Swanson School of Engineering

Today was a busy day, and I would say that one of the most shocking things I heard was during the Czech language crash course. I always knew that the English language was taught in other nations from a young age, but I didn’t realize just how young students are when they are first exposed to it, in addition to the many consecutive years they have to keep learning it to become proficient in the language. Then, when it was said that in order to be a successful professional it would require being almost fluent in English, it makes me have more compassion for whoever I have a conversation with or listening to someone speak in Prague. It is quite a difference from how learning a foreign language is in the United States (I had trouble learning what Czech students would probably learn in kindergarten). In addition to this, one interesting part of the other lecture today was that engineering in the Czech Republic was impacted heavily by its geographical location and its diverse demographic makeup. Today was certainly a day of learning!