Economics and Spanish

fairy_01

i am hopefully going to be doing economics in tcd in october but cant decide whether to take up spanish or not. I have never studied it before but think it would be a good language to have. Can anyone tell me how difficult it is from beginners level?! Thanks

nicola09

My friend studies economics and spanish as a tsm, there was about three others doing this combination first year last year, she had some experience of Spanish from A Levels but chose to start again at the beginning! do you want to do it as a tsm like this or do an optional module in spanish?

p1akuw47h5r3it

I study Russian in TCD not SPanish but...

I have a few friends who do Spanish and they really like the Spanish department. they say the T.A's students etc. are very friendly. Spanish isn't that difficult a language. It really depends on how much you want to learn it and if you are willing to put in the hours and work. It sounds pretty cool too, so thats a plus.

Good look with whatever you decide to do anyway.:)

djcervi

I study Spanish in TSM. If you have an interest in learning Spanish then it is a great department to work with. The staff and Spanish language assistants are really nice and encouraging. In comparison to other languages I think Spanish is the easiest out of all the other romance languages. Also for beginners I think there is a fair bit of support from the staff and also the peer tutoring service. The beginners group is pretty small, so everybody has a chance to learn. In the summer exam you have to sit the same exam as the non beginners. It sounds hard, but I think if you do the work it's doable. In first year your timetable would be for each week:

3x 1 hr grammar classes- 3 hours of Grammar (Grace teaches the beginner class, all the class think she's great)
1 hr oral tutorial with Spanish assistant (Patricia, the assistant is experienced and really good, will be working next year with beginners)
1 hr text analysis: You read a text chosen by the teacher, and you learn vocabulary, etc.
1 hr of Listening Comprehension
1 hr literature (For literature you can read the novels in English, but you have to quote in Spanish. Essays are to be written in English. Although literature in Spanish is good for learning vocabulary)
After christmas: An extra 1 hr lecture on Modern Spain. Deals with Spanish society and culture. Small bit of history, but really interesting I thought.

If you like Spanish, and have an interest in the country and language, then it's a great course. The staff are genuinely friendly, and can teach. The department also organise things like cinema nights, if you like Spanish cinema. Also every thursday there is a 'Spanish night' organised by the oral language assistant. It's in a pub near Trinity, where you can practise Spanish but also speak a bit of English with the Spanish ERASMUS students. If you need more info feel free to leave me a PM. Best of luck with your choice.

Edit: Forgot to say in Trinity the Economics department don't usually allow people do ERASMUS, so that is something to think about if you want to do it. Although you can defer a year to go abroad, but that would mean an extra year of college. Although the minimum requirement is 2 months in Spain which you can do in the summer, which is necessary to graduate in Spanish.

fairy_01

thanks very much for all your information...really helps!!:)

I'm just backing up what djcervi said - the Spanish department staff are lovely and the assistants are really friendly and helpful. This makes a big difference as far as motivation goes. They don't use 'humiliation' tactics or constantly put students down like a certain other modern language department. It's always really positive and encouraging.

As for the language, I started as a beginner and got a First in my first year exams (same exams for beginners and post-LC students), so it certainly is possible to pick it up quickly if you put the work in. I'd recommend finding an exchange partner to practise Spanish/English with - I met a girl from Madrid once a week and my spoken Spanish came on leaps and bounds in about 6 months. Overall, Spanish is a useful language and it's a really nice department, I never heard anyone complaining about the teaching or staff.

slee55

I'm starting economics and Spanish TR213 in September did u get it in the end?

slee55

Ah **** that was directed to the girl who did the first post.. I just joined boards and clearly I'm a bit retarded at it...:o:o

fairy_01

no it was my second choice didnt think i would get enough points for my first which was transatlantic studies in dcu but it dropped 5 from last year so i got in...congrats tho!!