Hey Ali, thanks for posting on my question!! now ill return da favor…well i learned urdu and punjabi from home…cuz parents made an effort to speak with us in those languages and now im fluent in reading and writing and ofcourse speaking in both. As far as Spanish goes, i took about 6.5 years through middle and high school along with an AP, in which i got a 4 btw. For French and Italian, there are numerous free sites available, but i personally think that the ones you have to pay for are much better organized and more focused on learning the language. Im taking both of these languages in the morning while doing my Master’s in Health Ed at night. And FINALLY, Arabic, i go our local Mosque which is consists of an Arab Majority and there are teachers there. The class goes for twice a week for about 1.5hrs. An excellent software that I use as a supplement is ROSETTA STONE. this is great for grammer and really learning the language. If u buy directly from them, it expensive but its much cheaper on ebay. Plus u can do it at your own pace. I just have a natural ability to learn new languages with ease….not that im braging or anything 😉

Dude, if becoming a Dr. is ur desire, then learning languages is an excellent asset for you and will give you an opportunity to really connect with patients of a different culture. As far as time, if u want to do something, you have to make time for it no matter what. I know being exposed to these languages not only helps with communication but it also gives a good insight to the person’s culture.

Well, i think thats it for now, but if you have anymore questions about this or about med schools, feel free to contact me cuz im going through this stuff right now!! Take care and good luck with all ur endeavors! P.s after arabic, french and italian, im pickin up greek n russian!

Bonne chance! Buona fortuna! Buena suerte!!!

You’re absolutely correct–immersing yourself in the language (like living in the country where it’s spoken) is the only way for most to learn a language properly. Frankly, college courses in a language are utterly ineffective, and should be taken only if required to fill a language requirement.

I’d suggest that you focus exclusively on your goal of becoming a doctor. You will have little free time once you get into med school thru the internship, then you’ll go back for surgical classes and further surgery internship, then get state boards and establish a practice. Once you’re established in a practice, depending on your specialization–plastic surgeons do fewer crisis calls, cardiologists do a fair number.

Then you can plan to get preliminary introduction to a language via computer programs–there are lots of good ones, and probably will be others by the time you’re ready–and then schedule a trip to a place where it’s the native tongue. In many of those languages, you could perhaps volunteer for Doctors Without Borders and combine business with pleasure–

Don’t fail to appreciate that, just like English, other languages have idioms and slang that varies from nation to nation. A student of mine once reported about almost getting in a fistfight in Mexico because his friend asked a local to please move his pickup truck–would have been a polite request in Spain, but in Mexico it was a profane insult.

Wow did your question get posted on the right page! – a group of foreign language teachers! Check out fluencyfast.com. Courses are offered in Spanish, French and German and perhaps other languages. They are usually one week long, intensive, but very do-able. So one week for Spanish 1, etc. Also, there are DVD’s of the class available for purchase online. This utilizes a phenomenal new teaching method that we FL teachers are eating up like crazy! It’s a blast!!!! And it really works. My students have never been so engaged, fluent, and never before had such good pronunciation. I would even go so far as to say that learning a language this way rivals going to a foreign country!

In terms of not having a life, I have two in-laws who are dr’s: one’s a pediatrician and the other is a radiologist, and their work is quite demanding but they also seem to be able to have balanced family lives. You can do it! It takes a long time but it’s worth it. (My husband has a PhD and it took forever!)