studying in a foreign language

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Nicodeamus

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Has anyone here studied in a foreign language.

3 weeks ago my grandfather passed away, he was deep in his 80s, he spent his entire life working as a building materials scientist. He worked for the CSIR and was well-reputed in his field across the world, he earned a DSC for his life's work, which is a great achievement.

However he wasn't much of a businessman, he would do research for companies for free or work for a decent salary. He always said that he could only carry 1 t-shirt. So science and not money was his motivation.

So on his funeral, this one man came to my father and said he is willing to sponsor one of his grandchildren to go and study in Germany (the guy is a German). So I'm the only grandchild that can speak German, even though its my third language. The man told me that my grandfather helped him start up his business in SA when he was very poor and today he is a millionaire because of it, in fact he earns way more than a million per year, and that he wanted to give something in return, apparently my grandfather always refused to take some of his money, he said 'dit kom hom nie toe nie' (Afrikaans for it doesn't belong to him).

So he feels that he has to give something back to my family and is willing to sponsor me to do my Masters in Germany next year - all expenses paid.

However there is one catch, I have to do it in the field that my grandfather works in (which is not a problem as I also studied something very similar, I am the only grandchild that studied his field). However, the courses that I am interested in are only offered in German in Germany, I've checked most of the universities out and it seems to be the case of all of those that I checked. This is going to be a massive challenge, but I am willing to put in the effort.

So has anyone ever studied in a foreign language and what experiences did you have?
 
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Ask him for money instead.

But yes, I studied in a foreign language, English. :D
 
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Nicodeamus said:
Has anyone here studied in a foreign language.

3 weeks ago my grandfather passed away, he was deep in his 80s, he spent his entire life working as a building materials scientist. He worked for the CSIR and was well-reputed in his field across the world, he earned a DSC for his life's work, which is a great achievement.

However he wasn't much of a businessman, he would do research for companies for free or work for a decent salary. He always said that he could only carry 1 t-shirt. So science and not money was his motivation.

So on his funeral, this one man came to my father and said he is willing to sponsor one of his grandchildren to go and study in Germany (the guy is a German). So I'm the only grandchild that can speak German, even though its my third language. The man told me that my grandfather helped him start up his business in SA when he was very poor and today he is a millionaire because of it, in fact he earns way more than a million per year, and that he wanted to give something in return, apparently my grandfather always refused to take some of his money, he said 'dit kom hom nie toe nie' (Afrikaans for it doesn't belong to him).

So he feels that he has to give something back to my family and is willing to sponsor me to do my Masters in Germany next year - all expenses paid.

However there is one catch, I have to do it in the field that my grandfather works in (which is not a problem as I also studied something very similar, I am the only grandchild that studied his field). However, the courses that I am interested in are only offered in German in Germany, I've checked most of the universities out and it seems to be the case of all of those that I checked. This is going to be a massive challenge, but I am willing to put in the effort.

So has anyone ever studied in a foreign language and what experiences did you have?
Click to expand...

If you're living in the country of language it's so much easier. You'll be fluent very quickly.

If I were you I'd jump at the chance to go.

Don't even think about it. Just go. You'll never regret it.
 
Chevron said:
If you're living in the country of language it's so much easier. You'll be fluent very quickly.

If I were you I'd jump at the chance to go.

Don't even think about it. Just go. You'll never regret it.
Click to expand...
+1 this is an amazing opportunity

Just be kinda careful
Its generally not easy studying in ones native language (for most people)
so studying in a foreign language is even harder...
Though this is for your masters,so I`d say you might have the hang of it :p
 
I studied in a foreign language. First three months were probably the most frustrating 3 months of study I ever had. The next thing I knew, I began understanding the language in massive chunks and rapidly. After 6 months I understood enough to go back and catch up the first 3 months that were all but gibberish to me. I could read write and speak almost fluently after the first year.
 
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