Language Programme for Engineers

It's been a little bit of a hiatus since I last wrote, but I am glad to be back! And no, I did not forget how to spell "program" - that's how they spell it in the UK, and that's how you will see it on Cambridge's website! In any case, I wanted to share with you guys about this cool opportunity that is available for both Cambridge engineers and CME students.

What is it essentially? It's a foreign language program that teaches you not only how to speak the language for day-to-day life but also for your academic and professional careers in STEM and engineering. This last part is a definite contrast to most language courses as far as I know, which only focus on the day-to-day life aspect of the language. Personally, I like this STEM/engineering aspect a lot, because when it comes to learning a foreign language, I feel you can only gain very good proficiency if for anything you would talk about in your native language, you can talk about it in the foreign language.

This is not to say of course that you don't have good proficiency of a foreign language if your knowledge extends just to day-to-day life. In fact, I have several friends at MIT who grew up perfectly bilingual, but because they had learned all of their engineering/STEM vocabulary in English, they find themselves unable or at least having a difficult time trying to communicate in those areas using their second language simply because they do not know what the translations are from English. Nevertheless, being able to communicate in a foreign/non-English language comfortably in your realm of academics/STEM adds another layer of depth and understanding with regards to your comprehension and mastery of that language.

Another advantage of this program is that it can count towards your HASS requirement back at MIT, whether for your general HASS electives or your concentration requirements. Thus, while this program is generally available to engineers only (it is also available to non-engineers but for a fee), Cambridge recognizes that we CME students have this requirement to fill and open up this program to all of us, regardless of our area of study. In fact, as seen below on the registration page for the program, we are considered our own department! How cool is that?

Department of MIT aside, it should be noted though that this program is not everyone. While it does attempt to teach you how to communicate in a foreign language, it doesn't teach classes for all languages. Only French, German, Spanish, Chinese, and Japanese are offered. Also, this program cannot or is at least not designed yet to make you totally proficient in the language at this point, and in fact, they discourage near-proficient or totally proficient speakers of a foreign language from taking classes in the program simply because the material taught even in the most advanced classes, which can take you very close at least to near proficiency, will not be challenging enough. However, for someone like me who is not even close to "near proficiency" in a foreign language, the language program is certainly appealing. For myself, I see this program as an opportunity to pick up where I left off in high school with foreign languages and in particular, French. While I would occasionally listen to the news in French when I was at MIT, I didn't take any formal classes or do any serious review of material I had learned over the years. Nevertheless, I somehow find myself now in the program's most advanced French class. Whether or not I'll survive, that remains to be seen. :P At least you can see my point now though that the program doesn't quite cater yet to those with extremely high proficiency in a foreign language if someone who hasn't seriously studied a foreign language for two years can test into that language's most advanced class.

Another reason why the language program is attractive is its scheduling. While having knowledge of a foreign language in STEM or engineering is great, it is still considered of lower priority than you gaining mastery and understanding of the modules you are actually taking. Thus, the program is widely considered to be an "extracurricular." Classes in the program in fact meet only once a week for a couple of hours, with the expectation of a couple hours of work outside of class. However, unlike an extracurricular, classes in this program do have final exams, but they take place at the end of Lent so you can spend your entire Spring vacation and Easter term studying and preparing for the tripos.

If you are interested in pursuing a foreign language for HASS credit, make sure to talk to your concentration advisor or the transfer credit examiner in the HASS department so that you will know exactly what sort of credit you might receive when you come back to MIT. HASS credit can sometimes be tricky or complicated to obtain as far as I have heard from other CME participants, so it does make sense to plan ahead.

Finally, I should also note that the Language Unit in the Engineering Department, which runs Language Programme for Engineers, provides numerous resources for you to develop your skills in a foreign language. In their office, they have a wide variety of books and films for you to borrow so that you can further immerse yourself in the foreign language. They also oversee a tandem exchange scheme in which you are matched with someone who speaks the foreign language fluently but wants to practice speaking in your native language. This is a great opportunity to improve both your speaking and listening skills that I hope to take advantage of later in the term. But until then, à bientôt​! :)