4 Things That Will Happen if You Study in a Second Language

Guest post: Summer Read

In today’s society, having the ability to read, write and speak in several languages is highly beneficial. It can open doors to a number of opportunities, both career-wise and culturally. All you need to do is look at any millennial’s social media feed and see the importance of travel, which undoubtedly plays a huge role when it comes to wanting to learn another language. And what better way to learn a new language, than to study in it?

Going to university and getting a degree is one thing, but travelling to a foreign country and studying in another language is a whole other level. For most people, the first experience of studying in another language is actually learning to speak the language itself. This isn’t exactly the same thing, but it gives you an insight into what it would truly be like to study in a language which isn’t your mother tongue.

For most students studying a modern languages degree, a semester or year abroad may be a mandatory part of the course. It sounds pretty terrifying, right? Moving to another country to study in a language you can barely grasp. But here’s the thing, you won’t be alone. There are other international students in the same boat as you! And since you won’t only be studying in the language, but living in it too, you’ll pick it up more easily.

When it comes to studying in another language, whether it’s your second language or a new one entirely, there are, as always, both challenges and benefits to the experience…

One of the most difficult challenges you will face when studying in your second (or third/fourth/fifth) languageis learning the different registers of that language. If you’ve studied a language for a year or so, chances are you’ve only ever been exposed to its formal register. Although it’s necessary to know how to speak (and more importantly write) a language in its formal register, when you study in that language, you will encounter words and expressions that are colloquial or informal.

This makes things more challenging, as you will have to learn to differentiate between these registers for occasions such as university presentations or speaking to locals. A good way of learning how to discern the different registers is to listen to radio stations, read newspapers and watch the news channel in the language you want to study in. Most French radio shows, for instance, will speak in a common and informal register. A newspaper or news channel, however, will be written or spoken with a more formal tone.