Languages Blog

Learning a second language can often take you out of your comfort zone.

Major turning points in a person’s life often come with little warning, and little indication of how they’ll change the course of their future...

For Jessica Gonzalez, learning a second language was not a choice. She was raised by parents who immigrated to the United States from Mexico, who only spoke Spanish at home– and the same was true throughout her surroundings. Living thirty minutes north of the border between Texas and Mexico, nearly everyone in Jessica’s community was a native Spanish speaker. In school, however, classes were taught in English, which is how Jessica became fluent in both.

Few people have the same level of passion for languages as Stephanie Saba, a former MSU student who graduated with a degree in Arabic, English, and Secondary Education last year. For Stephanie, though, the language learning experience was not about her time in the classroom, but about the communities she formed– in Arabic classes and student groups at MSU, and in Morocco, where she spent her senior year. 

“Sharing stories, especially ones fueled with such inspiration, really brings your soul to the surface. It makes you walk away with a heart beat a little less heavy and a smile across your face. That's a good feeling.”

“Poverty is really about broken relationships; whether that is between you and the government, you and your community…” Dan began, with a contemplative stare and a justifying tone.

Growing up I never dreamed of speaking a foreign language. I never even gave much thought to speaking anything besides English until it just kind of fell into my lap in 8th grade.

Language can take you to places you could never imagine–which is exactly what happened to Chris Murphy. Chris, an MSU alumni, is now attending Peking University in Beijing pursuing a Master’s degree in Political Science. As he is now pursuing his passion for Chinese, we talked with him about what gave him that spark. 

It was not until he moved to England for four years that Alex realized just how incredible the culture, passion, and community surrounding the game of football truly was.

It was in a moment of interaction with a Buddhist Monk that Edvard experienced a transformation in her perceptions surrounding the power of translation, and the possibility that evolves when worlds collide...