NewsUpper SchoolStudent LifeAcademics
A love for language
Jan 19, 2005 8:00 AM
By Blythe Erlandson - FF/S
When 5-year-old Theresa Graf first traveled to the United States on a vacation to sunny Florida, the German native could not say much more than “Thank you” in English. Now a junior at Darlington through the ASSIST Program, Graf is not only fluent in the language, but has also studied Latin, French, Italian and Spanish.
“I started studying languages in fifth grade,” said Graf, who is on a one-year scholarship to Darlington. “If you learn a lot of different languages, there are many similarities between some, so it gets easier.”
At home, the Graf family speaks German.
“My brother studied one year in the United States, too, so he speaks English really well,” said Graf. “My parents also speak English, but just what you need [to communicate].”
According to Graf, it’s hard to determine which languages have been the easiest and most difficult to learn.
“English [was probably easiest] because it just has one article, but [then again] the times and verb forms of the past are difficult,” she said. “I would say that French is really hard sometimes because of the verb forms, articles and genus.”
Graf, who has been taking French since ninth grade, added that although some words are the same in the French and German languages, pronounciation and grammar are very different.
Graf sees many benefits in studying multiple languages and plans keep up with her English, French and Italian upon returning home to Germany at the end of this school year.
“It’s really useful for traveling to understand at least a little bit. I traveled a lot to many places in Europe … I could use my English, because it’s a language a lot of people know. I have also already used some Italian,” she said. “You can communicate with people from all over the world. All in all, it’s just really interesting to learn languages and about different cultures.”
Graf is the daughter of Manfred and Dr. Elisabeth Graf of Baldham, Germany. At Darlington, she is a member of Spanish Club and International Club and enjoys participating in Erlandson House community service projects.
“I started studying languages in fifth grade,” said Graf, who is on a one-year scholarship to Darlington. “If you learn a lot of different languages, there are many similarities between some, so it gets easier.”
At home, the Graf family speaks German.
“My brother studied one year in the United States, too, so he speaks English really well,” said Graf. “My parents also speak English, but just what you need [to communicate].”
According to Graf, it’s hard to determine which languages have been the easiest and most difficult to learn.
“English [was probably easiest] because it just has one article, but [then again] the times and verb forms of the past are difficult,” she said. “I would say that French is really hard sometimes because of the verb forms, articles and genus.”
Graf, who has been taking French since ninth grade, added that although some words are the same in the French and German languages, pronounciation and grammar are very different.
Graf sees many benefits in studying multiple languages and plans keep up with her English, French and Italian upon returning home to Germany at the end of this school year.
“It’s really useful for traveling to understand at least a little bit. I traveled a lot to many places in Europe … I could use my English, because it’s a language a lot of people know. I have also already used some Italian,” she said. “You can communicate with people from all over the world. All in all, it’s just really interesting to learn languages and about different cultures.”
Graf is the daughter of Manfred and Dr. Elisabeth Graf of Baldham, Germany. At Darlington, she is a member of Spanish Club and International Club and enjoys participating in Erlandson House community service projects.
