What is your interest in 'your' language and what do you hope to accomplish this semester?
This upcoming summer I hope to go to Bangladesh and volunteer at a nursing home. In order to communicate with the residents, I would need to be able to have at least a basic understanding of the Bengali/Bangla language. My primary goal is to speak and understand the language so I can successfully help the residents. Learning how to speak Bengali is essential because that will be the main way of communicating to the native. An issue that I may face when learning the language is the specific dialect. There are various regions in Bangladesh that have their own dialect and it can be a bit difficult to understand or speak to those residing in a specific area, away from the city.
In addition, my interest in learning Bengali stems from connecting to my roots. Both of my parents are Bangladeshis, they were born and raised in Bangladesh. Although I have been to Bangladesh a few times, I have always felt like an outsider because I do not know the language. My parents have raised me in a Bangladeshi culture, but I still feel like there is a boundary between myself and those who can speak the language. As aforementioned, I will be traveling to Bangladesh this summer to volunteer, and this time I really need to grasp the language in order to help others and connect with my fellow Bangladeshis!
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