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An essay about learning foreign languages
My experience learning a second language
An essay about learning foreign languages
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I believe that the ability to speak a foreign language is a key skill in today’s society in order to be a more culturally aware individual. To me, learning a language is much more than learning a set of grammatical rules and vocabulary, instead it is an insight into a whole different culture. For this reason, foreign languages have fascinated me since I started learning French in primary school up until year nine, continued throughout my studies of German at GCSE level and now as I continue my studies with Spanish at A-Level. It is this fascination that urges me to continue to further my knowledge of languages through a degree. Also, upon receiving an army officer scholarship and a guaranteed place at Sandhurst upon graduation from university, I believe that the investigative, linguistic and analytical skills I would gain …show more content…
Not only am I interested in learning a new language; I would also like to further my knowledge of foreign literature, arts, tradition and history. My passion for foreign literature was established when I first read the Mexican novel ‘Como Agua Para Chocolate’. The themes and use of magical realism, which I had not come across in English literature captivated me and encouraged me to research into its roots of Latin American colonialism and ever since I have been extending my knowledge of the hispanic world. Foreign art and architecture have also captivated me following my visits to Rome on a retreat and Barcelona on a chapel choir tour. The peak of my trips were visits to the Sistine Chapel and La Sagrada Familia, where the beauty of these works stunned me since I had never experienced anything as colourful and magnificent. I find particularly interesting the fusion of different
Sor Juana de la Cruz is born into a wealthy family in 1648 that lived near Mexico City, Mexico. After being a part of the Viceregal court and a lady in waiting, Cruz begins her spiritual journey and joins the convent. Here, Cruz explores both secular and non-secular studies. She is an exceptionally talented writer with a passion for reading, learning, and writing. She is scolded for the information she writes and is told to focus exclusively on religious dogma. Soon after the Bishop of Pubela reads one of her letters, he publishes it (without her knowing), and she responds with a respectful yet sarcastic letter (Lawall and Chinua 155-156). Cruz’s “Reply to Sor Filotea de la Cruz” was written during the period of Enlightenment of Europe (1660- 1770). This era in Europe casted an opaque shadow over women’s rights to educate themselves and self-expression. Sor Juana’s piece however is both inspirational and empoweri...
Similar Themes in Richard Rodriguez' Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood and Carmen Tafolla's In Memory of Richi
The astonishingly brilliant artist Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes has always been revered and adored for his incredible paintings of the Spanish Royal family, but not many know that he was also a masterful engraver. In the exhibit titled Renaissance to Goya: Prints and Drawings from Spain, many of the pieces displayed were based on social commentary of the period within the country. This disdain is particularly palpable in the etching by Goya titled The Sleep of Reason Produces Monsters. The psychological and emotional state of Goya at the time is masterfully rendered and the presentation of the exhibit is absolutely remarkable due to its brilliant color scheme and expert presentation of the works.
The knowledge and universal understanding derivative from a journey can leave the traveller positively enlightened. In Coelho’s story, Santiago is faced with recurring dreams which lead him to ‘’traverse the unknown’’ in search of a treasure buried in Egypt, the metaphor for universal connection, and in doing so, comes to the unrelenting realisation of spiritual transcendence. After arriving at the assumed geographical location of the treasure ‘’several figures approached him’’. They demand the boy keep searching for this treasure as they are poor refugees and in need of money, but as Santiago does, he finds nothing. Then, after relentless digging through the night ‘’as the sun rose, the men began to beat the boy’’ , finally relenting with the truth, Santiago reveals his dreams to the travellers. In doing so, Santiago finds out that these men had also been faced with recurring dreams measured around the place where the boy had undergone his own, both relative to hidden treasure. However the leader was ‘’not so stupid as to cross an entire desert just because of a recurrent dream’’. It is with this fact, tha...
Doyle, Brian. “Joyas Voladoras”. The Ways of Reading: An Anthology for Writers. Bartholomae, Petrosky. 9th ed. New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2011. 273-275. Print.
My family only speaks one language - Spanish. Spanish is a bit confusing for me now because I speak two languages both Spanish and English. When I talk to my parents I combine the languages into what most people refer to as “Spanglish”. My mom corrects me in Spanish all the time because I’m used to English language better than Spanish. She starts arguing with me about working on pronunciation and learning how to read in Spanish. My mom insisted that I read a book in Spanish.
Not only expressing her conformation through motherhood, Tita also conveys her disagreement towards the life Mama Elena sets up for her via the taboo love affair with Pedro. After Tita and Pedro have their first sexual encounters, Tita starts to display the traits of pregnancy and the ghost of Mama Elena begins to follow her and monitor her daily actions. When her psychological burden is incremented into the highest level, she finally vents her frustration by yelling at the ghost image by saying “I hate you, I’ve always hated you!”(Esquivel 199). Suddenly Tita is freed of pregnancy and the ghost transforms into a beam of light. While the Mama Elena’s ghost represents the expectation she has on Tita, the symptoms of pregnancy nevertheless indicate
The number one priority for a Soldier in the United States Army is the accomplishment of the mission. The mission is the reason the Army places such substantial emphasis on three core Soldier skills; Physical Readiness Training (PRT), weapons qualification, and MOS training. When these essential skills are lacking amongst Soldiers, the mission suffers. Linguists in the Army have a fourth core skill that separates them from all other Soldiers: their language. These language skills are what they provide to the mission; therefor the Army should place the same emphasis on developing this skill they do on the other core Soldier skills.
(Afroakwa E.o, 2010) The saying "cocoa" is a debasement of the expression "cacao" that is taken straight from Mayan and Aztec dialects. (Grivetti L.e, 2009) Until generally as of late individuals finished not consider consuming the chocolate bar, drinking was the first utilization of chocolate, paying little respect to the confirmation of the Amazonian birthplaces, Mesoamericans were its unique organizers. (Backett S.t, 2008) The Maya created the first cocoa tree, these coca trees where developed by the Aztec of Mexico and the Inca of Peru. (Morganelli A, 2006) Many Maya relics like models, divider paintings, and earthenware vases, show Gods, Kings, People, and creatures drinking chocolate however despite the fact that all the Maya drank chocolate, just the affluent drank in refreshment from explained vessels. (Minifie B.w, 1989)the Maya of the Yucatan and Aztec of Mexico growed cocoa much sooner than first experience with Europeans.
Latin-America consists of 20 countries, some odd territories, and dependencies; some have different cultures, traditions, languages even, and yet most of Latin-America would consider Gabriel García Márquez a defining author and representative of Latin-Americans as a whole. During the 1960’s, a literary revolution was accumulating and the more daring writers began to toy with interesting genres, in García Márquez’ case, it was magical realism. Politically charged and criticizing stories moonlight as magical realism if the reader discovers the deeper meaning. In “A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings” by Gabriel García Márquez, he uses his upbringing and past occupations to illuminate the tone and mood through eccentric word choice and character
Every culture has a memorable type of literature. When one thinks of English literature, one thinks of William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens. The American writers Thoreau, Clemens, and Emerson bring to mind the days when America was still proving herself to be equal to the European countries. France had her own artists, such as Voltaire and Hugo, as did Spain with Cervantes and Dante. However, when one thinks of Latin America, what writers come to mind? Very few of these authors are as well known as those mentioned. However, through the concept of a previously unknown literature, the world is viewing Latin America in a new light. Magical Realism seems to have flourished in the warm, tropical climate and has bloomed so beautifully that scholars are at a loss to fully explain this concept and where it originated.
A critical analysis of the paintings of the Tower of Babel directly suggest the perspective of the both, the translation and labor, that refer to the utopian spirit of social critique as well as to the resistance to the authority. The art paintings appear to embody an expectation of a multiplicity of tongues as a result of the harsh judgment from the Supreme Being. The Tower of Babel may not be a realized vision. It can be understood in an angle where the Utopian ideal was to be discovered. The Utopian discourse was presented in a manner that allowed the 15th century society to be skeptical of the movements of its compass bearers (Carmody 27).
Literature can convey a great deal of information about life and society. This is both as it questions and as it reflects the society in which it is created. This is as true of literature produced today as it is of literature produced in the Middle Ages. In many cases, literature is the only means by which today’s society can discern the finer points of earlier societies, such as that found in Spain during the sixteenth century. Plays such as Tirso de Molina’s The Trickster of Seville reveal a great deal about the various nuances of Spanish society during this period of time.
Growth of the chocolate industry over the last decade has been driven in large part by an increasing awareness of the health benefits of certain types of chocolate. Chocolate consumers are considerably price insensitive. Except in rare circumstances consumers are willing to purchase what they consider an “affordable luxury.” Chocolate is one of the most popular and widely consumed products in the world, with North American countries devouring the lion's share, followed by Europe
The Theobroma cacao tree is where it all started. Olmecs, Aztecs, and Mayans were the original consumers of cocoa: they would form it into a drink and ingest it for medicinal reasons (Allen Par. 7). The Spanish then brought it back to Europe and continued to treat a variety of ailments with it (Allen Par. 7). In the last 40 years people have started to question the health benefits of chocolate, but new research is starting to prove that the Olmecs, Aztecs, Mayans and Spaniards were not too far off. Now, the pods from the tree containing cocoa beans are collected, and the cocoa beans are taken out of the pod (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). The beans are then fermented, dried, roasted, then ground to make cocoa liquor (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). The cocoa liquor is then combined with sugar, vanilla, and cocoa butter to make what is now known as chocolate (Healing Foods Pyramid Par. 15). Controversy over the health benefits and detriments of chocolate is slowly subsiding, but there are many things that a lot of people still do not know about how chocolate can affect ones health. Chocolate is misunderstood.