Though I often burned the midnight oil to complete my AP World History readings and 9th-grade English assignments when we first moved to Indiana, my English skills were sufficient to keep up with my other classes. After taking a year of Latin mandated by my high school, I transferred schools because of moving and started taking Spanish at my new school. Despite being apprehensive about the listening portion of my Spanish class exams, my competence in grammar earned me good grades in the class. Upon my arrival at BYU, I found that my oral skills were lacking, and the listening section proved even more challenging. Even after completing the SPAN205 and 206 classes, I struggled to converse with native speakers for more than a minute. I feel extremely grateful to persevere and complete the Spanish Studies secondary major.
Studying abroad in Spain allowed me to witness in person the many marvelous historical sites that I learned about in my Iberian Civilization class. La mezquita-catedral de Córdoba was one of the many cathedrals I visited on this trip. I could not stop wandering back and forth between the double-colored horseshoe arches in the Hypostyle Hall and the Sanctuary under the Renaissance dome. Despite the enriching cultural immersion, I must admit that my attempts to converse with the locals during lunch and dinner were met with significant discomfort. This led me to recalibrate my expectations and focus on having fun while learning the language on the Study Abroad. Nonetheless, I made satisfactory progress in mastering the names of different architectural styles and elements in Spanish.
After returning from my Study Abroad, I continued to take Spanish classes as I enjoyed learning the language. However, I was aware that my abilities in listening, speaking, writing, and reading Spanish were relatively limited compared to those of other students in my classes. I am grateful for the tremendous support and encouragement from my close friends from my classes and some of my professors who went above and beyond in caring for me and helping me improve my language skills. Completing the Spanish Studies Secondary Major program took a great deal of hard work and persistence that do not necessarily manifest in my proficiency scores.
I have sought advice with a few professors after receiving my proficiency scores on how to enhance my listening and speaking skills. In the coming months, I plan to implement their suggestions, which include spending 15 minutes daily listening to and repeating after the Spanish TV news and reading news articles in Spanish and other languages I know. Although I cannot claim fluency in Spanish at the moment, I am optimistic that these efforts will yield tangible improvements in my listening and speaking abilities and allow me to confidently engage in Spanish conversations in the future.