November 8th, 2020
I attended the virtual event Live, Laugh, Languages. It was a panel with IA 3rd and 4th years about their experience studying Russian, Arabic, Chinese, and Korean.
Each panelist explained why they wanted to study their language. One wanted to understand more of the grammatical background, one was inspired by music, and one wanted to continue learning more about the language after living in Russia. I thought it was extremely interesting to hear one of the panelists discuss how having a french background has influenced learning Arabic.
They also talked about what were the most useful resources for learning a language. Professors and classmates are very important, but the only thing they brought up was knowing what your goal is. This goal might not be met in the classroom, and doing things like reading books, studying abroad, and going to office hours is important because the inversion element is key when learning a new language, calling it a “learned, lived, breathed” experience. One of the panelists said she was part of a CLS to Morocco and she learned more about Arabic in those two months than anything else.
The panelists also discussed opportunities they have had to improve their language skills. These opportunities included the Columbus Literacy Council, research, teaching in China, funding from the State Department, and community and refugee and immigration services. They felt their favorite time to use the language was in the community.
I want to look more into the Area Studies scholarships that were discussed as those sound extremely interesting to me. This event is related to IA as it is important for everyone, particularly those of us that want to work and have connections abroad, to both speak the language and understand the culture of other countries.