In high school, I didn't take a lot of stuff seriously. Why study when I could cram five minutes before class and still get an A? Why do I need to take these classes when I know I'll never use what I learn in my career? How is this even preparing me for college? So many questions, some I still don't exactly understand or care to, since they're irrelevant now. One thing I will share is that I definitely was not the worst student in my German class in high school. But I also never studied until lunch the day of the test.
Now, I'll be honest, I was a little upset when I found out that, with my music major, I was still required by the College of Liberal Arts to take a second language. I took high school German for two years and decided to try my hand at it at the collegiate level. And, slowly it has grown on me. People will sell you languages in every way like, "German is good for business majors!" Or "Spanish is so important if you're going to be a teacher!" Not to mention the ever-impossible-to-evade, "Try it and go on a study abroad trip!" Honestly, for someone in college who has the time (does anyone actually?), these sound like amazing experiences and résumé builders. I am a busy person though and will never get the opportunity to study abroad.
Truthfully, the first day of German was boring for me. We passed around objects and learned the words, which was more of a refresher course for me than a learning experience, and we learned to say hello and our names--pretty simple stuff. What I didn't know was that, four semesters later, I'd still be sharing the classroom with some of the coolest people I know. Luckily, language classes at the University here are small and allow for a lot of student-to-student and student-to-teacher interaction. It also means lots of help and someone who really gets to know you. Which is uncommon in many other classes.
Another uncommon thing is that while the class still meets five hours a week, the workload has remained relatively steady. I have always been able to predict how much homework I'll have to do. I can also count on my teachers to be caring enough to excuse my ROTC absences and let me make up work when I need to without any grumbling. That's definitely not something I could ever say about the Music department.
You're probably wondering what the coolest thing about these classes is, and that is simply that they will let you determine parts of the curriculum. Want to choose your own project topic? Go for it, apply it to your other studies. Language teachers WANT you to learn about how to talk and write about the things you do and love. They want you to interact with people who have similar interests, and they want you to talk during class! Language teachers understand students, they won't overload you and they'll always be open to your ideas. They'll even help you prepare for interviews by having you practice it in your other language.
For me, German has become my favorite class. I love getting up for it at 8 a.m. because I know what we do will be relevant, I'll use it, maybe not daily, but frequently in music history, in talking with online friends that the program has provided me and in having a cool way to interact with people I've had the pleasure of sharing the classroom with the last four semesters.
