The benefits of studying modern languages have been well known throughout the years. In fact, language learning has become so widely appreciated that almost anyone would agree on its status as an absolute must, and without a doubt, encourage you to endeavour taking language classes.
Among such views in relation to the importance of language learning, where does studying Modern Languages to degree level stand?
I can say, as a person who continued on from a Science background at sixth form to read French with Italian, that I was faced with many unexpected aspects of a Modern Languages degree, whether these were challenges or perks.
Language
Naturally, everything positive you have ever heard about learning a language applies to what you get from studying Modern Languages to a degree level.
A languages degree will offer an intensive language module if you are looking for a linguistic approach; if you are a lover of languages, not only in the sense that you enjoy socialising and communicating with people from different cultures, but, in a bigger sense, if you love studying a language, learning all its formal aspects, its correct uses and grammar, this is really what you need to be doing.
That intensive language module is where you come to master even the most ambiguous grammatical and verbal forms of a language, whether that be the subjunctive, the formal tenses or the conditional.
It is also where you learn to produce texts and academic writings in a different language. As surprising as it may be, the standards for writing and structuring a text are different in every language.
What someone who speaks in Italian may expect to read in a text in terms of the content of its introduction, as opposed to its development and conclusion, is different from what a French person or an Englishman would expect.
In studying a language so extensively, one gets to practise and experiment with not only different expressions and sentence structures, but also different kinds of writing and different ways of expressing a story, a point of view, or a social or political opinion. For this reason, in studying modern languages, you not only get to learn to produce wellwritten texts, which you would get by studying any other humanities degree, but you get to explore different ways of expressing yourself, and learn to approach issues with an open mind.
Beyond Language
Studying a foreign language to degree level is not only studying a language. It would be an understatement to say that a Modern Languages degree solely encourages students to learn and conduct research on the culture of a country that speaks the language; because that is precisely what 75% of a Modern Languages degree is about.
What drove me to pursue Modern Languages at university was purely a love of the language, grammar and sentence structures.
Choosing my modules over the summer before starting university, I remember moaning over the fact that we actually had only one compulsory language module and everything else pertained to the academic study of a cultural aspect of France, such as French politics, literature, philosophy or film.
This I considered quite challenging at first; there was a lot of reading involved, which was all the time, and a lot of essay writing, which was not even in French, but in English.
However, over time, I grew to appreciate this. The fact of the matter is, you cannot fully learn a language without understanding the culture behind it. I found myself doing extensive research on many different areas of the French culture, which eventually led me to discover certain aspects of the language that were closely related to those areas and perspectives.
One other advantage of this is that you can go into anything after graduation. Since there is a variety to the kinds of modules offered, covering most areas of humanities, you can pick what interests you the most and specialise in that area.
For me, this meant taking a lot of modules on French philosophy and eventually pursuing an MA degree in Philosophy after my undergraduate studies.
A lot of my coursemates went on to do politics, literature, translation, and some even went on to study French Law.
Further Beyond Language
Indeed studying a foreign language to degree level is not only about studying a language either. A Modern Languages degree naturally includes a compulsory year abroad, which involves either work experience, teaching experience, or participation in a student exchange program in another country where that language is spoken.
You get to actually experience the culture, and that is precisely what is expected of you. During your year abroad, no matter what you get up to, the university will keep in touch with you, regularly asking to be updated on your cultural exchange experience, encouraging you to send across assignments that focus on your personal experience, to start your own travel blog, to really get yourself out there and be immersed in a different lifestyle and culture.
This is certainly the crowning year of the entire degree, and in a sense, a year of passage. Meeting a lot of people from different parts of the world, speaking a different language all the time, starting to think and even experience dreams in a different language, growing to learn many, many different expressions, gradually coming to master them with impeccable fluency, including the slang peculiar to the region, and slowly becoming part of that community, are invaluable parts of the experience.
I can say, with confidence, that this is the kind of degree that will give you so much to explore and so much to learn, about language, about culture, about people or communities, even about yourself as you will get to see where your talents lie, and possibly even change you as a person.
If you do enjoy learning new languages, and have an interest in any humanities subject out there, then this degree is definitely for you. In addition to the personal growth, it will endow you with many valuable skills, such as speaking a language to a professional level, being very skilful in expressing yourself, and being an open-minded person who has lived in a different country for a year, which would undoubtedly impress any employer.
By Burçe E, private tutor in London (Modern Languages Tutor)
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