Northwestern students are immersing themselves in foreign languages right here in Evanston using an unconventional tool: their phones. Ella Alexander talks to students find out: is living with your phone in a foreign language a great learning strategy or just a troublesome language barrier?
To take their immersion to the next level here in Evanston, some Northwestern students have changed the language setting on their phones to foreign languages they hope to learn. As a result, they’ve faced new vocabulary, sticky situations, and even some horror stories. Does this strategy actually work? Let’s hear from some students to find out.
Now that she’s satisfied Northwestern’s language requirement, Wallis Rogin is using her phone to stay in touch with the language.
[WALLIS ROGIN] In general, I feel like it’s helped… It’s helped in terms of the way I feel like you learn a language is to immerse yourself at it and keep yourself exposed to it.
While she’s still using many apps in Spanish to help her learn, she had to switch her Uber app back to English after a stressful experience. When she was alone at the airport, she got lost trying to find her uber driver, and was almost stranded.
[WALLIS ROGIN] I was Ubering, I didn’t switch it. And so I was like trying to Uber, trying to find out. And I was like by myself at like an airport, trying to call an Uber and I couldn’t, I didn’t know where he was trying to tell me where to go because it was all translating to Spanish and I could not find him.
Uber is not the only app causing problems for these students. Linkedin and Google Maps have also served as sources of language-related struggles for Northwestern students, such as first-year Eliza Goldwasser.
[ELIZA GOLDWASSER] I was on LinkedIn, and I was like updating my profile or like adding things and, like, I was doing it in English, but then, like, I checked back, like two days later and my whole LinkedIn is in Italian.
While turning her Linkedin into Italian was a funny faux-pas, things got serious on the highway.
[ELIZA GOLDWASSER] So I did get my Sinistra e Destra mixed up, which is left and right. on the highway. So that was not great, and that’s what inspired me to change my maps back into English. I was just driving, and it was like, it was so stupid ’cause I get overwhelmed on the highway anyway, and it was like, take the, like, right exit. I’m like, what? And I was like, I was like, what, right? Like, this is left.” I like, missed it, and it was just, it was not good.
Despite feeling embarrassed and even scared by these experiences, Eliza doesn’t regret changing her phone to Italian. She feels it has helped with vocab, reading, and general memory skills.
Seeing my phone, seeing the date in Italian every day, it definitely does help, like, remind me and keep me in, like, the Italian mindset and just, like, one other way to kind of integrate language more into your life.
Another student that’s happy he’s chosen to live with his phone in a foreign language is first-year Danny Morrison. Since he feels that learning languages isn’t his strong suit, changing his phone to French has given him an unconventional and constant outlet to practice the language outside of the classroom.
[DANNY MORRISON] You’re never forgetting that you like, can read the language. You’re never forgetting that you, like, interact with the language. So, it’s mostly good for just constant exposure.
While this strategy may help Danny learn French, it almost cost him in a big way when a sketchy email appeared in his mailbox. Because of this language barrier, Danny almost put his phone and his personal information at risk.
[DANNY MORRISON] It sent me an email. I couldn’t, like, I clicked the link cause it looks normal, and Apple was telling me like, get off of the site. This is going to give your phone a virus. It was in French, so I didn’t know what to do. So, I, like, so it kicked me off. I tried to re-access it and then I was like, wait, that says virus and that I should not go here. OK, I’m gonna stop, but I almost accidentally downloaded a virus onto my phone because I thought, ’cause I couldn’t, can’t read French properly.
These anecdotes beg the question: is it worth it to change your phone to a foreign language you hope to learn? Are these foreign mishaps learning experiences or disasters waiting to strike?
For WNUR News, I’m Ella Alexander.
