]

I think I'm going to go with Japanese!

Thank you so much for the extra information about doing it as a second year unit. I was going to struggle picking electives that weren't language/history/international studies so that helps so much

I'm not sure if I would find Spanish easier, especially with the added stress of more contact hours. I tend to put a lot of work into language subjects anyway, because they're kind of my 'fun break' from readings and essays. Yay, I'm excited now.

Any other insight to share about the actual course? I noticed there is a seminar, lecture and tutorial. Would the seminar be language-related (grammar) while the lecture is based on culture?

edit:I just tried to enroll in ATS2142 and it said :

"ERROR SUBMITTING FORM: Please refer to the handbook or consult your Faculty. Rule breach unit ATS2142 ============================== Enrolment in unit ATS2142 is not permitted for students in courses owned by FACULTY OF ARTS."

Hm

edit 2 lol:p Prohibitions

Students enrolled in Arts courses are prohibited from taking this unit. 

Ohh just saw this. Boo

[Furbob]

do Japanese.


.....*is horribly biased*

offtopic: what level of Japanese are you doing this year Fyrefly? :O BE MY FLEND?

[Fyrefly]

There's no culture component.

Hmm... language learning is very practical... so lectures, tutorials and seminars all kind of meld together.

If I *had* to distinguish between lects, tutes and seminars, I would say that in lectures you learn and in seminars you practice, with tutes sitting somewhere in between with both learning and application involved.

Japanese 1 follows this sort of pattern:
Lecture: First time you learn a grammar point. You mostly sit and listen. You practice repeating things after sensei a lot because everyone sucks at pronunciation at first. Sensei occassionally gets you to do interactive work with the person next to you and you occassionally need your textbook (eg. First lecture, after you learn how to introduce yourself: "Please spend the next few minutes introducing yourself to the people around you.")
Tutorial: Sensei explains the grammar point again, and you practice it a little. Usually practice involves both completing exercises in the textbook (reading and writing practice) and talking in groups (speaking and listening practice).
Seminar: You practice the grammar point a lot, again both talking and textbook.

I can't remember if it's during tutes or seminars (or both), but you also go through hiragana, katakana, kanji (iirc, hiragana week 1 and 2, katakana week 3, about 10 kanji each week beyond that). Sensei shows you how to write them correctly (stroke order is surprisingly important), and you do practice writing them a bit in class too. You're expected to dedicate time to memorising them outside of class too though.

Also, you get to play games sometimes - I remember playing games when we learned things like numbers and direction, and when we learned katakana we played a game where you match katakana to the corresponding hiragana.

[Fyrefly]

do Japanese.


.....*is horribly biased*

offtopic: what level of Japanese are you doing this year Fyrefly? :O BE MY FLEND?

LOL! Don't worry, I'm biased too

I'm on exchange at the moment, but I'm enrolled in Jap 8 for Sem 2, 2012. I suspect I'll be above level eight though... I'm learning so much faster here than those learning Japanese on-campus at Monash, because I'm living it and speaking it everyday. But I don't mind if I get back only to find that Jap 8 is too easy, because it's going to be a bitch passing my other subjects that semester... =.="

[Inside Out]

Jap seems more useful in the outside world

[Fyrefly]

edit:I just tried to enroll in ATS2142 and it said :

"ERROR SUBMITTING FORM: Please refer to the handbook or consult your Faculty. Rule breach unit ATS2142 ============================== Enrolment in unit ATS2142 is not permitted for students in courses owned by FACULTY OF ARTS."

Hm

edit 2 lol:p Prohibitions

Students enrolled in Arts courses are prohibited from taking this unit. 

Ohh just saw this. Boo

Ah... I didn't know about the Arts exception, sorry.
Hmm... contact a course advisor and see if they can give you any advice.

Edit: An option I feel would be available to you, if your Jap 1 results were good enough:
Near the end of semester, approach your unit coordinator for Jap 1 and explain you want to continue, but that you can't take any more level 1 units and thus can't enrol in Jap 2. Ask if there's any way you can self-study over semester two and/or summer, so you can enrol in Jap 3 in 2013. You would most likely have to sit the placement test to prove you have sufficient knowledge to take on Jap 3, but this in itself shouldn't be too much of an issue. If you have good results and show a real enthusiasm for learning Japanese, your unit coordinator will likely try to find a way whereby you can continue studying.

Edit2: http://www.monash.edu.au/pubs/2011handbooks/units/ATS1141.html
I know the unit coordinator - she was my tutor back when I did Jap 1! She didn't hold a doctorate back then though, so she was just "Ms." and not "Dr.", ha ha. She's really nice, so don't be afraid to approach her about this.

[iamtom]

Espanol no es tan dificil de aprender con esfuerzo.
Translation: Spanish is easy if you put your mind to it. It's also not that interesting of a language. I would say Japanese, just from it being different to latinate languages alone.

[gemgem49]

Yay for choosing Japanese
 Hm the seminars and tutorials seem nearly the same. How are the class sizes for both?
I'll see how I go after Japanese 1 and then if I really like it I'll go about continuing it. (this is what I get for doing too many pointless electives in first year -___-)

EDIT: I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED TO NOT HAVE A CULTURE COMPONENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[andy456]

Woooo I did Jap 1 first semester and it is very enjoyable. I found seminars to be the most difficult lesson of the sequence. The course is fast paced and you'll ind you learn quite a lot at the end of the unit.

Tutorial and seminars have a max of about 24 people iirc.
The writing was the most worrying point for me to learn but it actually isn't that difficult. I just made cue cards and learnt them fairly quickly

[Furbob]

do Japanese.


.....*is horribly biased*

offtopic: what level of Japanese are you doing this year Fyrefly? :O BE MY FLEND?

LOL! Don't worry, I'm biased too

I'm on exchange at the moment, but I'm enrolled in Jap 8 for Sem 2, 2012. I suspect I'll be above level eight though... I'm learning so much faster here than those learning Japanese on-campus at Monash, because I'm living it and speaking it everyday. But I don't mind if I get back only to find that Jap 8 is too easy, because it's going to be a bitch passing my other subjects that semester... =.="

OH YAY YOU GET TO BE MY FLEND XOXOXO (for sem 2)   <insert the enthusiasm of a thousand jaffies here>

speaking is my worst area since I haven't been to Japan since year 10... where I hardly spoke a word (VCE jap is a joke kids.) I simply haven't had enough exposure *envies you*
but kanji on the other hand is my hawt secks. no seriously, im taking 2 little kanji books with me for when I fly out to Hong Kong this Friday to practice on the plane because im that bored dedicated.

on-topic: tip for Japanese-learners: learn to love kanji for day 1 as you will start to feel pretty badass when you start writing sentences that look much more detailed compared to your usual English sentences

*edit*

on second though.... Spanish sounds pretty sexy as a language.