E-mail: landrade@nd.edu
Language: German
Location of Study: Munich, Germany
Program of Study: Carl Duisberg Center
Sponsors: Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the College of Arts and Letters, and the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures.
Blog URL: http://sites.nd.edu/sla2018/author/landrade/
A brief personal bio:
I am a rising junior, from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, studying Philosophy and Theology with a minor in Medieval Studies. I love what I study, and my hopes are that I can continue studying it for my whole life. Beyond philosophy and theology, I am also very interested in German literature and music and am excited to be able to experience it without translation in some weeks!
Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:
I hope to pursue a graduate degree after my years at Notre Dame, and to go on an intellectual journey, which will probably involve many German-speaking authors. Beyond the thrill of being able to read some texts in their original language, I am sure many new opportunities will be opened by being proficient in the language: the opportunity of studying in Germany some day or of working with translation, for instance. This wonderful opportunity provided by the SLA grant will allow me to gain proficiency more quickly in the language, to experience the richness of German culture, and to get even more inspired to study the German philosophical and theological tradition in the future.
What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:
After these five weeks of immersion in German, I hope to be many steps closer to proficiency. My goal is to feel more comfortable speaking, and more confident writing. I also hope to be able to read German poems more easily and to begin understanding passages from theological and philosophical works without consulting the dictionary at every sentence. A personal goal is to be able to understand the texts from Bach’s music works and to be able to appreciate the music and the text speaking together of the same realities.
My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:
1. By the end of the summer, I will be able to have casual conversations very comfortably and with no shyness in German.
2. By the end of the summer, I will be able to articulate simple philosophical/theological thoughts in German.
3. By the end of the summer, I will have memorized a great number of more specific vocabulary.
4. By the end of the summer, I will be able to approach original texts with just some help of a dictionary.