• international exchange,  languages

    Putting your mouth where your money is.

    May 22, 2009

    Ok so I got accepted to the Italian studies program, and I know I will do well given my Italian background and all. 3rd year I absolutely HAVE to go study abroad for a year exchange. I wanna know if anyone has done it (not summer exchange) and if the process is hard and the marks you need to have to be considered. Thanks!!

    ———————————————

    I have no personal experience with the exchange program, but I do like Giada de Laurentiis and ricotta (…what can’t you do with it?!). So, I hope that some of our Askastudent voyeurs step out of the shadows to help you get to Siena.

    I am assuming that you have scoured every pixel of the ISXO website, right?

    Here you’ll find that a CGPA of 2.25, and an annual GPA of 2.5, are required to be considered for an exchange.

    The other requirements are generally straight-forward (statement, resume, etc.). The 2 reference letters are significant, because one must be academic – and that ain’t easy in U of T undergrad. Be proactive. Suck up to your Italian teacher’s NOW!! Bring them i dolci e un espresso. Conspicuously complain about the thickness of American pizza crust, and brag about the 2 lion statues you just bought for your front lawn.

    I did notice that the courses at this university are not offered in English. So, I hope that your Italian background is more than just an obnoxious inclination to pronounce Italian word with a thick accent. You know what I’m talking about… like when you’re third-generation Italian-Canadian friend orders bruschetta at a restaurant.

    “Hi, I’d like a coke with no ice and an order of broo-skett-tah please.”

    The actual application form is available online, and it does a good job of summarizing the requirements:

    http://www.utoronto.ca/student.exchange/application/ISXO_app_checklist.pdf

     

    Buona fortuna!!

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  • languages

    How do you say “flakey” in French?

    July 24, 2008

    i’m giving up on u of t and moving to montreal in january. that being said, i need to know a tiny bit more french. last year, i tried to sneak my way into fsl121 but the damn placement test put me in 221. i nearly died! (so i dropped the class)since there are no appropriate half year classes, i’ve given up on getting a credit, but i also don’t want to pay for lessons elsewhere. so, is it allowed for me to attend 121 classes without actually being enrolled? would the professor even notice? how big is the class? in 221 all the in class work was handouts, not books.

    am i being delusional?

    thanks!

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  • languages,  weirdness

    Minna no Nihongo!

    July 23, 2008

    Dear person in charge

    i am a first year student under commerce program. i wonder if i can pick up Japanese course to help me complete the
    Distribution Requirement in my first year. i do not know how to find Japanese on the calendar and its code active number.
    i need your help, thank you
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  • languages,  registration

    when you only take French for flirting

    August 3, 2007

    I want to take FSL 102 HI in my first year studies this September, and I’ve
    taken the online placement test from the language department website. I
    received an email that said I should register in FSL 221 Y?and that to keep a
    copy of the email to show to my instructor during the first week of classes.
    Does this mean I have to take FSL 221 instead of FSL 102? Could I still take
    FSL 102?

    Thanks,
    Yaya

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  • courses,  languages,  registration

    honesty designators: special topics, boring topics, off-topics

    August 2, 2007

    Hey askastudent, hope all is well =)i was just wondering, what if i were to take
    a FCS290 course called “Special Topics 1” and lets say that in the 2007-2008
    school year this “special topic” was French music. Then, lets say that FCS290
    is also offered in the 2008-2009 school year, but the topic this time is French
    art. would i be able to take the french art one if i had already taken the first
    one on “music”. well thats my question, thanks a million =)

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  • hard,  languages

    askastudent, est prend francais une bonne idee?

    May 11, 2007

    I would very much like to learn french in university. I was contemplating majoring in it but then I began to wonder?do languages generally pull your average down? I have already been lectured in the benefits/virtues of gaining fluency in a third language. However, acceptance into Grad school is something I hope to achieve, and I do not want one subject to drag my average down and endanger my chances of getting into a reputable school.
    Do you know of any form in which I can learn French in a non-academic environment?
    Would I be better off just taking French in university?
    Please help!!

