Login

Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

March 28, 2024, 10:28:03 pm

Author Topic: Should I drop Japanese?  (Read 2416 times)  Share 

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

vehura

  • Trailblazer
  • *
  • Posts: 43
  • she/her
  • Respect: +33
Should I drop Japanese?
« on: June 01, 2020, 07:34:15 pm »
0
Hi,

I'm in year 11 this year and my subjects are methods, chemistry, lit, japanese and year 12 psychology - planning on picking up HHD in year 12. I want a good ATAR and although my subjects would benefit it if I did well, Japanese is really hard. I enjoy learning the language and went to Japan with the school in January and it was fun, but I don't feel like I'm picking it up as well as I should be in year 11. I know, realistically, a raw 35 or above would probably not be possible as I don't have the natural affinity that some do, and I have no background in the language. Further, I already find methods and chemistry quite difficult. If I was to drop Japanese, I could pick up either further or English to go along with methods or literature respectively, or R&S. However, my Japanese teacher doesn't have that many students (only 3 year 11s) and I feel like I would disappoint them by switching out of it next year. I also know it scales well, however I'm not sure if I would benefit from that as it would most likely be in my bottom two. Does anyone have any advice, or experience with picking up either of the subjects I'm looking at ? Thanks ;D
class of 2021
2020: psych (50)
2021: eng (50) lit (47)

afuturepsych

  • Adventurer
  • *
  • Posts: 18
  • hi! i'm georgie n i spend all my time on pinterest
  • Respect: +16
Re: Should I drop Japanese?
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2020, 07:59:39 pm »
+2
i'd keep japanese - even if you get a 30 it could work out as a 40 scaled (plus if you do a language +higher maths you get a vce baccalaureate, which looks great on your future resume!)

i sucked at french in year 11 but am now one of the strongest in my cohort, you just have to immerse (drown) yourself in as much language as you can. the great thing about lote is you can start exams whenever, as there is no real "content". try watching tv shows, listening to music and podcasts, online dictation sites etc. best of luck!!
kld class of 2020
'19:
psychology (43)
'20:
bio (38)
chem (37)
english (41)
french (37)
methods (38)
atar:
97.40
course:
bsci unimelb

AngelWings

  • Victorian Moderator
  • ATAR Notes Superstar
  • *****
  • Posts: 2456
  • "Angel wings, please guide me..."
  • Respect: +1425
Re: Should I drop Japanese?
« Reply #2 on: June 02, 2020, 10:50:36 am »
+4
Hi there! I did most of the subjects you have, just switch out Literature for Eng Lang and HHD for Further. I also found chemistry and Japanese to be difficult as well, with no background in Japanese beyond high school classes and exchange to Japan in Year 11.

Personally, I’d be looking at whether you like Japanese and whether you believe the difficulty to be worth it in the long run, rather than scaling.

For Japanese, I found that my scores dropped a bit between Year 10 and Year 11, so I wouldn’t be surprised if the same happened to you. If you like the subject and believe you’ll be able to put the effort in, then I’d say stay. If not, then pick one of your other options.
VCE: Psych | Eng Lang | LOTE | Methods | Further | Chem                 
Uni: Bachelor of Science (Hons) - genetics
Current: working (sporadically on AN)
VTAC Info Thread

undefined

  • Forum Obsessive
  • ***
  • Posts: 323
  • Respect: +19
Re: Should I drop Japanese?
« Reply #3 on: June 03, 2020, 01:54:57 pm »
+1
If you enjoy the subject then there's a good chance you'll continue to like it even throughout year 12, however, if you don't and are doing it because you're decent at it/want the scaling then it'll start getting really hard and disheartening over time. I had a couple of friends in my Japanese class last year who were top of the class in year 10, middle but still decent in year 11 and even lower than that in year 12 because they lost their drive to learn the language and all interest. If you're serious about continuing, try immersing yourself in the culture and reignite that passion which led you to study the language in the first place (unless it was for the scaling).

I agree that it's quite difficult to gauge how well you're doing in year 11 since there's no standard but your teacher might just be making harder than usual tests/your class might be really smart? There's really no way of telling until you step out of that final exam. From looking at the grade distributions, getting into the middle range of students (~30ss) is quite accessible and should be within reach if you put in the effort.

Lastly, think about this in the grand scheme of things. Your ATAR is so insignificant and only useful when applying for unis and while I'm not trying to look down on any subjects, I'd argue that learning a LOTE is much more beneficial than a second english or maths (especially since you do methods already). For me at least it was the best decision I ever made.
2018 Methods
2019 English | Chemistry | Economics | Specialist  | Japanese SL

2020 B.Eng/Comm
2021 - 2025 B.CS/Comm Diplang in Japanese @ Monash