Language Studies Personal Statement Example

I am applying for language studies due to a personal interest in different cultures that has captivated me ever since I left my hometown in Czech Republic ten years ago. Since then, I lived in Spain, the UK, Israeli West Bank and, most recently, in Jordan. Communicating in different languages became my passion and today I can speak English, Czech, Polish, Spanish, Arabic and German. However, I feel that my knowledge of languages is limited and mainly experience based. Because of this, I decided to go back to education and get a deeper understanding of languages and cultures and I am currently a student of the Swap East course. I am excited about my studies and I like the experience of being back in education. Together with my language studies I also enjoy history, essay writing and text analyses.

The languages which interest me the most are Arabic and Spanish. My first encounter with Arabic language and culture was in 2007 when I moved to West Bank in Israel. I always wanted to understand more of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Because of this my decision was to volunteer for the International Solidarity Movement in Hebron, where I stayed for five months and managed to learn basic Arabic. This was a unique insight into the conflict and I learnt a lot about culture, religion and politics - factors that influenced my future travels. During my next trip to the Middle East I was amazed by Bedouin culture in Jordan. I decided to come back and live with a Bedouin family in Petra, who accepted me into their tribe for one year. During this time I learnt Arabic with a Bedouin dialect which I found very intriguing because of its colourful and traditional use of particular phrases.

I also worked for two travel agencies in Jordan. Working in tourism was a new experience for me but I was quickly familiar with this work and I became the main tour operator for Jordan Wilderness Tours. My duties involved deputising in my boss' absence, using Arabic and other languages. This work helped develop my organisation skills and the ability to handle stressful situations such as multitasking and customer demands, which I can use during my university studies. In the past three years I spent over a year and a half in the Middle East and visited Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Turkey.

Spanish language is of a very personal interest to me as it shows me my own cultural heritage. My father is Cuban and he lives there with his family. I visited Cuba and Latin America a few times and I quickly learnt Spanish to a level where I could communicate with my family and use the language in everyday situations. I fell in love with Cuban / Latin culture and I feel comfortable speaking in Spanish. I am very happy to be able to study Spanish this year as it gives me an opportunity to communicate better with my family and learn more about myself. Along with language, I feel that Arabic and Spanish have great cultures behind them which I am very enthusiastic to learn about.

As well as languages I have many other keen hobbies including philosophy, religion, politics, meditation and especially climbing, which I train for every day alongside my studies. I look forward to the challenges of higher education and this year proved to me that I am a hardworking and determined student. In the future I would like to work in a place where I can use different languages and I can see myself working for non-governmental organisations or diplomatic services. I am very much an individual who sets his own goals and always follows them. I feel I already have the first-hand experience from travelling and living in different cultures so now my dream is to deepen my knowledge by studying academically in higher education.