E-mail: jbouche@nd.edu
Language: Spanish
Location of Study: Salamanca, Spain
Program of Study: University of Salamanca
Sponsors: The Nanovic Institute for European Studies, the College of Arts and Letters, and the Center for the Study of Languages and Cultures, the 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/jbouche/
A brief personal bio:
My name is Jasmine Bouche and I’m a sophomore Political Science and Peace Studies double major. I studied abroad in Washington DC last semester, and am planning on pursuing a career in international law. I am involved in Pre-Law Society, GreeND, and work as an office assistant in the Office for Undergraduate Studies here on campus. In my free time I enjoy reading, playing basketball, drawing, and traveling.
Why this summer language abroad opportunity is important to me:
Learning Spanish is essential to my career goals because I intend to pursue a career as an international lawyer, with a focus on human rights in developing nations. When working in this field, it is necessary to speak and understand more than one language to be successful. My intention to focus on human rights could also someday lead to involvement with countries that primarily speak Spanish. Already having the immersion experience would be invaluable to my future professional goals and my ability to achieve them. Because I am planning to double major and minor, I will not have room in my schedule to take Spanish all four years of my undergraduate time. I hope to supplement my current academic plans by utilizing the opportunity provided by the SLA Grant. Without this opportunity, it would be academically difficult for me to obtain the level of Spanish fluency necessary for my career goals.
What I hope to achieve as a result of this summer study abroad experience:
I have been taking Spanish since fourth grade, when my school instituted it as a requirement for all students. This has included both traditional classroom settings and the Rosetta Stone program. Despite almost ten years of Spanish, I still find speaking the language to be challenging for me. In that area, there is only so much that can be learned in the classroom. I feel immersion in a Spanish speaking country would be a beneficial and logical next step for me. I expect the opportunity afforded by an SLA Grant would allow me to develop a higher and stronger level of Spanish fluency. I believe it will help me obtain more confidence in my speaking abilities, aid me in pronunciation, help my speech flow more smoothly, and remove some of my English accent. Being constantly surrounded by Spanish would enable me to become faster at understanding what is said when I am spoken to, instead of constantly having to translate the Spanish to English in my head. I also expect to be quicker at reading and comprehending Spanish after the immersion experience.
My specific learning goals for language and intercultural learning this summer:
1. By the end of the summer, I will be able to communicate smoothly with native speakers on a range of topics beyond elementary understanding.
2. By the end of the summer, I will be able to converse without backtracking the language to English in my head.
3. By the end of the summer, I will have a better understanding of not only the language and its nuances, but also Spanish culture, history, and traditions.
4. By the end of the summer, I will be able to utilize and comprehend colloquialisms within the Spanish language.