Please provide your name and e-mail and list what language(s) you have taken, or want to take at UC Berkeley. Then respond to the questions below. If you would prefer your response to be anonymous, or would prefer to send your response by e-mail, then send a message under the subject heading "APIEL NOW! Survey Response" to apielnow@gmail.com.
1. Please describe your experiences when enrolling in Fall 2009
language and/or culture classes. What were some of the challenges,
obstacles, or positive experiences you encountered?
2. Please describe your experiences when signing up for and taking
language and/or culture classes throughout your academic career at
Berkeley thus far. As you answer, please feel free to comment on
things like class size, being on and getting off of the waiting list,
switching sections, class availability (the number of available
sections, the types of classes offered, section times, etc.), and also
consider any similarities or differences between the different
semesters and classes.
3. Is there anything else you wish to tell us about your enrollment
experience in language and/or culture classes?
4. Do you give permission for APIEL NOW! to quote from your responses in materials used to promote increased access to API language education and expanded programs of study in API languages?
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7 comments:
Anonymous - Korean
1. Ever since the budget cuts to the East Asian Languages department, enrolling in Korean has become a nightmare. All students have to go through a tedious and pointless waitlisting process in which everyone is
waitlisted only to be enrolled after waiting pointlessly for two weeks.
Meanwhile, students have to scurry around looking for possible classes in the case that they are not enrolled. It would be so much more efficient for both students and faculty who have to deal with enrollment issues if people could initially enroll and then get waitlisted only if enrollment is full.
2. I love taking Korean, and I love learning from my teachers who teach the Korean classes. I like the small size of language courses because it helps me practice speaking with other people in class. I wish there were more sections because people sometimes can't enroll in Korean because there are only three available sections and all sections conflict with other major
requirements and lectures.
3. Again, enrollment is a nightmare. Personally, I hate the waitlisting process because I'm dependent on financial aid. In order to receive my financial aid and consequently pay my tuition/fees and rent on time, I
have to be fully enrolled and registered. So, I usually have to pick and enroll in a class to fill up the units that Korean would have given me (if
I were allowed to enroll immediately instead of getting waitlist) in order to have full-time registration and punctual financial aid distribution. I feel horrible for enrolling in a class that I will most likely drop when I finally get enrolled in Korean because I'm probably holding a spot that
someone else need very badly. However, I am -so to speak - cornered into the situation by the waitlisting process.
Anonymous - Chinese
1) I had a lot of difficulty enrolling in my both of my language classes this year. I went to at least 3 Chinese Mandarin classes for two weeks and still could not get it. Same with my Vietnamese class. I was waitlisted for two weeks, had to attend 3-4 different language classes everyday and STILL could not get into the class. Language classes should be more accessible to students since they are obviously in high demand.
2) This is my first time taking a language class so I do not have any previous experience with other language classes.
3) We need more funding! Lack of space for students who want and NEED (like me, who need this class for my major) this class are not able to take it. I thought I would be able to take the classes I want to take in college. But due to budget cuts, I was forced to switch over to French, which had a smaller waitlist, since I could not get into Chinese or Vietnamese.
K. Nguyen - Vietnamese
1. Not enough seats available to take course. Cut back on number of seats. Repeated failed attempts to get more seats every single semester.
2. Signing up must be in way advance, class sizes are very very small, one of the instructors were fired, there is no wait list, very little time
options.
3.
There needs be a serious change. There shouldn't be ANY reason why I cannot take language courses if I want to. Berkeley should be held
accountable to be able to provide these courses, especially to a campus that is more than 40% "Asian/PI" Berkeley needs to change in order to meet
the needs of its "changing demographics."
1. Please describe your experiences when enrolling in Fall 2009
language and/or culture classes. What were some of the challenges,
obstacles, or positive experiences you encountered?
I needed to enroll in Tagalog 100a for my major in Southeast Asian Studies. It was already full by the time my Phase II came around, but I emailed Professor Joi Barrios, who emailed the department chair, who was able to let me in. Unfortunately, my fellow classmates were not so lucky, and at least 15 of them had to drop the class, which is so sad to me, especially because Professor Barrios was willing to accommodate everyone. I really wish that I could take Advanced Filipino this year, but I know I'm not at that level yet, and there is absolutely no guarantee that it will ever be offered here again, and even less likelihood that it'll be offered before I graduate in Spring 11. It is such a shame that there is more than enough interest in these classes, but the department is not funding them.
2. Please describe your experiences when signing up for and taking
language and/or culture classes throughout your academic career at
Berkeley thus far. As you answer, please feel free to comment on
things like class size, being on and getting off of the waiting list,
switching sections, class availability (the number of available
sections, the types of classes offered, section times, etc.), and also
consider any similarities or differences between the different
semesters and classes.
Fall 08: I signed up for Philippine Diaspora Lit (AAS 190 or SEAS 120) as a backup class just in case I didn't get into my theater classes. I ended up not getting into them and stayed in Philippine Diaspora Lit. It slowly dawned on me that Philippine Studies was my passion, real and true. It was so strong that I changed my major from Music to Southeast Asian Studies.
Spring 09: I took Prof. Barrios's next class (SEAS 120), Philippine Social Movements Through Lit, and my passion only grew. I tried to get into Tagalog 1b that semester, but unfortunately, because they only offered one section, I was not able to make the classes and had to forgo the language that semester.
Summer 09: I wanted to take SEAS 10a, (History/Culture of Mainland Southeast Asia) since it's a requirement for my major, but unfortunately, it was canceled because there was not enough enrollment. I ended up deciding to take a similar class at UCLA because the scheduled time for SEAS 10a during the year conflicted with my theater classes. I also realized that the Fall 09 Introductory Tagalog class was at the exact same time as another class I needed to take, and since there was only one section offered, I took external Tagalog classes at the Bayanihan Community Center in San Francisco.
3. Is there anything else you wish to tell us about your enrollment
experience in language and/or culture classes?
It is really important for me to keep Philippine Studies and Tagalog at our school because it's what I need for my major. Tagalog is the only (or one of the only?) languages that has no Advanced Filipino listed in the course catalogue and thus is only taught under special topics. It is also really problematic that we don't have a tenured professor, because where else am I supposed to go to take these Philippine Studies classes? I can't even study in the Philippines unless it's under a third party program because the UC Philippines study abroad program has been canceled.
Thanks for doing this survey and keep on keeping on the hard work! If you guys need help with anything contact me too! I'm totally down to help.
Enrolling in Korean has become more and more difficult since last year, but it hasn't been THAT hard. One simply needs to faithfully attend class the first few weeks, fulfill the diagnostic level, and will be enrolled. In the 4 semesters that I've taken Korean here, that has been my process and I've had no trouble. True, the class offerings have shrunken over the years, and I lament that, but it hasn't become to the point that I have a hard time enrolling.
Then again, this is probably because I'm in Letters & Science. I have some Engineering friends who gave up on language because of their restrictions.
Jane Cho
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