An update from freshman French and Spanish major and Italian minor Nathan Allen:
“As an Illinois State University language student, I now feel more able and more comfortable to use my language skills than in high school.
My favorite part about my majors and minor is all the people I can connect with both in and outside of class. For example, I took a big leap and asked the I-House (International House) Facebook page if any French speakers could help me and quite a few of them responded and have become friends of mine. I try to sit with them and listen/speak as much as possible, even though they talk very fast in the loud dining hall! We also talk about cultural differences and attitudes that others have in regard to American media and culture and vice versa.
I’m not yet initiated but I hope to become an official member of Pi Delta Phi, the French honor society at Illinois State. I am also a part of Spanish Club and am looking forward to being in the Italian conversation group! Classes are both challenging and fairly simple because it mainly requires dedication on one’s own to learn the material. Once learned it can be used with friends in and out of class.
I have not studied abroad but I certainly want to go on at least a summer or a semester trip to a francophone country, and once I’m more advanced, a Spanish-speaking country.
In the future I would like to use my knowledge of these languages to search for an interpreter/translator career and potentially work in large organizations like U.S. embassies, NATO, European Union, and/or the UN!”
