Learning a language is one of the most rewarding experiences a person can have. At the same time, it can also be one of the most daunting and frustrating experiences if you’re ill-equipped to embark on such a journey. While I have always been a lover of languages different from my own, I have never been a quick language learner. As a result, many of my previous language learning journeys were like emotional roller coasters in which I would love the new language I was learning and its accompanying culture in one moment, and be completely frustrated with it in another moment. Contrary to the intended structure of the course, I did not register for MLC 110 and was not technically learning a language on my own. Still, I was learning a language – Portuguese!
My purpose in MLC 105 was therefore a bit different from most students taking the course. Having just returned from a semester abroad in Brazil, I was really excited about Brazilian culture and mesmerized by the Portuguese language. I acquired a fairly decent proficiency of the language while abroad, but I was afraid of forgetting a significant portion of it upon returning home. As I said in a previous blog post when referring to the need to practice a language, “if you don’t use it, you lose it.” Therefore my goals in MLC 105 were to maintain the Portuguese proficiency I gained in Brazil through sufficient practice, and to continue to improve my knowledge and understanding of it. More specifically, I wanted to be able to navigate between the past, present, and future tenses with relative ease, learn 10 new vocabulary words a week, and learn at least 3 new songs in Portuguese.
These goals were very realistic and easily attainable for me, because I was also registered in the Portuguese for Spanish Speakers (LAIS 313) language course. The course covered material ranging from grammatical constructions and syntactic structures to cultural aspects of the language, such as music and regional social norms of Portuguese-speaking countries. In the process of taking MLC 105 in conjunction with the LAIS 313 course, I was able to have a structured schedule of language learning. I can say with confidence that I am now able to navigate with greater ease throughout the various tenses in Portuguese, and I learned a tremendous amount of new vocabulary words. Similarly, I listened to a lot of Brazilian music during this time, both in and out of class. Out of class, I used the wonderfully free internet source, Pandora, to listen and learn about some great new Brazilian music.
If I had an opportunity to do things a bit differently however, I would have tried to obtain a language learning partner even though I was not registered for MLC 110. I think it would have been really beneficial to have someone to practice the language with in a way different from classroom practice. Perhaps in the future, language partners could be provided for students who request one, even if they are not self-directed language learners. I’m sure such a task would be difficult, but I think the relative gains would be high in terms of the speaking proficiency of students learning foreign languages.
One aspect of MLC 105 I was really pleased with was the cultural presentations. Through these presentations, I had the opportunity to research and learn more about a culture I had always been interested in (the Gullah people). In addition, I was able to learn more about the respective languages and cultures my fellow classmates were learning. It was very interesting to see the existing patterns inherent in many languages and to see how cultural tendencies tend to overlap throughout many cultures. As an International Studies major, I relish in any and all opportunities to gain insight from discussions on the linkages between language, culture, and society at large. I also enjoyed the required readings for the course. While some of them were a bit technical (i.e. How the Brain Handles Language), I found it very helpful to learn about the theories underlying language studies and about the various strategies for approaching language learning. The information provided through this texts are not common knowledge and I might not have sought out such information on my own if it were not for this course.
Overall, I am extremely pleased with the progress I made in MLC 105. For the most part, I have accomplished the goals I stated in the beginning of this course. While I was unable to practice my speaking as much as I would have liked, I still received more practice than I most likely would have achieved without the structure provided by both MLC 105 and LAIS 313. In the process, I gained a wealth of knowledge about languages and cultures I previously had very little contact with. Thank you Dr. Grove and Professor Scinicariello for your assistance in this process! I will end this reflection with a bit of Portuguese: muito obrigada a vocês por tudo que fizeram. Estão lindíssimas! (Thank you all for everything that you’ve done. You’re wonderful!)
Comments