When I took Spanish for three years in high school, I did it to fulfill an honors diploma requirement and that Spanish was the second most widely spoken language in the US. I picked it back up in college after a year of taking no language classes because I realized that I enjoyed learning Spanish and wanted to go on a Study Abroad in Spain. However, my 10th-grade self never thought I would be able to do what I have done professionally and personally in Spanish now. Even though a job in my primary major after completing my degree does not require proficiency in a foreign language, I want to keep my options open for long-term professional and personal life by improving my Spanish language proficiency.
For the example of professional use of the language, I screenshotted a subtitle translation that I was working on for TED.com as a volunteer linguist. I am qualified to translate Spanish into Chinese and English because of my native proficiency in those languages. A volunteer linguist can perform transcription and translation for TED anywhere, anytime. I learned about this opportunity through my Intro to Spanish Translations class, as I needed hands-on Spanish translation experiences as part of the class's learning outcome. With my translation, people that only speak Chinese can have access to the inspiring video of this Spanish speaker. I selected this artifact because it represents how I can apply my language skills to translation needs. The goals and audience of translations vary between projects, and I can employ different resources to produce an appropriate translation.
I included a couple of screenshots of me journaling in Spanish for examples of personal use of the language. I first started journaling in Spanish during my study abroad in Spain. I did not think I would continue doing it afterward. However, I have journaled in Spanish many more times because I wanted to tell a story about my life in Spanish. It is not rare to see Chinese, English, and Spanish in a single journal entry in my journal. I selected this artifact to show that I sometimes use Spanish to communicate with myself. None of my Spanish classes ever required me to journal in Spanish. Instead, I did it from a personal desire for personal pleasure.
I plan on improving my Spanish so that I can be more confident translating Chinese and English into Spanish in a professional setting. I love how my skills can enable people who speak one language to understand those who speak another. In addition, I wanted to gain a greater variety of Spanish skills that I could use in my potential career. For example, I thought of establishing my own business in the future. I hope my Spanish skills can allow me to develop my business in Spanish-speaking countries. I also want to explore the possibilities of translating classical Chinese literature or self-guided GPS audio tours in China to Spanish.