Applied Languages in UL?? (LM044)

Navan94

Hi

I'm currently in sixth year and filling out the CAO, I just have a few questions about Applied Languages (LM044) ;
Is the course good and interesting? How intense is cause the points are high enough and was just wondering if this reflects its intensity?
Also at the Open Day last November the lecturer was vague and didn't seem that good, so what are the lecturers like?!

Aragneer

Hey there
I am not an Applied languages student but I am on a course called Languages Literature and film (LMO45) and had a roommate this year who did LM044 I have the same electives as it and so I thought I'd write in and help
The electives are pretty interesting and good. You get to do several languages that you choose yourself and they can vary from what level you are doing them at. I do Beginners German and I find it amazing There is a lot of work but the course isn't so intense. I think LM044 is pretty tough going as you have 2 or 3 languages to learn or work on but these can vary in difficulty and I've never really heard anyone struggling So ignore the points, they don't really mean much :L
The lecturers are good for German, English and half of Cultural studies I have found. They are pretty interesting and are extremely helpful if you have any questions for them The Academic Literacies side ( a filler subject) isn't too great though but you really can just breeze through it because it's 'learning how to learn'.
I think it's probably a good choice if you're interested and dedicated to languages If you need anymore help or have anymore questions, feel free to inbox me

Navan94

Hi!
Thanks for all that... Really helpful! All I need to do now is get the points :P

Aragneer

You're welcome
Just work on the languages you have chosen and stuff and you'll do great
If you need any help just let me know

rossoc

I want to do applied languages in ul aswell, but afraid i wont get the points and will have to do arts in galway...does anyone know what the difference? is applied languages a better degree/qualification?

RovinPirate

Can I just mention Japanese here? I'm doing Arts (Joint Honours) but I do 2 languages, so I share classes with a lot of Applied languages. I could have done German (advanced) or Spanish beginners as well as the English and Japanese that I am doing! It was 10 points lower than applied languages on the CAO last year. And there are lots of choices including psychology, politics ect ect.

Backflip17

I also have this down as No. 1 on my CAO ...I definitely want to do languages but Im finding it hard to choose between UL , International Languages in UCD or just going through Arts in UCC??

Can anyone help clear things up?

Thanks!

Aragneer

I have a few friends in my German tutorials who do arts instead of the normal language courses and all of them pretty much love it apart from the amount of work they have to do.

I would say put it down on your CAO also since the points are a bit lower (I think) or you could put down languages, literature and film as we do two languages and several other modules with it and is only around 365 points It's a good course but pretty testing and a good amount of hours too

Backflip17

Thanks for the reply

Are you doing an Erasmus exchange?

Ya I already have it down as a choice on my CAO....Im from Cork so Arts would be the only option for me in UCC but it doesn't seem as focused concerning languages as Applied Languages would ...and Arts seems to be regarded as a joke :pac:

Also, would anyone know what the Marketing or Politics and International Relations electives are like...they sound pretty boring? :L

Aragneer

I'm in my first year at the moment so in third year I will be doing Erasmus I'm gonna go to either Austria or Germany hopefully!!
Well Applied Languages is usually put under arts but we have quite a bit more work and stuff but arts seem to always be attaced with the amont of hours..

Plassey

HI Navan,

Having doing the Applied Languages course in UL I'd thought I'd share my experience The course is very interesting , especially Erasmus and COOP ( work placement) ,when you'll be send abroad. If you're really interested in languages it's a good course . First and second year are grand , work load is not too major.You can either study 2 languages and an elective ( politics/marketing/computers ) or a third language But it gets very heavy going in and third and fourth year especially as you've got to complete your thesis in 3rd year which is very unusual , as all the other courses in UL I think complete this in their final year. In addition to this, after coming back from Erasmus in 3rd year, you start doing translation which is very tough and some basic interpreting at the end of 4th year. The course is great if you want to be an interpreter or a translator , but to be honest if you're not interested in these careers I'd look into something else but that would be my own view on it as its tough to get a job without doing a postgraduate course in some other field.

cocaholic

Backflip17 wrote: »

Politics and International Relations electives are like...they sound pretty boring? :L

I can only talk to you about this side or if you info on sociology.

Modules of this stream would include International Relations, Political thought, multiculturism, political theory, EU politics (EU politics is quite boring from my perspective but would be helpful if you were considering a career translating in the EU), ethnic conflicts, global political economy, globalisation, public policy, development, African politics,Russian politics, Latin American politics (helpful if you choose Spanish), politics of oil (so interesting), issues in world politics, SPSS (a practical thing to learn), international organisations and global governance, regional development, government, Irish politics etcetera.

