International Students Speak on the Importance of Learning Languages

Learning a new language can change your life. Nobody can tell you this better than international students. “This summer I was interning in New York City and working with the United Nations” says Catherina Santos, an international student from Brazil. “There I met two guys. One was deaf and the other was his translator. They represented the people with disabilities and they talked to us, the interns. When they asked if we spoke sign language, none of us did. That really struck me. It didn’t matter if I knew all the languages in the world. He would never understand me.” Though sign language is not technically a foreign language, it might be considered as such. So, Catherina started to learn sign language in addition to her studies of Italian and Spanish. She believes it is very important to be able to speak to a person in his or her own language. She recalls Nelson Mandela’s quote to illustrate her feelings: “If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart.” 

    Elisa Sperandio, an Italian-born student, says that learning foreign languages was generally one of the best experiences in her life. “I have broadened my horizons and have met some of my closest friends while speaking a foreign language or even while learning one abroad.” Olga Novikova, an international student from Russia, believes that “with every new foreign language you learn, you become a slightly different person. You automatically dive into the culture and traditions of a country. You become more open-minded”.  New languages teach you to think about old things in a new way. For instance, every noun in Russian has its own gender: male, female or neutral. Can you guess what gender the Moon is going to be? It is a female in Russian.

    Even if you don’t plan to travel or meet foreigners, there are advantages of speaking foreign languages. For instance, Elisa says “I entirely believe that there is no more satisfying feeling in life than reading a great novel in the language that it was originally written in. The Divine Comedy in Italian is so much better than the English translation, in the same way as The Picture of Dorian Grey loses some of its character when translated.”

    So, what should you do if you want to learn a foreign language? First of all, you should start right now. “It’s not going to get any easier with time” says Elisa. Second, there are plenty of fun ways to approach a new language. For example, you can “start out by learning about the culture, trying to understand how people shape languages and national character. Then, watch a foreign film, listen to their top 50 charts, translate songs by hand instead of looking up translations” recommends Elisa. Listening to English songs and trying to make out the words was the way she started learning English herself when she was just 6. Now she is fluent at three languages and understands two more. Catherina, who speaks two languages fluently and is learning three more, also considers songs and movies with subtitles very helpful. Watching a television series is an entertaining way to learn a new language.

    Paulina Prokofieva, a Concord student who just came from Ukraine and knows seven languages, recommends starting learning a new language simply with an alphabet. “Just imagine yourself being a toddler. You just start picking up the language: alphabet, some very simple words. After some time you can start learning grammar. Of course, you have to sit down and study at some point, because there is no other way to learn a language”.

    “However, you should build your own plan based on how you learn best”, reminds Elisa, “whether that may be by reading something, having someone say it to you, or simple repetition”. Concord students who want to learn a new language have an additional advantage: there are many international students who would be very willing to help you with their first language, so don’t be afraid to ask them for help.