Foreign language at USNA

Prepswimmom

5-Year Member
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Dec 26, 2013
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My DS, a senior in high school hoping for the BFE, has taken 4 years of Chinese, his last year (now) he is in AP Chinese. He would love to study Chinese at the Academy and become fluent. My question - will the fact that he has had 4 years of Chinese and wants to continue to fluency be a plus when his file is reviewed? Or will it have no impact.
 
Our DS [received BFE in Dec 13] has taken 4 years of Chinese as well. He is a recruited athlete. While you will never know exactly what the "perfect" application looks like, every you unique attribute can only help. With the current state of world affairs, a candidate would surmise that Chinese is/will be a significant addition to the profile for the admission's decision makers.
 
Wow, those languages aren't even an option around us. I took japanese (back in the day) at the local college when I was a senior but my kids are limited to spanish, latin and french. DD (freshmen) seems to have an affinity for languages and I'm trying to find a local/online class for chinese or arabic to check out.

best of luck to all of you!
 
Four years of Chinese will be a plus. Our son is a current plebe and is in the Chinese program now. He was fully proficient in Spanish and the language requirement was waived. This opened the door to for consideration to participate in Chinese studies. This is an additional class on top of the rigorous studies and activities of plebe year. He loves the class!
 
Do many high schools offer Chinese? Seems like it would require a very qualified teacher, and few students would choose such a difficult language.
 
Wow, those languages aren't even an option around us. I took japanese (back in the day) at the local college when I was a senior but my kids are limited to spanish, latin and french. DD (freshmen) seems to have an affinity for languages and I'm trying to find a local/online class for chinese or arabic to check out.

best of luck to all of you!

Arabic is tough and is probably tough to find outside of a school.

In our area, many kids of Chinese extraction attend Chinese school on Saturday mornings. Their parents want them to be fluent, or at least familiar with the language. They undoubtedly also start with some ability to speak it. You might check with some Chinese families in your area, or even your local Chinese restaurant to see if such things exist around you and what it takes to get involved. Not saying it necessarily makes sense to do, but it's the first non-school way to learn Chinese I can think of.

BTW - how do you say hummus in Arabic? :rolleyes:
 
My DS attends a private all boys Xaverian Brothers school - they began a Chinese program some years ago and have native speaking teachers from Taiwan. He has loved the language and has excelled at it.
 
My high school offers Spanish, German and French. Maybe some bigger or private schools offer more languages. I'm in Spanish 5.
 
Our school district (4 high schools) also offers Japanese, Latin and Sign Language (in addition to Spanish, French, German). DS1 took 3 yrs of Japanese -- it was taught half of the time by a native language teacher and the other 1/2 through video conference (she split her time between 2 schools). DS2 took 3 yrs of Latin, and again the teacher split her time (mornings & afternoons) between 2 schools.
 
Definitely a plus in many other ways if not for Admissions. Because Chinese and Arabic are critical languages, they can be used to fulfill all HUM/SS and free elective requirements for all majors.

This means up to 3 credits of validation for Group 1, 6 credits for Group 2, and 12 credits of validation for Group 3 majors. For Group 2 and 3, things like VGEP, Medical Corps, study abroad, and dual majors suddenly become a lot easier. There have also been internships that specifically look for midshipmen with Chinese experience.

As far as I can tell, the Navy is still paying FLPB for Chinese Mandarin and Arabic. So there's that too.
 
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Nuensis,

Any opportunities for Spanish speakers? Seems like there would be since its becoming more popular (in the US).
 
As far as I can tell, the Navy is still paying FLPB for Chinese Mandarin and Arabic. So there's that too.


What does FLPB stand for?
 
Nuensis,

Any opportunities for Spanish speakers? Seems like there would be since its becoming more popular (in the US).

Semester Study Abroad, LRECs, LSAPs, and exchange cruises on foreign naval ships are some of the common ones.

See the IPO website for more information: http://www.usna.edu/InternationalProgram/index.php

International Programs are not necessarily limited to Midshipmen with language experience, or to a certain major. The language spoken in the foreign country also does not have to be one offered at USNA; Midshipmen have gone to places like South Africa and South Korea. STEM Semester Study Abroad and LRECs exist to give Group 1 and Group 2 majors with zero language experience an opportunity to go abroad.

The key to getting these opportunities? Good grades and validation.
 
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