By Lori Tarbett

Jesse Ward may have been born and bred right here in Ottawa, but he is no stranger to foreign languages and other cultures. The linguistics and applied language studies undergraduate has been working with ESL (English as a Second Language) students since high school. He taught in Tokyo, Japan for a year.

Ward is currently teaching a private ESL class to a large group of Korean students who are studying in Ottawa for two months. “This is kind of an after school program and promotes an easier transition for these students to join the English speaking community,” says Ward.

The second year student also volunteers at the International Student Services Office where he helps at various events. With five languages (English, French, Spanish, Korean, and Japanese) under his belt, he is a natural fit to assist with the English Conversation Circle every Thursday at noon. Ward explains that attendees participate in guided group conversations on specific topics and focus on developing language skills like vocabulary and figures of speech. He says, “I like this because it is more relaxed than teaching ESL and I get to hear various cultural perspectives on many different topics.”

Ward says the school of linguistics and applied language studies was a major draw because of his extensive language background. He adds that his decision to attend Carleton was also influenced by his friends who gave the university rave reviews.

By Nicole Findlay

Only half way through her undergraduate program, Ashley Armstrong is already a veteran of international humanitarian work.

A second year student majoring in linguistics and human rights, Armstrong will return for the third summer in a row to Honduras.

This year, she will spend May and June in the capital city, Tegucigalpa. She will be volunteering for Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos, a not-for-profit organization that delivers educational programs, counselling and support to orphaned and abandoned children.

For the first time, Armstrong will be teaching English. She had spent her previous trips building houses for the orphanage.

“My first trip to Honduras was through my high school in Grade 12, and it literally changed my life,” said Armstrong. “I love the country, the kids, the work that we were doing, and the feeling that there is something outside of the material society we live in.”

While most of her peers will spend their summers working to fund their return to university in the September, Armstrong has used her own savings to finance her trip. She has also received corporate sponsorship to off-set her living expenses.

Sociedad Amigos de los Ninos operates the Reyes Irene Training Centre which provides an education to domestic servants between the ages of 12 and 30.

“In the future, working with an NGO is one thing I would love to do, so hopefully this experience will give me some insight into the workings of one.”

By Heather Forsyth

“Learn a new language and get a new soul,” a Czech proverb says and through the School of Linguistics and Applied Language Studies, students are doing just that.

A variety of reasons leads students to choose to study a new language and whether it’s a program requirement or an elective, the benefits of a new language are easy to see. Facilitating travel, opening up job opportunities and promoting cultural understanding are among the top reasons why students pursue languages beyond their mother tongue.

Srdjan Stojcev chose to study Spanish as part of his undergraduate degree in International Business at Carleton. Stojcev has also studied German and French and encourages others to study a new language because “through cultural interaction one not only learns about the new culture but also about oneself.”

“I appreciate having a better understanding of the language and culture,” agrees Michelle Beimers, BA/06, Beimers took Mandarin in her first year. Interested in learning a language that was completely unlike English, Beimers explains that if she becomes an ESL teacher that “having a basic proficiency in a language that would undoubtedly be a first language for a lot of my potential students would be an advantage.”

James Tompkins studied Spanish as a requirement for his program, Bachelor of International Business, at Carleton. Studying abroad in Viña del Mar, Chile, Tompkins says, “I expect that my international experience and third language will open up a whole range of jobs in the marketing field that would otherwise not be easily accessible.”

Opening up new opportunities is a key benefit of learning another language and through studying German at Carleton, Patricia Reid was able to spend a year abroad at the University of Leipzig in Germany where she took all of her courses in German and became fluent. “Speaking German really helped me experience Europe in a way that I couldn’t have if I only spoke English,” she says. “I was able to understand all that was going on around me and participate fully in European life. I made great friends and had amazing experiences on my exchange year, and it really changed me.” Returning to Carleton as a German TA, Reid put her language skills to use and is looking for a job in an international setting so that she can continue to do so.