I started taking Japanese 101 with 200 other people spread over about 12 classes).

By 201 it was 100 people.

By 301 it was 50 people.

About 20 of us graduated at the end of the fourth year.

Just because something is difficult doesn't make it not worth doing.

Yes, yes, of course. However, if you do stick with it out of determination and love of the language, you may be dragging down your GPA. If you major or spec. in Japanese or East Asian Studies, you'll need to take a language either way. However, if it's just a personal interest course... masochism isn't the best of habits. Then again, if you're awesome at languages, go for it!

Ai!

I never worried about my GPA in college, I worried about taking classes that were interesting, challenging, fun, and may give me some knowledge I could use in the future.

Beans... you were lucky... then again, if I took every course that interests me... I'd be taking a surplus of four credits a year. The standard for full-time students being five.

That's an interesting perspective, I've never thought of taking private lessons or an informal summer course instead of going through a university. I've heard of people learning how to write online, but transferring into classes when they want to practice speech and interaction.

I can see where you're coming from though. I'm from a private school, so our classes are already difficult and small. My third year Japanese class was two people (From a starting class of fourteen), so the teacher wasn't getting paid for it. But I love her! Japanese is the most interactive class I've ever had. So, a university class can be good or bad (Our Chinese classes, for example, are the worst, and hardly anyone passes). This is mainly due to the Chinese teacher not knowing how to teach American students (Or American students not knowing how to understand a fifty-year-old Chinese woman...either or).

I do love my university class, though, and depending on the professor, it can be more rewarding BECAUSE of the pressure to succeed, and the competition. We do simulations of buying groceries, and talking on the phone, and getting directions in the street...OMG! I love my class... It's not meant for some people who can't process information relatively quickly and set up basic patterns of speech. Although, now I do independent study, which, I think is close to what you're getting at SM. It's nice to have the informal, verbal stuff, but I also like the classroom-structured bits because it's easier to learn Japanese with a sturdy foundation, instead of putting jumbled pieces together.

For instance, my Sensei taught me how to conjugate the た(て)フォーム Ta-forms by a simple song, sung in the tune of "Oh, Christmas Tree":

Oh み、に、び
Oh み、に、びー
み、に、び to んだ

Oh い、ち、り
Oh い、ち、りー
い、ち、り to った

き -> いた
ぎ -> いだ
し -> した
来た/した

Oh み、に、び
Oh み、に、びー
たフォームがわかる。(Now we know our Ta-forms)


Without Sensei, I don't think I'd ever learn that nifty trick, which helps a lot with conjugating ta- and te-forms.

Dude, sign me up for your school, I'm taking seventeen credits this semester! XD and they're all middle or upper-level~talk about information overload! @_@

Edit to MMM: Yeah, that's the ticket. I always love taking classes that will better my chances of success or work towards my goal of being a "wise person."

Of all the classes I've taken so far, I would have to say the most fascinating and important classes were: American Literature, Romantic Literature, Sociology, The World in Crisis (Political Science), and Capitalism and Socialism (Economics). Gotta love Humanities.

It's good to know that someone sees it my way! Although, I admit I would want to take it now - in university... however, the time slot conflicts with my other courses... two other courses... hence, it was deemed the lesser.

As for my university... the credit system is a bit different between universities, notably. You can really see those types of things on exchange trips... I don't know if it would be any easier over here, though~

On another note: Ai! - for being a factotum! A Jack of Trades! A Renaissance Person!

And, another ai for humanities!

As for myself... being the second year I've only taken...

Sociology, Psychology, Philosophy, East Asian Studies, Religion, Physics - all introductory courses...

Now, I'm doing more specialized philosophy courses as well as East Asian and Religion courses...

I'm not sure in which country Swordmaster lives, but in places like England, a credit hour is a lot more work than in the US.

My wife took something like six or nine credit hours in the one semester she lived in England (Lancaster Uni), and she worked way, way harder than six or nine would have been in the US (i.e., that's a joke semester in the US).

Gah? He's gon from tsun to dere... I never saw it coming!

Anyways, on a more critical note, I live just north of ye ol' Americans.

As it stands I'm taking two full courses and six half (five credits total). That comes up to about 16 hours a week, plus 500+ pages of readings a week... help me... compounded with essays and tutorials - and clubs/social life...

ooooh, so Kyle is right! In America, credits are the same as hours, so by my saying I am taking 17 credits, I mean I'm in class seventeen hours/week. Interesting, I never knew it was different... Though I should know by now America is different from everyone!

Edit: Yah, I feel yah. I also work 25 hours a week and volunteer tutor, as well as write essays almost every day and read at least one book a week (if not more). And people say college prepares you for "real life," it prepares you for Purgatory!