Can I do an English degree even though my english is basic?

[Banzai]

I'm currently at college and haven't a clue what I want to be when I am older. I do want to study something at university and have been thinking along the lines of doing an english degree recently. The problem is, my english vocabulary is not as complex as I'd hoped it to be. I used to read tonnes when I was younger but then stopped almost altogether about 5 years ago and that now has an affect on it.

At university, what sort of things do you do in an english degree (UK)? Is it similar to what you do at college(UK) as my english skills itself is quite good, as in analytical skills etc (I got 2 A*s for it at GCSE).

Also, do you have to write any poetry etc since I suck tonnes at writing anything creative?

Thanks

[Narcissus]

I only have introductory university English experience, but I suspect that once you get into that environment, you'll do better than you'd think.

I'd suggest that you get a dictionary to help with definitions and spelling, and possibly a writer's reference. Most, if not all of the work I did was on the analytical side, and that entails writing essays to evidence that analysis. In my experience in other classes, essays can be judged quite pedantically, depending on the professor. Some judged on content and some judged merely on form. It doesn't help that public school English classes here teach little to nothing about spelling, grammar or style.

As for reading, there will likely be a lot of compulsory material, so you will definitely have time to read if you take those courses.

Out of curiosity, what is your first language? Your English usage is actually better than most of my co-workers', and English is their first language.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by Narcissus

I only have introductory university English experience, but I suspect that once you get into that environment, you'll do better than you'd think.

I'd suggest that you get a dictionary to help with definitions and spelling, and possibly a writer's reference. Most, if not all of the work I did was on the analytical side, and that entails writing essays to evidence that analysis. In my experience in other classes, essays can be judged quite pedantically, depending on the professor. Some judged on content and some judged merely on form. It doesn't help that public school English classes here teach little to nothing about spelling, grammar or style.

As for reading, there will likely be a lot of compulsory material, so you will definitely have time to read if you take those courses.

Out of curiosity, what is your first language? Your English usage is actually better than most of my co-workers', and English is their first language.

Thanks for your comment. Did you have to do any creative writing by any chance?

I may have exaggerated the "awful-ness" of my english - it is perhaps, a little better than the average educated person and the average person round my area (I live in a very ethnically diverse place so there are a large number of people whose english is also not their first language) but it is not as good as I would like it to be. My first language is Vietnamese.

[rincewind]

Maybe you could have a look for information online from the particular courses you're interested in? It's quite common now for universities to provide online course material to students and looking at that could give you a good idea of what to expect. Going along to Open Days if possible would also be a good idea, try to have a chat with one of the academic staff or advisers from the English department about the course content and any concerns you have.

Originally Posted by Narcissus

Out of curiosity, what is your first language? Your English usage is actually better than most of my co-workers', and English is their first language.

I have to agree - there are so many "native" English speakers in the UK who have truly awful reading/writing skills. When I've been reading your posts in other threads, I've never seen any indication that you weren't a native Londoner

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by rincewind

Maybe you could have a look for information online from the particular courses you're interested in? It's quite common now for universities to provide online course material to students and looking at that could give you a good idea of what to expect. Going along to Open Days if possible would also be a good idea, try to have a chat with one of the academic staff or advisers from the English department about the course content and any concerns you have.


I have to agree - there are so many "native" English speakers in the UK who have truly awful reading/writing skills. When I've been reading your posts in other threads, I've never seen any indication that you weren't a native Londoner

Thanks for that. I should say that I was actually born in London and have lived there all my life so it's not really that impressive .

[Narcissus]

Originally Posted by Banzai

Thanks for your comment. Did you have to do any creative writing by any chance?

No, not that I can recall, which is a bit of a shame. This was just a two-semester intro to English, though. I suspect creative writing would come later in a program. You may want to check an academic calendar from an institute of your choosing.

[rctriplefresh5]

Originally Posted by Banzai

Thanks for your comment. Did you have to do any creative writing by any chance?

I may have exaggerated the "awful-ness" of my english - it is perhaps, a little better than the average educated person and the average person round my area (I live in a very ethnically diverse place so there are a large number of people whose english is also not their first language) but it is not as good as I would like it to be. My first language is Vietnamese.

your english sounds pretty good to me, especially for not being a native here. also the fact, that you have been able to bring your english to an above average level, after being a native to somewhere else shows a keen ability to learn ....english at least.

i do know where you are coming from though. i am hoping to eventually go to med school, and i am currently a science major. i am terrible at math, and absolutely useless in scientific labs.
oh well. if all else fails ill just get my degree in elementary education. but yeah you've come a long way from saying that your english is basic, to now it is above the average educated person's. maybe tomorrow you will be able to teach a rigorous english class =pLOL

[kenny87]

you sure you want to do english, I was looking up degrees one time and I found english to be one of the more useless degrees. My teacher has even said that english isn't a good major unless you plan to be an english teacher. One other job where an english degree would be used is police, which from what I can tell they just want you to either have a degree(any really, doesn't matter) or military experience. And then you go from there with training and whatnot. If you are going to choose a major you should make sure you can actually use it, it is alot of time and money. oh, and I am speaking from a US perspective, not sure about other places.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by kenny87

you sure you want to do english, I was looking up degrees one time and I found english to be one of the more useless degrees. My teacher has even said that english isn't a good major unless you plan to be an english teacher. One other job where an english degree would be used is police, which from what I can tell they just want you to either have a degree(any really, doesn't matter) or military experience. And then you go from there with training and whatnot. If you are going to choose a major you should make sure you can actually use it, it is alot of time and money. oh, and I am speaking from a US perspective, not sure about other places.

