Note: This information sheet will highlight some options for you, but it does not replace reading the full text of the distribution requirement regulations, found in the Yale College Programs of Study.

So I placed into L1 - Now What?

How you got here:

Either by starting a language you haven't used or studied before or by taking a placement test and placing into L1.

What you need to do to fulfill the requirement:

To fulfill the Foreign Language Requirement, you'll need to complete three semesters designated L1, L2, and L3, or an approved equivalent.

Some things you need to know up front:

Deadline: You need to do at least the L1 part of this by the end of your sophomore year, and you must complete all three parts, thereby fulfilling the requirement, by the end of your junior year. Don't jeopardize your promotion to senior year by putting this off too long!
At any level, fulfilling the Foreign Language Requirement only gives you minimal proficiency in your foreign language. If you plan to make any practical use of your language, you should seriously consider taking at least four semesters of it at Yale, and going abroad at some point wouldn't be a bad idea, either. Be sure to read Eight Reasons the Foreign Language Requirement Isn't Enough to find out why you (yes, you--no matter what you're planning to major in) should keep taking language courses even after completing the requirement.

Why it's good to be at L1:

For one thing, starting from the beginning means you'll have the opportunity to learn the language methodically, in a coherent curriculum, without the gaps that sometimes show up when you start in one place and then continue somewhere else. Also, you have the exciting opportunity to start in with just about any language offered at Yale, because almost all of them are offered through the third semester (most of them annually). Yale offers quite a few "less commonly taught languages" that are of growing importance in today's world--Chinese, Korean, Hindi, Indonesian, Japanese, Kiswahili, and Zulu, just to name a few.

A few options:

You could take three semesters of language (coded L1, L2, and L3) right here on the Yale campus in beautiful downtown New Haven. This is what most students choose to do, and in many ways it ensures you the most organized, moderately paced plan of study. For higher-enrollment languages, multiple sections of these courses are offered, giving you a great amount of flexibility in fitting language courses into your schedule. (For example, if you absolutely have to take Spanish at 9:30am because that's the only time free in your schedule, chances are there will be a section available when you need it.) This path also sets you up nicely to continue right into L4 during your fourth semester. Though you will have fulfilled your requirement after the third semester, it's important to take the fourth if you hope to continue developing your language skills to a level usable in international work, either on your own or at Yale.
Intensive courses at Yale during the academic year. Some languages offer the opportunity to take intensive courses, which fit twice the language learning into each semester. For example, some languages let you take L1 and L2 in a single semester, leaving you with either just L3 to take (at the regular pace) or to continue on to complete L3 and L4 in another intensive semester. (Since you only have to complete through L3, either option would fulfill the requirement. However, continuing through at least L4 is still strongly recommended.)

Things to consider with this approach:

a. Intensive courses are not for everyone. If you're thinking of taking an intensive course just to get the foreign language requirement over with faster, think again: intensive courses are designed for determined students willing to work hard to make it to advanced-level proficiency as quickly as possible.

b. In foreign language learning, there are two kinds of "time" that are important. Let's call the first "contact time," which refers to the number of hours you spend in class or doing homework. This is the kind of activity you can speed up by simply spending more hours per day or per week on language study. The second kind we'll call "calendar time." No matter how quickly you initially acquire new information about a foreign language, you will likely need to spend months practicing it and hearing it spoken in order to gain real comfort and experience with its use. There is no real substitute for investing calendar time in language study--though study abroad can help somewhat. (Consider this analogy: baking a cake at 350 degrees for an hour isn't the same as baking it at 700 degrees for 30 minutes.) In language learning, you can "turn up the heat" a little to learn faster, but because it still takes time for the language to sink in, you won't be successful if you just rush through it and then quit. To be effective, an intensive course should be followed up by another course the next semester. For example, if you do L1 through L4 all in a single year, you should strongly consider taking an L5 course, like one in Advanced Conversation, the following fall (or even during the summer) to solidify what you've learned. If you don't, the language you've learned so quickly can be forgotten just as fast.
Summer Courses. For the L1 and L2 pieces of your requirement, you could take a course in Yale Summer Session. For the L3 piece, you could take a course in Yale Summer Session or another approved summer study program. Some things to consider about this:

a. Summer courses are intensive courses, so read everything we said above about how they're not for everyone. (You don't want to end up feeling like burnt cake.)

