Language Essay Contest Winners Series: Exploring Why Julie Lindfeldt Learns Languages

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Last fall, undergraduate students were invited to submit short essays on the theme: Why Do I Learn Languages? This contest provided students with the chance to share their personal experiences with multilingualism and language learning. An interdisciplinary faculty committee reviewed the submissions, and the winning essays are featured below, accompanied by reflections on each student's relationship to the essay writing process and language.

We had the privilege of speaking with one of the contest winners, Julie Lindfeldt, a fourth-year Biomedical Engineering and German double major. Their essay was titled “Bridging Divides with Language”.

Finding Understanding Through Family History

Lindfeldt found inspiration in their family’s history as they wrote. "My mother grew up in Poland, so I learned a lot about how my family was impacted by World War II," they shared. Their family endured one of history's most profound tragedies. In their essay, they reflected on their personal journey of reconciling with that pain and understanding how those on "the other side" might have experienced similar suffering.

"When I was younger, I hated the Germans, just like any child learning about the Holocaust," Julie admitted. "In my essay, I talk about how I was an ignorant child, and I was. I wasn’t considering both sides. Part of why I started learning German was to understand—understand what happened. I wrote to build empathy. I wanted to learn. Learning German meant learning the culture, the history, and how it affected the people of Germany just as much as it affected my family in Poland.”

The Power of Language and Empathy

Lindfeldt’s essay was both powerful and profound, seamlessly weaving together history, empathy, and the learning process. As they explain, "Learning languages isn’t just an intellectual exercise; it’s more about making an effort to understand and open your mind to different perspectives and cultures."

Their essay is pasted below. Glückwunsch, Julie!

Bridging Divides with Language

Julie Lindfeldt

At first, my understanding of Germany was rooted in pure hatred. Why would I seek to understand a people who once sought to destroy the country my family is from? This was my thought process as an ignorant child fascinated by the history and language of her mother’s homeland, Poland. 

When I was given the opportunity to learn German, I took it. I like to tell people it’s because knowing German is helpful in building a career in engineering. While this is true, I chose to learn German to make up for the unnecessary hatred I carried for Germany. What better way to understand a land and its people than to learn their language? 

For the past seven years, I have studied Germany’s complex history, culture, and language and have come to appreciate its extensive contributions to science, politics, and art. I’ve realized that Germany has become a nation that values remembrance, reconciliation, and progress. I overcame my own biases, realizing that understanding dismantles hatred. Learning languages is not just an intellectual exercise but a way to build empathy, bridge divides, and open ourselves to new perspectives.

Mit Sprache Brücken bauen 

Am Anfangs war mein Verständnis von Deutschland von Hass erfüllt. Warum sollte ich versuchen, ein Volk zu verstehen, das einmal das Land meiner Familie zerstören wollte? Das ist mein Gedanke als eines unwissendes Kind, das von der Geschichte und der Sprache des Heimatlandes seiner Mutter, Polen, fasziniert ist. 

Als ich die Chance, Deutsch zu lernen, bekam, habe ich sie benutzt. Ich sage den Leuten oft, dass ich Deutsch gelernt habe, weil es für eine Karriere im Ingenieurwissenschaft hilfreich ist. Das ist richtig, aber ich lerne Deutsch um den unnötigen Hass auf Deutschland loszuwerden. Gibt es einen besseren Weg ein Land und seine Menschen zu verstehen, als ihre Sprache zu lernen? 

In den letzten sieben Jahren studierte ich die Geschichte, Kultur und Sprache Deutschlands, und ich lernte seine großen Erfolge in Wissenschaft, Politik und Kunst zu schätzen. Deutschland ist jetzt einer Nation geworden, die Erinnerung, Versöhnung und Fortschritt schätzt. Ich habe meine eigenen Vorurteile überwunden und verstanden, dass Verständnis Hass abbaut. Sprachen lernen ist nicht nur eine intellektuelle Übung, es ist auch ein Weg, Empathie zu lernen, Brücken zu schlagen und neue Perspektiven zu öffnen.