Depends on yourself, you don't necessarily have to be into political parties and Irish politics to do it. I personally love it, but I have found some aspects less interesting and some really interesting and great. People have misconceptions of what politics in 3rd level is all about, its more broad than people imagine.

Roadtrippin

If you are interested in languages, the Applied Languages course in UL is one of the best in the ROI since you will actually finish your degree speaking the languages of your choice fluently and have some practical work experience in the area as well.
I have done research in this area and can tell you based on what I found out that in comparison to other institutions UL fares very well in terms of the long term usability of the degree. It can be more useful even if you chose one of the (supposedly) harder electives like computers or technical writing. You can be sure to get a job out of a degree with languages and computer skills, for example.
I disagree with some of the other statements here that it is only useful for people that want to become translators. In fact, it's the minority of Applied Languages graduates that end up in translation/interpreting jobs. A lot start working in technical writing or teaching. It also depends what electives you choose and if you specialise later with a Masters or other further training.
The lecturers also are nice enough and try their hardest to help students that actually are interested.
If you are worried about getting the points, "Languages, Literature and Film" is another good option or a joint honours BA.
If you have any questions, ask away

LimerickLad92

Do Japanese, its amazing!

Togepi

If anyone does Applied Languages in UL I've got a couple of questions... Thought I'd just post here instead of starting a new thread!

What are the lecturers like for French (and Spanish and Japanese)?

How many hours a week do you normally have?

Is it difficult to do Spanish if you've never studied it before?

What's involved in the compulsory modules? (Linguistics, Language Technology, Academic Literacies, Research Methodologies and Applied Languages Project.)

What sort of stuff do you actually study for the languages? Do you study anything about the cultures, literature, music, history, etc?

What kind of jobs do people with this degree usually go into?

Can you teach Japanese for the Leaving Cert if you decide to do it as your third language?

If anyone can answer any of those questions I'd be very grateful!

SwedishChef92

Togepi wrote: »

If anyone does Applied Languages in UL I've got a couple of questions... Thought I'd just post here instead of starting a new thread!

What are the lecturers like for French (and Spanish and Japanese)?

How many hours a week do you normally have?

Is it difficult to do Spanish if you've never studied it before?

What's involved in the compulsory modules? (Linguistics, Language Technology, Academic Literacies, Research Methodologies and Applied Languages Project.)

What sort of stuff do you actually study for the languages? Do you study anything about the cultures, literature, music, history, etc?

What kind of jobs do people with this degree usually go into?

Can you teach Japanese for the Leaving Cert if you decide to do it as your third language?

If anyone can answer any of those questions I'd be very grateful!

Hi there, didn't do Japanese, but know the head of Jap, she's lovely. Lecturers for French and Spanish are all grand. Tbh, I wouldn't worry about them, it's not like school where you are stuck with the same teachers 24/7.

It's normally 4 hours per language, and then 3 for electives - so that would be 18 total!

I took beginners Spanish - it isn't that its harder, just that you have to rush through all the grammar in comparison to the snails pace of secondary school. However if you keep up with it, and go to class, you'll be fine. I would say to make the most of your time in Spain on Erasmus/Coop as it's your best chance to improve before it gets tougher from 3rd Year on.

I didn't have to do the Academic Writing/Research things (back in the day of 4 modules a semester, *sigh*) but Linguistics, Language Technology, all depends how into the nitty-gritty of language you are. I thought they were a pain at the time, but they were necessary in hindsight. The Applied Languages Project was a even bigger pain. Whatever you do, do not leave it 'til last minute. It will come back and bite you on the ass - it's worth 2 modules so a good effort will do your QCA wonders.

Yeah, cultures kinda part and parcel of everything in languages really. It's more grammar based in the first 3 semesters, but you'll see a lot more films after the year abroad. There's quite a lot of reading to be done - I remember we had 3 French novels to read one semester. If you PM me I probably have a list of what happens every semester lying around.

As for jobs, anything goes really. Working in the EU is a good one, I know a lot of the Applied Languages gang have gone to work in France or Spain since. Most go to work in multinationals needing multi-lingual people.

Togepi

SwedishChef92 wrote: »

I took beginners Spanish - it isn't that its harder, just that you have to rush through all the grammar in comparison to the snails pace of secondary school. However if you keep up with it, and go to class, you'll be fine. I would say to make the most of your time in Spain on Erasmus/Coop as it's your best chance to improve before it gets tougher from 3rd Year on.

Would you be expected to end up at the same level of Spanish regardless of which level you start out at? And with regard to going abroad, apart from the Erasmus/Co-op, would many people tend to spend time abroad during summer holidays?

