How do you see the knowledge you gained from your courses and experiences connecting to your career objectives? Use specific examples.

My first career path is to become a French teacher; with that being said, my college courses have helped me tremendously to learn the language that I want to teach. Along the way, I have seen what lesson plans work well with my classmates and myself and those that do not work well. For example, testing students’ abilities to speak French naturally via a video test does not always work. Some students may get “stage fright” thus giving them a bad score. My study abroad helped me gain the knowledge I need to speak the language as well as learn the cultural differences between our two countries, which can be taught to the students I will teach.

My other career path is to be a Navy linguist. Upon looking at the languages that are taught, French is one of them, but it is not used as frequently as Pashto or Arabic or Mandarin Chinese. However, because I already have the skill set for speaking French, I could learn another more needed language, which would give me a “step-up” because I would already know English and French plus the other language. Also, because I learned French in college, I know what it takes to learn a language – the grammar skills, phonetics, culture, etc. I am positive that when the Navy sees my grades and how long I have taken French and my study abroad experience, they will be confident in my ability to become a successful linguist.

What skills did you cultivate and apply within your course of study? What frustrations and challenges did you face? How did you resolve such issues in the short term? How might you respond to or resolve such challenges in the future?

Over the course my four years in college, I believe I have mastered my note-taking skills. Most college classes are characterized by a professor reading from a Powerpoint presentation whilst their students copying down every word. However, when it comes to a foreign language course, most professors are interacting with their students and writing verb conjugations on the board. Foreign language is not exactly cut-and-dry, like history or science. For example, in history, the civil war ended in 1865. That’s it, no questions asked. In a foreign language, however, grammar rules can change or have exceptions when other courses are plain and clear. Because foreign language courses aren’t taught via a Powerpoint presentation (although some professors use them), students must take excellent notes so they can determine what is useful information for them. For me, my notes are well-organized into categories, such as verb tenses, prepositions, conjunctions, pronouns, expressions, useful terms, and vocabulary.

When I started my first year of college, I was in French 101 which was too easy for me (I had already completed four years of French in high school). There were several students in my class that were taking French for the first time, so I became increasing angry when they were having difficulties with the language (totally not their fault though). I guess this could be considered a frustration for me (not really). I tried to test into a higher level but I did not have the money for the test. It took until French 201 before I was actually challenged in class and was not as confident in my ability to answer questions. One of the challenges I faced while learning French in college was my first few weeks in Tours, France during my study abroad. I was not used to always speaking French and not having the professors translate difficult words and phrases into English. The difficulty was that the professors at the Institute did not speak English, thus when I had a problem with coursework, I had to find a way to explain my problem in French and hope I could understand their answer. After the first three weeks, by studying and taking notes I was able to catch up, speak French more, and understand the professors even when they spoke fast. If I decide to go to graduate school, or go back to the Institute, or learn a new language as a Navy linguist, I will have to change my behavior and focus on making this language a part of my life.

How will you apply information or skills you have learned within your course of study to your next steps, whether that be in a professional setting or graduate school? How do you envision this knowledge or skill set being useful to you in other future contexts? Use specific examples.  

The French writing skills I learned while in French 312: Reading and Writing, French Theater, and French Cinema (my essays were written in French) would help me if I were to continue to graduate school, as I am sure my Master’s thesis would have to be written in French. My experience abroad and the knowledge I learned while in class would be useful if I were to start a travel blog or possibly become a tour guide in France.