Linguaphile

Ever since I was 4 years old, I have been interested in languages. I remember smiling while singing Frère Jacques to my mother in the French classes we attended together. From Kindergarten through 2^nd grade, I learned Spanish at school. After I began public school in 3^rd grade, I recommenced French; I continued it through 7^th grade. Cumulatively I have taken 8 years of French. In 9^th grade I became more adventurous, using Rosetta Stone for Arabic. I tried to take Chinese online in 10^th grade, but the applications were incompatible with my computer; I replaced it with Spanish. Now I take German and Russian. I intend to begin Chinese and Hindi soon. My goal is to travel the world without guides and use my language and cultural knowledge to establish rapport with locals. Speaking to a native Frenchman in his own language on a train was an exhilarating experience, and I want to relive it a thousand times over.

I have been fortunate enough to have sterling natives as my teachers for almost every language I have taken. They have inspired me to conquer other languages by showing that it can be done. For instance, Mr. Gervais, my 7^th grade French teacher who was raised by Francophone parents in Quebec, learned English in school and moved to the United States and mastered English while in high school. He proves that a motivated person with a propensity for language can realize his dream of becoming fluent in another language.

Over the years my reasons for learning languages have evolved: Whereas I previously learned to make As, I now learn to challenge myself and to acquire the knowledge to travel unfettered, meet interesting people, and experience new cultures. Recently, to challenge myself to master multiple languages, I bought French, German, and Russian books to study independently. I even rediscovered English while studying vocabulary for the SAT; now I learn 4 or 5 words a day. I am an eclectic and voracious linguaphile.