SwedishChef92 wrote: »

I didn't have to do the Academic Writing/Research things (back in the day of 4 modules a semester, *sigh*) but Linguistics, Language Technology, all depends how into the nitty-gritty of language you are. I thought they were a pain at the time, but they were necessary in hindsight. The Applied Languages Project was a even bigger pain. Whatever you do, do not leave it 'til last minute. It will come back and bite you on the ass - it's worth 2 modules so a good effort will do your QCA wonders.

I suppose I wouldn't mind it if they're useful overall. What exactly is the Applied Languages Project?

SwedishChef92 wrote: »

Yeah, cultures kinda part and parcel of everything in languages really. It's more grammar based in the first 3 semesters, but you'll see a lot more films after the year abroad. There's quite a lot of reading to be done - I remember we had 3 French novels to read one semester. If you PM me I probably have a list of what happens every semester lying around.

Do you have to look at any old literature or anything? I'd be pretty interested in modern novels and films, but I'd imagine older stuff would be a bit monotonous!

SwedishChef92

Togepi wrote: »

Would you be expected to end up at the same level of Spanish regardless of which level you start out at? And with regard to going abroad, apart from the Erasmus/Co-op, would many people tend to spend time abroad during summer holidays?

-- Yeah, and it's a killer. Some people have amazing experiences abroad where they learn and speak loads, whereas others just don't. You're probably always going to be better at the language you started in school, so it's a probably good idea to spend Coop (which nearly always makes you learn more than Erasmus) in the country of which your language is the weakest. I did French at school, then went to France for Coop, so my French is much stronger than my Spanish. Some people do spend other summers abroad, and really the more time you can be immersed in the language, the better it is, if possible!

I suppose I wouldn't mind it if they're useful overall. What exactly is the Applied Languages Project?

-- Applied Languages Project... is meant to be the academic masterpiece of your degree. You pick a topic you're interested in (related to language or culture), research it and write a 10,000 word essay on it. Now breathe! Haha. But don't worry, you'll have ages to decide what to do it on, and you'll have less college hours than usual so you can concentrate on it. I think I had one full day off a week so I just used that. Any bull-****ting skills you have will be very useful for this part of the degree.

Do you have to look at any old literature or anything? I'd be pretty interested in modern novels and films, but I'd imagine older stuff would be a bit monotonous!

Yeah, and it's awful. It's probably 70/30 towards old stuff, and even the new stuff is fairly terrible. We did Candide by Voltaire, which was written in 1750s. You can get by with English translations, SparkNotes, and whatever you can get your hands on with Google and the library.

Amaroo

I'm also a 6th year and Applied Languages is my first choice but the points are high. I so badly want to study languages but I also really want to go to UL. So I was just wondering, what is the main difference between Languages, literature and film, and applied languages other than the fact that you can do 3 languages in LM044. Could someone also please tell me what technical writing is because I have no idea. I plan to do 3 languages (French -advanced, German - advanced, and Spanish - beginners) and I'd like to hear other peoples experiences of doing the 3, or any 3. By the way, I am not a native speaker of any of these languages so I am aware that it'll be difficult. Thank you

SwedishChef92

Amaroo wrote: »

I'm also a 6th year and Applied Languages is my first choice but the points are high. I so badly want to study languages but I also really want to go to UL. So I was just wondering, what is the main difference between Languages, literature and film, and applied languages other than the fact that you can do 3 languages in LM044. Could someone also please tell me what technical writing is because I have no idea. I plan to do 3 languages (French -advanced, German - advanced, and Spanish - beginners) and I'd like to hear other peoples experiences of doing the 3, or any 3. By the way, I am not a native speaker of any of these languages so I am aware that it'll be difficult. Thank you

Well, you named the biggest difference. Other than that, there's a big amount of overlap. Sometimes both courses are in the same lectures and examined on the exact same things. Basically the emphasis of the course is what differs. As you can guess, LLF is directed at looking at cultural aspects of France, Spain, wherever while learning the language. AL on the other hand has a lot of translation and interpreting, hence the "applied".

You've probably seen that LLF requirements are easier to get - C3 in your leaving cert language(s) as opposed to a B3 for AL.

PS, you'll only have to do Technical Writing if you don't study a 3rd language.

Amaroo

Thanks for that!

gfgfgf14

If one does French German and Irish as the three languages will they be accepted by the teaching council or would i be better off doing arts?

SwedishChef92

gfgfgf14 wrote: »

If one does French German and Irish as the three languages will they be accepted by the teaching council or would i be better off doing arts?

Not sure on that one. Send an email to the address on this page, it should be the course director.

http://www3.ul.ie/courses/AppliedLanguages.php

Amaroo

Do you learn to do translation, interpretation, subtitling and over-dubbing for movies in both LM044 AND LM045?

morningpeasant

On the Japanese front, does anyone know how Japanese in UL compares to Japanese in DCU? It seems that DCU gives it students a full year in a Japanese university in 3rd year, which would lead me to believe the standard there will be a lot higher in comparison to UL. Also, they seem to have links with some quite prestigious universities in Japan.

doneanddusted

This is a bit late compared to the other responses but for anyone else who is thinking of doing AL I thought I`d add my few cents:

I did that course too and I think that if you want to be a translator or interpreter, AL is more useful than the more general language and culture studies course and will give you an introduction to these two in the last year and a half - the second half of 3rd year after you come back from Erasmus and then all of 4th year. A very brief introduction which does not give the reality of translation at least (don`t get me wrong, still a worthy career) but it is still a good enough intro. Depends on the teacher of course as always and how good they are at it themselves. However, the AL course is not really enough to get straight into translation as such. You really have to do a Masters.

I think you have to do a HDip for teaching any of the languages post-primary (or even primary but I don`t know much about that), especially in the case of the standard European languages, don`t know about Japanese. The AL course does not lead straight into a teaching job. Students have to do a Hdip (or that new education-type course available at UL but from what I read elsewhere that course is a bit iffy yet) - yeah another year of education but hey.

Related to translation, subtitling, dubbing and voice over work are NOT studied in this course (they weren`t when I was there anyway) and I actually think that that is a good thing because there is far too much pressure in that course already. Especially when you`re keeping up 3 languages (if you decide to do 3), writing projects, going on coop, trying to enjoy your erasmus etc. I have studied aspects of subtitling since and it is very intense work so you could do a masters afterwards in it (DCU have a Masters in audiovisual translation I see). Before that, try fansubbing somewhere to get a taste of it before you go spending any money on a masters. Even if you love film and you love languages, you might not necessarily love an eventual career mixing the two. Fasubbing is one thing but it`s not taken that seriously yet.

Spanish from beginners is a good idea if you have not done it before. It`s definitely one of the most enjoyable languages out there. After students come back from erasmus, the beginners crowd are then put together with the advanced crowd. The good thing about AL language study in particular is that we do not share our classes with people from other courses. No offence to them. It is just AL. With the exception of Japanese which takes in business students and anyone else who wishes to study it. Japanese never goes as far as advanced level, meaning it has always gotten low priority language wise at UL. Many other reasons too.

Linguistics was a doddle when I was there. You only do it for first year. That module turns into language technology in second year before you go on coop.

The FYP is a necessary evil for all UL students. If you spend an extra semester on erasmus, you can shorten it but it makes no difference word count wise. What`s another 4,000 words?? Plus that extra semester on erasmus should be well thought out. It might not be worth it in the end (points wise). Whether it`s shortened or not, when you have to write a masters dissertation, you`ll think it was a party in comparison.

DCU is probably better in some way for Japanese because you are not allowed to do 3 languages in DCU. 2 is the max. So Japanese only has to compete for study time with one other language and you need to dedicate a considerable amount of time to Japanese (not that It`s particularly difficult, just time-consuming... but in a nice way!!). DCU offer a whole year in a college in Japan whereas in UL, they have no established academic connections to the best of my knowledge. As well as that, competition for UL coop places in Japan is stiff. The reason for this depends on how much attention you pay to certain people. It is the practice of one particular member of staff for example to blame previous students in those placements for this (as in placements have been cancelled or are only available every second year as a result of the `impression particular students made` meaning a bad impression) but this is bs - it`s really not their fault and has been proven to be untrue in two cases at least (maybe more).

So to recap:
- AL will give you a preview of translation and interpreting. The Language and Cultural Studies course students do not get these modules (while they might share a lot of modules with the AL students these two are an exception) which I thought was good because if there hadn`t been any T and I in that course I would have been seriously disappointed and wondered why I didn`t just do an L and CS course.
- No subtitling/dubbing/voice-over work.
- FYP not the worst.
- Language / literature / culture classes for AL students not shared with other students.
- Linguistics easy.

Hope that helps someone : )

Bonbon1995

Hey guys do any of you regret doing this course? Very interested in the course..

Aragneer

Bonbon1995 wrote: »

Hey guys do any of you regret doing this course? Very interested in the course..

From anyone I've spoken to they have said that they do not regret the course. I do a similar one and I do not regret it at all as I am in Tenerife on my Co-op studying Spanish and German in work. So definitely worth looking into a language course in UL! Just be prepared to actually do the work

casual observer

What are the lecturers like at UL? I want to do Japanese but must decide between Dublin or Limerick. I'm from the midlands so distance is about equal.

Bonbon1995

casual observer wrote: »

What are the lecturers like at UL? I want to do Japanese but must decide between Dublin or Limerick. I'm from the midlands so distance is about equal.

UL!!!!

casual observer

Was that learned reply from a UL student?