If you love studying and speaking a language that isn’t English, you may want to consider majoring in a foreign language in college. Majoring in a foreign language sets you up to serve the community that speaks the language globally, whether through teaching, non-profits, the private sector, government work, or even literary translation. It’s especially useful if you aspire to live and work in a foreign country. And you can major in a foreign language in college even if you are already fluent in it!
Before you start adding language-centric extracurriculars to your schedule, the first thing you need to do if you want to major in a language in college is to get exceptional grades in the language or languages, you study in high school, and to take the hardest classes you can. We should be clear, though, that you don’t need to be studying the language you want to focus on in college. High schools know that the language offerings at high schools vary widely, and you may not have an opportunity to study your ideal language just yet. What they do want to see, though, is a passion for language overall and that you have the mental chops to excel at learning a new tongue.
Once you have your grades under control, it’s time to start adding relevant extracurriculars to your resume.
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A Language Club
The first place to start if you are looking for language-centric extracurriculars is school-based language clubs. If there are language clubs at your school, join them. If there aren’t clubs focused on the language or languages you are studying — start one. A good, and accessible, way to start is with a language-focused lunch table or snack group. Once a week, you can gather with friends and a faculty advisor to chat in a particular non-English language. If there’s a lot of interest there may be room to grow the club beyond that lunch group, but don’t feel pressure if there isn’t. Simply organizing a group and getting them together regularly is a big deal when everyone has busy high school schedules!
A Volunteer Opportunity
The next place to look for a language-centric extracurricular is with a local nonprofit that serves a community that speaks the language you are currently studying, or are interested in studying in college. Try reaching out to a bilingual school, a food bank that serves a diverse community, or a community center that could use your language skills in assisting individuals in need. Ask them if they have a volunteer program, or if there are volunteer internships available. This should be a long-term opportunity that you will do at least once per week for a minimum of one full school year, or two to three times per week for a summer.
An Independent Study or Additional Educational Opportunity
Finally, we also recommend expanding your educational horizons before you even apply to college. If your high school allows you to do an independent study, jump on the opportunity! Ideally, create a literature-focused independent study that focuses on the work of a particular writer or creative community. Nearly all college language majors are required to also take literature courses, so this will school colleges that you understand what you’ll be in store for as a collegiate language major.
If your school doesn’t offer independent studies, find a summer or after-school program that will let you go deeper into the language. While we love these programs, we put them here as a backup because they do cost money — and we encourage students to explore and exhaust all of the free options that are out there before investing. Colleges want to see you active and engaged in a subject, and aren’t concerned about whether you had to open your wallet or not.
As you explore language-focused extracurriculars, the most important thing is to sustain your grades. It doesn’t matter how many activities you do in a subject if you can’t show that you can cut it in the classroom, so buckle down and build up your resume after cementing your in-school success.
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