Any disadvantage of taking a language as a 3rd yr module choice for a STEM degree?

[bruizez]

DS is doing a numerate STEM degree at a very good uni and choosing modules for his 3rd and final year. The third year is weighted heavily for the final degree classification. One module is a free choice, and he's planning to do conversational Spanish. He did it for GCSE and seems to think it will therefore be a relatively easy/fun as well as useful option. Is he right, or might there be a sting in the tail?

Conversational Spanish may be too low a level to count for final year degree. At DDs uni only level 10 courses count so would need to be 3rd year level spanish. However this is a uni where all modules count equally (and no disregarding worst etc).

He did it for GCSE and seems to think it will therefore be a relatively easy/fun as well as useful option.

I suggest he checks it out more carefully rather than assuming it will be 'relatively easy', perhaps see if he could speak to one of the lecturers running that module and better understand the level. Unless he has 'kept it up', it's a long time since he did Spanish, and GCSE is pretty basic to start with. Also check out the contribution to his final grade - are all options equal as per PP.
I don't doubt it will be fun and potentially useful if he holidays in Spain, but he does need to ensure he understands what is involved.

"Conversational Spanish may be too low a level to count for final year degree"

It's a 15 credit module.

"potentially useful if he holidays in Spain"
Or works in Spain, or South America, or works with people from those countries.

(My DH learnt Spanish as a hobby and uses it to talk to his international colleagues).

My holiday comment was based on his belief that it would be 'easy' if the module is that easy for someone who did GCSE 4 years ago, it's unlikely it will be at the level for him to be able to effectively communicate with native Spanish speakers in a business environment. Or, if one module IS going take his Spanish skills to that standard, then he needs to be prepared to put a lot of additional work in. I'm trying to be helpful rather than unkind, and do have relevant knowledge and experience.

Technical German might be more useful.

I was thinking about the level of the course being closer to A level so not advanced enough to count for final year (rather than the number of credits). However if your DCs uni allows then could be useful for the language itself and most likely easier than 3rd year STEM courses.

Is he planning a career that has further study but gives exemptions for certain undergraduate modules?

In my School we sign off on our Personal Tutees’ choices.

If this is the only outlier and if it is at a sufficiently high level, I would have no problem with it. Generally Y3 students cannot take Level 1 modules and are very at my uni restricted in the number of Level 2 modules allowed. Is there a similar restriction on DS that he may not have had readon to think about previously?

If this is Level 2 or Level 3, I agree it may be different and fun but likely more time consuming than he realises.

Apologies for mangled grammar, on train

I did French as a subsidiary subject in the first year of uni (back in the dark ages) as part of an arts degree. I found it really hard and arduous even though I’d done A level French.

That’s my completely anecdotal and probably useless piece of advice fwiw. 😬

Thanks all. I've looked at the brochure for the MFL modules - there are 7 levels, and they have an interview with a tutor to determine the appropriate level. So I expect that will make sure it's not an 'easy' option.

He enjoyed Spanish at school and considered it for A Level. I may just need to warn him not to assume it will be a repetition of what he has done before. Hopefully he isn't just basing the choice on conversations with friends about the level of Spanish they studied.

I didn’t do STEM but I had a similar opportunity in my final year at uni and did Spanish. It counted as much as any other modules did. obviously they can vary in difficulty but my course really wasn’t very difficult and I did sufficiently well in it for the very high mark to pull me up to a 2i
overall.
straight after uni I then went to a language school in Spain to learn even more Spanish.
It was the right call for me, but some people in the class definitely struggled. If he found the GCSE pretty easy going and enjoyable then sounds like a good idea imo

I’m confused. How can a degree module just follow on from GCSE? It cannot be degree level study? So a gimme really.

Well, as I said, there are 7 levels of study, and they assess which is the appropriate level before they are accepted onto the module. I need to talk to him to make sure he realises this and isn't just basing the choice on something a friend told him:

This is the web page, and there is a detailed brochure that he may not have read yet: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/languages-international-education/language-courses/modules

From what I can see, level 1 is beginners and 5 upwards is post A level. So I guess he’s 3 or 4? So it’s not degree level but intensive to get up to A level. I guess it depends if that’s going to suit him as part of other studies and how much time he will give it? I’m very pro MFL but it’s interesting it’s not post A level study if you don’t have the A level so inevitably limited and below what would be expected for a MFL degree. However why not?

He should be fine OP, but I doubt it will be easy! I did a first year language course as an outside course in Y2 at uni and it was hard. Very fast paced, lots of homework, literature and history components as well as language. I did enjoy it though.

What level does he think he is? Asking because DDs uni is very similar but to study outside MFL modules after 1st year you would need to be at least Level 3/4 to take instead of course module. You can study in addition to course modules at a lower level. DD did that in 1st year at level 2 and said it was bloody hard.

I think he was anticipating doing one of the lower levels, but may not have realised it's not completely his decision. I've given him a nudge now, to wake him up to the idea that he may need to do level 3 and, although it will be interesting, it may not be an easy option. 🙂

At my uni (Leeds) the Spanish I did in my final year was nothing like degree level. Somewhere between GCSE and a level.

I didn’t think that level could be part of a degree though. I’m obviously wrong - just surprised. A friend of DDs did French For 2 years post GCSE on a MEng degree. In y3 went to a Grande Ecole and used it. Was examined in French having studied alongside the French students. I get that but not 1 module post GCSE and no use made of it. Much easier. I do support learning a MFL though and no doubt keeps the MFL student numbers up!

Hi, again - when I used the word ‘level’ I really meant ‘year’. Our Y3 students cannot take Y1 courses for credit. The situation is similar to what @SandyIrving described.

It has nothing to do with placing into one of 7 levels for conversational language. I apologise for the confusion. (BTW our Y3 students can take only a very small number of Y2 credits). DS def needs to check on the local regs

It seemed clear what the levels were and which level was post A level (5) but how to you know which level you are permitted to do between 1-4? Not 1 or 2 I would assume but I think DC must talk to staff.

My dd is in the second year at university and took up a Spanish module this term.
She has a GCSE in Spanish so was put into an intermediate class,
As another poster suggested it was somewhere between GCSE and A level .
It is not as easy as she expected, but she wanted to do a Spanish module as she is doing a year abroad in Spain this September

I would advise your ds to do some more research before committing

If he still intends to go ahead he could probably sign up for an online language course during the Summer holidays

The conversation with staff is compulsory (thank goodness). I expect they will steer him towards level 3 for a 15 credit module (or else 3+4 if he chose a 30 credit module, which he isn't planning to do).

@Lampzade The friend of DDs did a MEng with French and that was 2 years of learning before being let loose in France for y3. That’s a stiff learning curve if just one year.

If he still intends to go ahead he could probably sign up for an online language course during the Summer holidays

I think that's a really good idea.