Before answering the question: why learn a critical language?, I am going to give a little bit of my background as to how I became inspired to learn a difficult language like Russian. In high-school, I had the opportunity of taking three languages, and happened to have a German, and a French teacher who had learned Russian in college. Oftentimes, they would write in Cyrillic on the board, so that their students could not understand the mysterious messages, or notes that they found to be important. This not only intrigued me, but also made me want to learn more about the Russian language, and about the cultures associated with it.
My high-school had offered two years’ worth of Russian study for many years, but, due to budget cuts, was cut out of its curriculum. Being the passionate language-learner that I am, I was upset by this loss. I could not believe that it had decided to take out one of the most widely-spoken, and important languages in today’s world. Curiously enough, my German teacher had taught both levels of Russian, and had a degree in teaching this language. Although my efforts to bring Russian back into its curriculum failed, my teacher was kind enough to teach my Honors German III class how to read and write in Cyrillic, as well as some of the basics of the language. Many of my classmates became fascinated with a language that not only had a different alphabet, but that also had grammar, and words completely different from English. This intrigued many of us, and our love for it continued to grow.
Last summer, I was blessed to go to Concordia Language Village’s Russian language village in Bemidji, Minnesota for its 12 day high-school summer immersion program. I had already attended the French, German, and Italian language villages in previous summers, but wanted to go a critical language’s language village before turning 19 (you can only go to their villages as a villager until you are 18). Since I had already had some experience with the alphabet, I decided to continue with Russian. Other than knowing some basic words and phrases, and feeling relatively comfortable reading and writing in Cyrillic, I had never been surrounded with the language for more than just a few minutes.
I was placed into the second level with younger villagers who had already learned other languages. After just a few days of singing in, learning food vocabulary, and only being surrounded by Russian, I started to translate what both of my teachers were saying from Russian to English, and from English to Russian. This is because I learn best when I am completely immersed in a language, and when I am forced to express myself, and ask questions in my target language. One of my teachers was older, and lived in Russia, so her English was very minimal. This gave me an appreciation for the culture even more, and pushed my brain’s limits to speak in more than just broken Russian. I will forever be thankful for her kindness, and patience with my class, and with all of the girls’ in my cabin.
After those twelve days were over, I gained incredible friendships. I had met a girl whose goal is to be the first astronaut to Mars, a girl who was half Russian, a girl who had been adopted as a baby from Russia, a girl who had pointed to Russia on a map as a young girl and who had loved learning about Russian culture ever since, and a girl who had been adopted as a teenager from Ukrainia. I had trained my brain to learn a completely new alphabet, and to start learning vocabulary that was very distantly related from both of my mother tongues. I had gained a greater appreciation for misunderstood, and misrepresented countries, and had disregarded most of the stereotypes that had been ingrained in me at a young age.
Last summer, my family was fortunate enough to get a first taste of Russia by visiting Saint Petersburg. Despite my limited Russian, I was able to read menus in Cyrillic, and to understand signs that were around me. I was even able to understand most of what the security guards were saying at the airport, making me less nervous to travel to Russia. Fast-forwarding to now, I am currently in my second of Russian. Having had several years of experience with German, I had the advantage of understanding Russian grammar before even learning it. For example, both languages have a case system. Most of my classmates had never learned the Cyrillic alphabet, and had never learned cases. This made me feel more comfortable learning difficult grammar, and words that were completely foreign-sounding. My knowledge of five other languages has facilitated, and sped up my learning of Russian, despite many of the roadblocks that I have already faced.
Going back to the question: why study a critical language?, it is completely life-changing. It opens you up to a world, and to cultures that you would have never otherwise fully appreciated, or understood. It allows you to meet incredible people who come from all kinds of backgrounds (as I have already mentioned above), and to meet others with whom you would not otherwise be able to communicate. Most people who speak one of the fourteen critical languages recognized by the American government do not speak English. In fact, most of them only speak their native language. Learning a critical language would not only set you apart from your friend group, but also from your peers, and from your colleagues. Very few people take the time to learn one, allowing you to set yourself apart.
I have found that studying Russian at the university level has an even more rewarding experience than all of the other languages that I have learned. This is because I have made progress at a slower pace. Whenever I improve, it feels as though I have made leaps and bounds in terms of progress. Every time that I understand material, it makes me realize that, with a positive mindset, drive, and dedication, anyone can master a critical language.
Another perk is that there are only nine of us who are learning Russian at my level. Our classroom sizes are much smaller from those of more commonly taught languages, making it easy to have strong relationships with our professors. If you are thinking about learning a critical language, college is the perfect time to do so. I have already gone to Russian Table to practice my conversational Russian, have watched Russian films, and have labs for an hour once a week for extra practice. There are thousands of scholarship opportunities for you if you study a critical language. You have the whole world at your feet.
Have you now been convinced? Do you want to push your brain’s limits, and step out of your comfort zone? Russian is by far the most difficult language that I have learned, but have learned it in a very safe and supportive environment. Learning a different alphabet has made my brain more malleable, and more willing to learn completely different material. I have developed a new personality, and, most importantly, have learned that Russian-speaking countries are friendly, welcoming, and very happy that you are taking the time to learn more about them. It is time for the word stereotype to not be a word that is in our vocabulary. Instead, we should take the time to learn about cultures different than ours, and explore that they are not as different as they may seem on the surface.
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