Written by Lauren Bucher
Ever been to the ancient Incan capital Machu Picchu? What about Central or South America?
Well, Harding University senior Kalin Cauthers has not only visitedMachu Picchu twice, but she has also traveled and lived in Central and South America. She is one of many students who have traveled below the equator.
General studies major Julia Petty moved in with a family in Costa Rica for a month last summer. This summer, she spent a few weeks at a language school in Mexico. Next summer, she plans to travel to Central America.
Both girls desire to be fluentSpanish speakers. This has also motivated them to leave the United States and everything they know to explore the world.
Many students learn Spanish to enhance their travel, employment, relational, and mission opportunities.
Harding’s Foreign Language Department secretary, Tiffany Clark, has also had a similar experience. Clark lived in Peru for a year after graduation plans to go oversees to Chile in the spring with Harding University’s program.
“Being able to speak to people in their first language creates a special connection,” Clark said. “Culturally, it closes a huge gap and makes the world a little smaller. You realize that they cry about the same things as you. They are sarcastic about the same things you are. They joke around about the same things.”
Clark said that the mastery of a second language opened up doors for her and provided uncommon experiences. For Clark, Spanish has helped shape her relationships and make friends with Spanish speakers, to travel and to participate more fully in missions and presented job opportunities.
Petty, who is graduating in the spring, plans to continue her education and become a chiropractor. She hopes to use her language skills to make her more effective in her vocation. Because of the large Hispanic population in the United States, there is a high demand and market for bilingual workers.
Public relations major Monique Jacques used her language skills while she was at HUF, in both Italy and Spain. She initially became interested in learning a second language because of her interest in similarities between cultures.
“Some people are naturally math people,”Jacques said.”Grammar is my math problem,”
Many students plan to use their fluency in ministry along with using it in their workplace.
“By learning Spanish, I want to be able to connect better with the Hispanic community wherever I am working,” Jacques said. “Americans who learn Spanish help non-native speakers get connected to a country where they feel out of place. God calls us to reach out without discrimination. This is my way of taking that first step.”
Spanish was the second most popular minor at Harding in 2007, topped only by Bible. The enrollment in Harding’s upper level Spanish classes has increased by 120 percent during 2000 to 2004 according to the department’s statistics.
The Hispanic population increase in the United States has made Spanish the second most common language spoken in the United States, according to the United States Census Bureau. One out of every two new emigrants to the United States is Hispanic.
Spanish is the fourth most commonly spoken language in the world with over 400 million speakers. It is spoken by about half of the population of the Western Hemisphere.
So where does the future take us?
