Students choose to study Modern Languages for a variety of reasons: because it combines learning a language with literature, because it is an opportunity to travel, or maybe just because they are passionate about a certain country.
Whatever the reason may be, one thing is certain: Modern Languages students will all get to travel across the world in their third year while pretending to study hard.
Although certain language skeptics may believe Modern Languages students do not work hard, they do face many challenges. Like English Literature students, they are expected to dissect books and understand what the author may or may not have meant. However they must do this in a language they barely master. Here is where translations come in handy.
To be honest, Modern Languages students should not complain, between WordReference, Verbix and Google Translate, translating and reading books in foreign languages has never been easier. The real challenge is being examined without access to wifi after four years of using your computer to do all your work.
At the end of the day, studying Modern Languages is an amazing choice, speaking languages is a valued by companies, you can impress people by speaking to foreigners from across the world, and travelling is much less daunting because of the experience you have gained throughout university.
So, for all linguists out there, here is a list of the top 11 things Modern Languages students know to be true: