Foreign language majors. We willingly throw caution to the wind and thrust ourselves into another culture with minimal understanding of everything and stumble along until we figure it out. But being a foreign language major is one of the coolest things you can do in college, and here’s a glimpse into our daily lives:
Quizlet and WordReference
These study resources are our most used apps guaranteed. Drowning in vocab becomes a bit easier when you can play games with it and when you blank on the word for ‘notebook’ even though you learned years ago, WR aka BAE has you covered.
Switching languages
Whether you’re a native speaker or not, we sometimes throw non-English words in with the rest of an English sentence. We become a spontaneous Spanish Buzz a la Toy Story 3. Or we’ll switch to the non-English language when speaking with other majors for practice. Or we’ll write reminders down in our target language because we were just thinking in or focusing on it. But as a hint to our monolingual friends: most of the time what we’re saying is curse words.
Great foreign music
American music is great, but to me, Spanish and Latino music just has that flair that no one else can copy. FL Majors may use music to practice comprehension and improve their vocab, but let’s be honest: getting ready to go out is just so much more fun when you’re casually salsa-ing in your room. We also look hella cultured, which is a plus.
The stress of interpretation
Interpretation practice is something most FL majors have to do, and while we may feel confident in our speaking abilities, we’re always worried that something’s getting lost in translation. Plus, in some cases, if you mess up the stressing of a certain syllable over another or speak to fast and miss a certain emphasis, you could definitely say the wrong thing (i.e. saying someone has 14 anuses instead of being 14 years old). We just hope everything turns out okay and no one dies.
Feeling protective of our language and it’s home country
My grandfather insists on calling Latinos “The Spanish.” I have tried to explain to him that Latino and Spanish are not the same thing. Just because they speak it does not mean they ARE it. It drives me up the wall, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. Plus, when anyone says something degrading about a country that speaks your target language, you get fired up and will defend it with all your might (looking at you, Trump and your comments about Mexico).
Missing our study abroad city
Most FL majors study abroad at some point, even if it’s for a few weeks or a summer. And we will always miss the city we lived in; it becomes our other home, in a sense. The experience of immersing yourself in another culture and language is incredible and a bit of our hearts will always remain there (Merida, Mexico, I’ll come back to you eventually).
Looking at the world with a new perspective
Because FL majors study not just the language but also the culture and history of countries that speak our target language, we begin to look at the world a little differently. We learn that the way we see the world is just one way of looking at it and that our way is not always right or the best. We absorb parts of other cultures and it becomes a part of us. We are walking around with a little bit of the whole world in our hearts and on our tongues and we wouldn’t trade that feeling for the world.
So fellow foreign language majors, tell me what your favorite part of being a FL major is! Nos vemos.
