In response to The Daily Post’s writing prompt: “Study Abroad.”
If I had this choice before 1970 I would have said to study in Hungary to learn Hungarian. My mom’s parents were Hungarian and it would have been nice to be able to speak it with my mom. Here in the present time, I think I would like to learn Spanish. Not the language of Spain, but of Mexico. We had neighbors, who took their kids to Mexico many years back to be immersed in the language. I had never thought of it like that before. More recently I know someone who Majored in French in college but then years later went to France for a month to re-immerse themselves in the language.
So why Spanish? Spanish is becoming a second language here. Many social welfare jobs now require knowing Spanish. I’ll be retiring in a couple years and there are many areas where a person could volunteer and I think this is something I would like to do. I don’t know if it will ever happen, thanks to this prompt it gives me something else to look forward to.
Are you wondering why I didn’t learn Hungarian as a child? My dad’s parents never taught him Russian or Ukrainian. My parents only spoke English.
Did you grow up knowing two languages? I’d love to hear your thoughts. Have a good week!
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Julia's Odyssey 
Interesting background… I speak English as my first language but learned Irish at school and have retained a relatively good level… My undergrad was in Persian, which I love and I would love to take my children to Iran, its such a wonderful place and the people are just fantastic. My children are being schooled completely through Irish-well my son is, my daughter won’t start until September but we try to speak it at home and we’re all learning arabic. I’d love to take them abroad for total immersion in Arabic… maybe in a couple of years. I think it would be a wonderfully enriching experience.
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That is fantastic. I think we miss a lot compared to other cultures and countries. It’s a shame really. Thank you for stopping by and leaving a comment.
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I did not grow up learning two languages but pretty much had to learn Spanish as an adult because of the school I taught at. I had to be able to communicate with the parents. I agree that Spanish is the language of the future in a lot of the US. http://lilypupslife.wordpress.com/
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Thanks for coming by. A think a lot of teachers are coming across that problem now. It’s so beneficial for the teachers to know another language. Our education system really needs to wake up and start teaching language again.
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Alas I only speak English. I took Latin in high school, and can read a lot of Spanish. I want to learn Spanish to be able to speak when we travel. My husband was born in Colombia to German-born parents so he spoke Spanish and German before he spoke English. My friend’s first language is Hungarian and he speaks Hungarian to his son, who now can speak it fluently. Go for it!
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Cool article Julia! We teach Spanish over video chat with live 1-on-1 tutors from around the world. We also have a curriculum designed specifically for tourists. Would anyone like to try a free 55 minute session?
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Thanks, not right now for me, but will keep it in mind.
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Thanks for your comments. I follow a couple sold everything and moved to Spain. They love it. I’m glad the father taught his son to speak the language.
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I know how difficult it is to learn a new language. When we moved to Spain from Ireland, I had to learn very quickly as my youngest child would be attending public school there and she was only four years old. She learned the language so fast it was amazing. We lived there for over seven years and I managed okay, because I was listening to the spoken word every day. I even took my driving test while there and eventually passed after three attempts. The only English word my driving instructor had was Stop, (which he used a lot). lol.
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HI, An interesting story. I think it must be very brave taking a driving test in a different country. Everyone says, it’s easier when you spend time in a country to learn a language because you are constantly surrounded by the sounds and dialect. Thanks for stopping by.
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