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¿Por qué?

Why am I, as an English and Creative Writing major, required to take Español in order to attain my bachelor’s degree? Foreign language is not my major. It is not even my minor. It’s not an interest. Yet, if I don’t both take and pass an upper level foreign language, I cannot receive my otherwise hard-earned degree. I understand the required exposure to foreign language in, say, high school. Classes and skills acquired in high school are intended to help students discover interests they may or may not want to pursue in college. Learning another language on even a small level is, all-in-all, a good experience.

For the record, I did take three years of Español in high school – 30 years ago. I comfortably remembered the most common greetings, Hola, adiós, hasta luego, and words for family members like madre, padre, niño, niña, tio, tia, abuelo, y abuela. I could recognize weather words, days of the week, and months of the year. I still knew many of the basic conjugations for the -ar, -er, and -ir verb forms. Pero, no recordaba mucho más.

Do you have any idea how many forms of conjugation there are in the Spanish language? So far, I’ve learned present indicative (which is the first conjugation you learn), and a couple of past tense forms of conjugation, preterit and imperfect. I’ve learned two future tense forms, conditional and future indicative. Along with these forms I've learned many of the accompanying exceptions and special rules. I am currently learning imperfecto de subjuntivo, which is very similar to the already learned present subjunctive. The text we are reading even specifies, and I quote, “Remember, the imperfect subjunctive is needed in the same instances as the present subjunctive.” This is exactly how it appears in the text, with underline and bold print, along with the instructor’s recommendation to learn the WEIRDO acronym in order to know when to use which form of these subjuntivos.

Again, I ask, ¿Por qué? Why is mastering a foreign language essential for an English major? I understand that foreign language can come in handy in many career paths. Many positions look specifically for such versatility. And I feel like I could deal with the many varying forms and exceptions and special rules for conjugations – if I actually cared about learning the language. (Please note, I have nothing, I repeat NOTHING against Spanish speakers in any form. My venting is only prompted by this college requirement to earn foreign language credits in order to complete a BA degree.)

I question all this now, recollecting how much I protested taking typing class in high school. My mom’s voice, “I told you so,” (spoken with that look only a mom has) still echoes in my mind as I recognize that my argument against taking this level of Spanish may well turn out to be just like my complaint against typing class back in high school. I did not want to take typing class. (Yes, I know it’s called keyboarding now, but in my day, it was called typing.) My high school counselor advised typing’s potential necessity for future employment. My mom further insisted typing would be important. She “made me” take typing class. 

I’ve secretly thanked my mom countless times since my early twenties for “making” me take that typing class.  ¡Gracias mama!