I have heard differently about english degrees and yes, it may be that it is different here in the UK. For most jobs, you do not have to have a specific degree to do a certain job. For example, you do not have to do a law degree to be a lawyer. There are alot of people who do english degrees and go into law. Things like english degres are quite general and cover a wide range of skills/jobs.

In the US, can you not do an english degree and get into something like journalism as well?

[pariahgirl]

I would think about what you actually want to do as a career after you graduate. A lot of degrees don't have much diversity as to what you can actually do with them after you graduate. You might have to be an english teacher, unless that's what you want. If you're very unsure of what you want to do you might try getting a degree in a field that is pretty open like buisness and have a minor in english maybe. Your english sounds pretty good though. In the end, you have to pick a field that you will be happy in.

[delirium]

Why not? Taking English courses will force you to improve your English.

Also, you can think of higher education as a means to an end -- which I think most people do. That is, only get a degree that will lead to some job you want (so, e.g., if you want to be an accountant, major in accounting, etc.). Or, you can look at your time in university as four years where you can study whatever you want before you have to sell your soul to the corporate world and lead a life of quiet desperation.

If, you're like me, and hold the antiquated view that an education is an end in itself (and would like to major in one of the more "useless" majors, like English, History, Classics, Philosophy, etc.) then English is great. You'll get to have super smart people help you read Joyce, Faulkner, Eliot, Yeats... and that in itself will allow you access to the pleasures of high culture for the rest of your life... something that I think is priceless.

[STKinTHEmud]

I'm an English grad, and your English sounds better than many freshman native speaking English majors I've heard about. Keep in mind that you will be reading quite a bit, so your English will improve significantly if you do decide to do an English major.

You also might want to consider a degree in Comparative Literature to make use of your first language. I know a few comp lit people who take grad seminars in the English dept.

[pita]

I'm an English major. A number of my classmates speak English as a second language, but still produce very good work. Most schools have programs to help you with your English language skills or with essay writing, and I've yet to meet an English professor who doesn't want to help his or her students improve

I'm in Canada so I'm not sure about English degrees in the UK, but over here we don't have to take any creative writing classes unless we want to.

For what it's worth, your English seems good to me. Lots of English students can't spell, and it's my own opinion that big words are overrated.

[Banzai]

Ok. Forget what I said about my english being basic - it is probably my negativity saying that or I have not got across the meaning I wanted to get across. I'll admit that I was being a little too critical of my spelling. My english is the exact same as a native person. I even have a London accent and everything else.

What I meant with basic is that, I wished I used more complex words instead of just "sad", "happy" etc all the time. I did not mean "basic" as in, I barely know the foundations of how to have a simple conversation with someone in english.

Sorry for the confusion - (this is another thing - I use the wrong words alot)

[pita]

Don't worry too much about using words that aren't very complex. You don't have to be a genius with words from the very start.

[rincewind]

Originally Posted by Banzai

What I meant with basic is that, I wished I used more complex words instead of just "sad", "happy" etc all the time. I did not mean "basic" as in, I barely know the foundations of how to have a simple conversation with someone in english.

So you want to expand your vocabulary? I think one of the best ways to do that is simply to read as much as you can! If you read a lot of books you'll tend to start learning new words relatively quickly. I always have a book that I'm in the middle of reading, so whenever I get some spare time I can just go back to it, and I've been doing that since I was quite young. I think it's really helped my English skills.

[solasum]

Isn't the point of majoring in something to learn it? I don't think it matters if you're not a dictionary. I mean, I'm not majoring in French because I speak it like a native, but so I can learn it. I encourage you to major in English if that's what you want to do because a. people often do well in subjects that interest them, and because b. an English degree opens the door to many possibilities. I've done a bit of research on the degree, so I know that. It's a degree that'll get you a job right out of college, unlike perhaps psychology, where you'd really need to go to grad school.

[jordo]

Originally Posted by Banzai

I'm currently at college and haven't a clue what I want to be when I am older. I do want to study something at university and have been thinking along the lines of doing an english degree recently. The problem is, my english vocabulary is a little more than basic (english is not my mother tongue and nobody ever spoke/speaks it to me at home) and my spelling isn't fantastically great either.

Not sure about this but I think when it comes to "complex" words, I will use them depending on the context of a sentence but then not know how to define them which makes it even more difficult to remember new words. I think I have a phoenetic way of learning/understanding words as well. I know reading will help me loads but I never seem to have the time any more.

At university, what sort of things do you do in an english degree (UK)? Is it similar to what you do at college(UK) as my english skills itself is quite good, as in analytical skills etc (I got 2 A*s for it at GCSE).

Also, do you have to write any poetry etc since I suck tonnes at writing anything creative?

Thanks

I heard somewhere that native speakers aren't good at studying their own language. For you, english could be like a 'science', where as it's hard for native speakers like me to look at the language objectively and systematically, such as is often required in english classes.

[Banzai]

Originally Posted by jordo

I heard somewhere that native speakers aren't good at studying their own language. For you, english could be like a 'science', where as it's hard for native speakers like me to look at the language objectively and systematically, such as is often required in english classes.

Interesting post. I've never really looked at it like that. I've never felt I learnt English in the same way as my more native counterparts have understood it and I think my different understanding of it is what has enabled me to look at it more "objectively" and what not.