b. If you take your L3 course in a non-Yale program, you will have to pass an additional exam when you return to campus before your experience will count as an L3.

c. During the summer, you might have the opportunity to complete some of your language requirement abroad. The Yale Summer Session offers study abroad courses in some languages that fulfill L3 and L4 requirements in just eight weeks.

d. However, depending on the summer program you choose, you also risk missing out on some of the cultural experiences available on campus during the academic year. Many language programs offer language tables, film series, and other outside-of-class learning opportunities that do not run during the summer. Though summer is a good opportunity to complete some of your language study course work, you should be sure a healthy amount of it is done during the academic year.

e. Summer courses are most effective when immediately followed up by an "anchoring" language course in the fall. For example, if you take first-year Spanish on campus during the academic year, then do the eight-week Intermediate course in Yale Summer Session, you should plan to take a fifth-semester Spanish language course (either Advanced Conversational Spanish or, if you're ready, a bridge course, such as Spanish in Film or Advanced Spanish Grammar) the very next semester. If you do, you'll be amazed at how much Spanish you've learned in a very short period of time, and you'll be well-positioned to go on to learning just about anything in Spanish. If you don't follow up your summer study with an L5 course, you're likely to forget what you've learned very quickly.
Academic year study abroad (non-Yale). Technically, you can complete the L3 portion of your requirement while studying abroad during the academic year. (You would have to take an exam upon return to campus before your experience would count as the L3.) However, you'll probably find that most study abroad programs have more demanding prerequisites for participation than just two semesters. (Check on this early so you have time to fulfill any prerequisites before you apply to a program!) Study abroad during the academic year is a wonderful opportunity to expand your knowledge of a language and culture of a foreign country. However, if you plan to do this, it is strongly recommended that you take four semesters of language (L1 through L4) at Yale first, so you can be as prepared as possible for the challenging language situations you will likely encounter abroad.
These are just some of your options for fulfilling the requirement. Obviously, there are ways to combine options and invent imaginative alternatives. Some creative solutions are likely to be very successful (such as the one described in 3e, above). Some paths, though technically allowed by the requirement, are likely to be counterproductive or even disastrous. (For example, it is not recommended that you take no language your first year at Yale, take L1 and L2 during the summer, followed by no language the next academic year, and then plan to do L3 and L4 in following summer. Your second intensive summer is likely to be extremely difficult after a year devoid of language practice. Don't say we didn't warn you!)

The CLS staff can offer guidance to students who are considering the various alternative paths to fulfilling the requirement. (See our Getting Help page.) If you have questions about a particular language program, be sure to speak with the program's Language Program Director or with an instructor of that language.

One last thing to know about L1:

It sometimes happens that students who have previously studied a language still place into L1, if, for example, material usually covered in L1 at Yale wasn't covered as early or as thoroughly in their high school programs. Students in this situation are sometimes called "false beginners" (not the most descriptive name, but hey, we didn't invent it).

False beginners have a few options: if your language program makes information available about the curricula for L1 and L2, you might want to review on your own ahead of time and try to bone up enough to place right into L2. You'd still have to take the same number of semesters, and they'd be at higher levels (L2, L3, and L4), but they'd likely be more interesting and useful, since the material is new, and besides, you were planning to take that L4 class anyway, right?

On the other hand, if you do stick with the L1 course, be aware that a certain amount of your first semester might feel like a review to you, and it can be frustrating at first if the other students (the "true beginners") aren't keeping up with you. (Remember that it's not exactly a picnic for the true beginners, with you false-beginner people showing off all the time by knowing the answers.) However, resist the temptation to "coast." Research has shown that students who needlessly sit through low-level courses fail to develop proper study habits and actually end up doing worse in language courses later on. Once the new material starts to kick in, you don't want to be unprepared for it and find yourself shown up by those true beginners who have been working hard all semester!

A few final tips:

How do you know which courses carry which "L" designations? Check out our FAQ page for the answer to this and other frequently asked questions.

Consult the rest of the Guide to Language Study for Undergraduates for more information and helpful suggestions.

Don't be the last one on campus to read Eight Reasons the Foreign Language Requirement Isn't Enough.

And if you have any questions at all about language study or the Foreign Language Requirement, don't be afraid to ask us! See our Getting Help page or send e-mail to cls@yale.edu.

Good luck!