Interview

Kate, 19, a student from Moscow State Linguistic University shares her experience concerning the of studying different languages.   

A: First of all, thank you for finding time for our talk. I know how hard it is when you study in a linguistic university. So, can you remind me how many languages are you studying now?

K (laughing): Oh, yeah I'm so happy to have a day off today! What about languages, now I'm studying three of them. French is my first. I started to study French and English when I was at school, and it was really hard to combine them. But then I' just got used to it and now in the Uni I'm also studying Chinese. But may be it's easy because my third language is not European and it's kinda more interesting to study. 

A: But wee all know studying languages is not as easy as it seems. Do you agree that it's necessary for people who truly want to know the language to spend at least some time in the country of this language?

K: You know...I think it's not necessary to live in the country. In fact you can achieve very impressive results in studying some language just by communicating with native speakers, watching TV, reading some books and articles and so on. Butof course, penetrating the culture and traditions of the country will help you a lot during the studying, so that if you have a chance to go to the country of your language you should use it. 

A: Yeah, I like the way you think. When did you use such a great chance for the first time?

K: I visited France when I was in the 10th grade of school. We had to pass some exams to be chosen. I wanted it sooo much, you can't imagine, so I did my best and took that perfect opportunity. 

A: Where exactly was your studying? 

K: I was studying in a little cosy town not far from Paris called Reims. I was studying with a group of students in Mark Shagal collage. All Russian students were studying with our French friends and we took the same classes together, it was really cool. And of course we had some extra French classes to improve our pronunciation and grammar. 

A: Sounds great! In what other counties have you studied in?

K: After France I had a chance to study for some time in Italy in Catania but in fact it was more touristic visit than studying. But I had lots of wonderful experiences there and still have great memories. Two years ago when I was already studying at the university I also studied in China in Shanghai international studies university for one term. 

A: So, which period as an exchange student you prefer more? Which gave you more useful skills?

K: I think the last one, because the memories are still very colorful, you know. And when I came back all my teachers here said that I really improved my Chinese and it came as a surprise for me because I can't say I was studying really hard. I had a great time staying there. 

  

A: Of course it's always really interesting to visit new places. Who advised you to use such chances?

K: First of all, my parents, they always wanted me to travel and study and they really did everything but I myself was also very excited to go somewhere abroad to know more about other countries, their history and so on. And my teachers alsowere glad to see me improving my English or French or Chinese. 

   

A: Is it true to your mind that it's much easier to start learning a new language when you have already known another one?

B: Sort of, cause when you know languages well enough and you are sure you won't mix them in your mind you can take advantage of studying several languages at the same time.  It's an open secret that nowadays there are a lot of international words, when we are talking about French and English you have to know some basic pronunciation rules and you can easily transfer the word by changing its pronunciation from one language to another. Even in Chinese you can find international words but here the situation is much more difficult. (laughing)

A: Which language do you consider to be more useful in the future? En, Fr or Chinese?

K: As a Russian citizen, of course, I think it's Chinese. The world situation shows us that firstly knowing English is not enough nowadays if you want to work with languages and secondly China evidently is the greatest Russian partner and the second economy in the world. So I think it's a really a simple question. However,among these three languages I prefer French the most, just because it is beautiful. (Smiling) 

A: Is there is anything you want to add? 

K: I'd like to notice that studying languages becomes more and more necessary. It'snot just a sign of intelligence and education anymore, like it used to be, no, it's an inseparable part of our everyday life. To be a really good specialist you have to read some literature in the languages, to get information in different ways.  But no pressure, it's just the opinion of a potential interpreter.