Tejesh Week 2: The Unexpected Power of Spanish in Soccer
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| Image from IMDb |
I was initially extremely interested and excited to learn it, and I was especially motivated to understand the meaning of the lyrics of one of my favorite songs. In addition, my eighth-grade Spanish teacher was an amazing teacher, so I was able to establish a strong base in the language.
Entering high school, though, the constant pressure of keeping up with work in my other classes while balancing my extracurricular activities made keeping the fire burning for this interest of mine much harder. I started making my grade in the class a priority over the actual learning experience. I just wanted to know enough to get through whatever presentations or activities we were assigned in class.
By the end of my sophomore year, I believed I was finally done with Spanish, as I had completed my third year of it (the amount University of California schools recommend). That summer, the 2026 World Cup was also taking place, and I decided to give it a watch on a whim. Growing up, I never had any interest in sports, but to my surprise, I found myself watching many of the games and keeping up with the teams advancing in the bracket (and dare I say, enjoying it).
While watching the match between Spain and Belgium, I took a particular interest in the young prodigy on the Spanish side named Lamine Yamal (who many of my friends have often told me is my celebrity look-alike). After the match, which sent Spain to the semifinals, I chose to watch the press conference given by Lamine, who could only speak Spanish.
To my surprise, I was able to understand to some extent what he was saying to the reporters, and I did not need to rely entirely on the subtitles. Although this was a fairly insignificant experience, I felt fulfilled and excited as I listened to the whole conference. As I continued to watch more soccer, I found that understanding Spanish was very useful, as many top players are only able to speak it. This even inspired me to transfer into the school’s AP Spanish class at the beginning of the year. Spanish has transformed into something that connects with my interests beyond school rather than being just another class I need to pass.
To those reading this who are currently taking a language class in school or may take one in the future, I strongly recommend that you put sincere effort into learning the language itself rather than focusing on the grade in the class. It can be a fun experience and may be more useful to you than you think.
Like you, I was also in Spanish class in grades 8-10, but I never even considered taking AP Spanish. Your insight on Spanish is very interesting to me, as I never thought of my Spanish class as nothing more than “just a requirement.” Now, looking at it through your eyes, it seems much more important to actually absorb the material than just pass the class.
ReplyDeleteIt is a shame that Spanish class is a requirement for college, as if it were not, I believe more and more people would actually learn it because they are taking the class because they truly have a passion for learning Spanish. Making it a requirement takes the interest and joy out of the class, as it feels like a burden rather than an interesting testament to your understanding.
I enjoyed how you used the 2026 World Cup as an example of Spanish being used, as I could also only watch it in Spanish. The emotion, the energy, and the excitement of watching World Cup games would have been greatly amplified if I had truly learned Spanish. I loved your differing views on Spanish Class, as it showed me a whole new perspective on this topic.
Hi Tejesh, yet again your blog was relatable (to an extent). I also chose to take Spanish as my language because it was so commonly spoken. I believed that I would become so fluent that I could go to a Spanish-speaking country and hold my own there.
ReplyDeleteSpanish 1 in eighth grade was definitely my favorite class. But getting into Spanish 2 and 3, and learning all the grammar was especially difficult. So it dropped down to one of my least favorite classes, which is why I chose not to go into AP.
Like you, I was also not into watching sports when I was younger. The only things that I would kind of follow were the Olympics and the World Cup. I’m also a major Spain fan! I would never stop talking about them over the summer.
It’s so cool that you were able to understand Yamal’s and other players’ interviews. I also saw small clips, but I had to rewatch them multiple times to understand them (even with subtitles because they speak so fast). It’s interesting that you were able to understand the “Spanish” Spanish they spoke, since it is different from what we learn in school. It’s really great that it inspired you to take AP Spanish. I’m sure you’ll do well!
Your response was very compelling and interesting, and I really like your formatting. Since you got into soccer during the World Cup, are you watching club football? If so, what’s your favorite club? I’m still torn between Barcelona and Real Madrid.