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  • languages,  tests

    ich bin askastudent!

    June 7, 2002

    I have a question about the german courses. I’d like to take german100Y, and I took german in grade 9. It say in the U of T handbook that if you have previous knowlegde of german the department will give you an assessment test and place you in the appropriate level. The problem is that I don’t remember a thing of what I learned back then…should I even tell the department that I took grade 9 german…what’s the point of taking the test anyway ( in my case)…

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  • keeners,  languages,  subject POST

    hi, i’m that crazy biotch…

    February 26, 2002

    Hi, I’m that CRAZY biotch with the question about completing a major and a specialist. Here’s my next question: Let’s say they do let me sign up for both the Modern Languages specialist and the English major, but somewhere along the way I decide that I’m just too damn lazy. Can I just switch one of my subjects to a minor, once I have 4 courses in that subject? Like I’m enrolled in the Mod. Lang. program with Spanish and Portuguese until my third year, and then I decide that I only want a minor in Portuguese. Can I just switch it to a Spanish major and a Port. minor? Or am I locked in forever and ever? thanks

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  • distribution,  hard,  keeners,  languages,  subject POST

    I’m crazy, can I do a major and a specialist?

    February 22, 2002

    Hi, I’m a prospective U of T student. I was wondering whether it’s possible to do a specialist program AND a major program. I really want to do a Modern Languages specialist (Spanish and Portuguese, 14 courses) and an English major (7 courses). Is this allowed? Or would they consider this a triple major and not permit it? Also, how many courses may a first year student take, maximum?

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  • americans,  extracurricular,  languages

    I feel the same way about Guam

    December 13, 2001

    Hi. I like Canada. I have questions, though. I have never
    actually been to Canada but I am gullible and from what I have read and heard
    from all over the place, it is better than America. I don’t like America. 🙂 So,
    yeah. Questions. Do I need to speak French to live in Toronto? I am going to
    take a semester of Intro French I next semester because the sucky-ass school I
    go to now doesn’t offer anything more intensive than that. I know that Montreal
    is a lot more French-y than Toronto is, but still… how important is French in
    Toronto? Maybe it isn’t and I am stupid for asking. 😉 Like I said I am
    transferring from the states and I am trying to decide between UofT and McGill
    (hence my concern for French). I will not ask you to compare that stuff because
    I read the questions other people ask. =) But my other question is… I am
    completely American-raised. Please school me on Canadian basics. What are some
    Canadian colloquialism? Is the “aboot” thing really true? Anything
    else pronounced weird? Also, is that British-style English you guys speak? I see
    things like “programme” and “centre” and I worry that I will
    get many points taken off in my essays when I say “program” and
    “center.” Sorry my question is so long. Feel free to cut out the
    useless babble if you do get around to posting it. 😉 Anyway, cool site and
    thanks for your honest answers, they really help.

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  • languages,  TAs

    I ‘have’ tas

    October 24, 2001

    Hey, askastudent, I “have” 4 TAs. One doesn’t speak English (eco). One teaches at Scarborough, and is only down here once every two weeks for labs, and has the office hour 1 hour before the lab is gue (geogr). One is writing his PhD thesis, and travels all over the world to do research, so he’s never here either (histrory). And one doesn’t care at all and said he won’t have time for us (politics).
    I won’t bitch. Just let me ask: aren’t they paid to help us????

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  • admissions,  languages,  tests

    maybe you just THINK you’re speaking English, it’s just bad dubbing

    June 25, 2001

    Hi, I’m a high school student (will graduate next year) and I’ve just been told that I will have to write the TOEFL exam. I’ve been in Canada for 2 years now. Because of this I have to write the TOEFL. (universities require 4 years in an english speaking country to be exempt from taking the test)However, I have been speaking English all my life, in fact it’s the only language I speak. Why should I have to prove my English speaking capabilities just because I attended a school (which by the way was an ‘American school’) in a country where English is not the dominant language? Should I just suck it up and write the test (which I will have to pay for), or do you think it’s worthwhile trying to get an exemption?

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