I started learning Spanish as a freshman in high school. It was fun to learn new words and be introduced to Latin culture through food, music, and movies. That being said, my language abilities were very limited. Reading in Spanish was painstaking work and writing was challenging as well. I only understood when people spoke extremely slowly and I could really only string together a sentence or two together before I would feel too embarrassed to keep speaking. A few years later, I was filling out my paperwork to be a full time missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints and received a calling to Lima, Perú. I remember being ecstatic about the opportunity, but becoming fluent in Spanish was going to be a daunting task. 

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It was difficult to say the least. I spent six weeks in the missionary training center and started learning Spanish again, but after that, it was up to me. I was sent out as a 19 year old in the crowded city of Lima and I did my best to speak to the natives there as well as my native Spanish-speaking companions. I learned a little more everyday and I found myself falling in love with the language and the culture even though the process was difficult. And pretty soon after that, I started falling in love with the process too.

 

Learning a language is difficult but becoming fluent in a language is a completely new task. I remember thinking before I left for Perú that I couldn’t wait to be fluent. I would ask everyone I knew who had learned Spanish how long it took for them to learn the language, and would set this time in my head. Just 6 more months, just a few more months, then I will be able to speak perfectly. Although I did make leaps and bounds compared to where I started, I still felt like I always had so much to learn. Then when I came back to college I decided to change my major and study it even more and I am still learning every single day. Some days, I feel like I don’t know anything because there is so much to learn.

 

Taking these exams was an informative experience for me. It was interesting for me to see where I am at, and what my strengths and weaknesses are. I was pleased to see that I did a little better on my writing exam, and I know all of the essays and research papers and literature analysis had helped me improve. The reading and listening exams were a little more challenging than I thought, but it made me realize that I want to keep practicing these skills by consuming media in Spanish and reading more in Spanish as well. The OPI was what I was most nervous about and again made me realize that I want to keep working on these skills to get better. These tests helped me realize where I am at right now and I feel motivated to keep studying and practicing these skills, hopefully through my career in some form.