hey there i too have to agree with tim
A language requires at least 6 hours of contact a week in 1st year compared to a normal arts sub like politics which has 3 hours of contact a week, which in itself is a bit demanding but I must admit I found my Italian classes more enjoyable than my other arts ones, the atmosphere was different and we did alot of practical stuff, making Italian for me the sub I could relax and enjoy myself in. Having also studied Italian for the HSC I was lucky in that I didn't have to spend as much time on the work compared to my friends , making it very achievable to get HD's. Have you studied French before? if you have u r at a serious advantage in regards to the time u will spend on the sub (im assuming that u will be starting from 100 or beginners level) and the great marks u will get. I also found that starting the language from the beginning also helped me understand better and pick up things I had forgetten since high school. You will also meet a range of people from different faculties and you will all become close since u spend 6 hours together a week and are forced to do all these activities together, also remember that a lot of people don't study languages, from what I saw, so class numbers aren't that large. The thing I found annoyin bout Italian n im guessin French would b the same is that u have to do these lab activities, um listening and video manuals which was so borin n a waste of time, but they do give u a chance to get to know others better, ur bound to find sum1 from ur class in the language labs at the same time as u!!!
If you plan a language major you will also have to do cultural subjects throughout ur degree, i think there is only one in first year. I found the Italian equivalent to be the hardest 2 hours to get through since the lecturer was great at putting me to sleep lol. Um, the workload was alot, since we had 3 texts but I shouldn complain since I rarely did the readings. The content itself is bearable, u learn the history of the country and also touch on geographical aspects, the politics of the nation, etc. I have heard that the French lecturer, I think Henri Jeanjean is very good so u dont have to worry!!!!
Okaiz enuf ramblin from me, hope that made sense
Best of luck with ur choices n if u have any questions bout languages feel free to ask!!!!