A Hypothetical Situation

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uponmyword.com

A fabricated conversation between me and a high school student who is preparing to apply for college.

C.Y.=me

H.S.= high school student

C.Y.:  “So, now that you are about to apply for colleges, I would like to know how high of a priority it is for language majors to be available in the universities you would like to apply for. Rate this from a scale of one to ten, with ten being very important.”

H.S.:   “Umm…I am thinking of majoring in pharmacy so I don’t think that it’s very important if language majors were available in the universities I am applying to.  I would just be looking at the availability of a pharmacy major and how good the pharmacy program is.  That’s why I would rate language majors’ availability in universities as one, since it doesn’t apply to me.”

C.Y.:  “ I see.  What languages are spoken in your household?”

H.S.:  “Mandarin and English.  But, it’s my parents who speak Mandarin.  They speak in Mandarin and English to me and I reply in English.  So, I pretty much understand Mandarin although I don’t really speak it.”

C.Y.:  “Oh, so you don’t really speak Mandarin.  I take it that you don’t really know how to read or write Chinese either.”

H.S.:  “Yes, although it is embarrassing to admit, I am pretty much illiterate in the Mandarin language.”

C.Y.:  “Have you ever had an interest in learning how to read and write Mandarin?”

H.S.:  “Yeah, I guess.  I do have an interest, since many of my friends are pretty educated in Mandarin.  I just never had the opportunity to learn Mandarin in school.”

C.Y.:  “ This is where I will bring back the point of how much you feel it is important for language majors to be available in the universities you are planning to apply to.  Because you never had the opportunity to learn Mandarin in school, wouldn’t you want to have the opportunity in college?”

H.S.:  “Well, I suppose it would be cool if I could finally learn Mandarin in college.  But, can’t I just take the classes and not major in Mandarin?”

C.Y.:  “Think about it.  The pharmacy field is very competitive.  There are many bright students who are planning to apply for pharmacy jobs in the future.  Who would look better?  A person who graduated with only a pharmacy major or a person who graduated with both a pharmacy major and a language major?  It is very important for pharmacists to communicate with the store’s customers, so having a language major would definitely be beneficial as it gives you an edge in job applications in the future, especially since America is such a diverse country.”

H.S.:  “Oh, I see what you mean.  If I double major, I would be able to acquire fluency in Mandarin and would be able to handle customers better if I spoke in their language, and so would be better qualified than others who do not have a language major.”

C.Y.:  “Of course.  Language is a beneficial skill that is very useful, for communication is needed anywhere and anytime.”