Language Skills

[Darkskies]

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I have a question regarding whether I should mark being trilingual with Spanish on my applications. I speak both English and my parents' language fluently and would say that I have quite an advanced level knowledge of Spanish. I scored a 5 on the AP Spanish exam and obtained a minor in the language while only taking upper level courses where I wrote numerous 4-5 page essays entirely in Spanish. I have held conversations with native speakers and can talk at length. I am quite sure that my knowledge of Spanish vocabulary and grammar exceed the level of many native Spanish speakers who have grown up in the US. This being said, I don't think I would be able to manage an entire interview in Spanish as well as I could in English if the interviewer decided he wanted to do just that. Should I mark Spanish as one of my languages? In relation to this, does anyone think that if I wrote in-depth about how I want to integrate my Spanish speaking abilities with my work as a physician that the interviewers might also try to conduct the entire interview in Spanish(which would put me at a disadvantage because I might be nervous and it wouldn't be as good as if it were done in English)?

 

[FattySlug]

My native tongue is Vietnamese (left the country at 17) and I would have problem handling the entire interview in Vietnamese because there are English words that had no equivalent and the way ideas are expressed also very different.

So if your Spanish is as good as you claim and you obviously wouldn't have any problem communicate with future patients then list it. You don't need to be able to compose poem in a language to list it in your application.

 

[NurWollen]

My native tongue is Vietnamese (left the country at 17) and I would have problem handling the entire interview in Vietnamese because there are English words that had no equivalent and the way ideas are expressed also very different.

So if your Spanish is as good as you claim and you obviously wouldn't have any problem communicate with future patients then list it. You don't need to be able to compose poem in a language to list it in your application.

Agreed. You would be doing yourself a disservice by not listing it. You could you list it as "competent in Spanish' or "near-native fluency," but those things can mean different things to different people. Puedes encontrar a alguien con quien puedes practicar las entrevistas? Podrian hacer algunos ensayos y asi estar listo para cualquier cosa. Btw, you said trilingual... what's your other language?

 

[Darkskies]

Thanks guys. The other language I speak is Bengali(Eastern Indian subcontinent). I got somewhat anxious and alarmed from reading some of these other threads about people stating their fluency in another language and then having it tested by the interviewer holding the entire session in said language. It would just be extremely difficult and nerve-wrecking to have to relay your innermost personal reasons for entering medicine or give your take on an ethical issue in another language during an interview for med school, you know? I will be speaking a lot more Spanish to get practice after I send in my application though, like you suggest NurWollen.

 

[Hoya2009]

I don't know why you wouldn't list it.
I had an interviewer that also spoke Italian. We shot the breeze for a bit in Italian, and switched to English for the serious interview part.
She had to write up a report afterwards and there was a sheet that directed the interview with questions/comments for her, so it would have been kind of annoying for her to jockey Italian and English the whole time with the sheet. I don't think another language would be anything more than a social thing with the interviewer; they are professionals and should use English as their professional language.

 

[Barcu]

Put it down. It sounds like your fluency is good, and it is a huge asset in medicine today.

I put down Spanish and only had to speak Spanish in one interview (out of 5). We talked for around 10 minutes about Spanish literature. Nothing medically-related. If you put it down, it's fair game, so I can't say you won't need to do an entire interview in Spanish. However, I have never heard of anyone needing to do the entire thing in Spanish; it's always a few questions. I think you are a bit too worried about it. Just put it down. You will be fine.

Edit: Oh and to add to your second question. I marked Spanish as important for me wanting to become a physician and wanting to incorporate it into my career, and I still only had one interviewer talk to me in Spanish and only for a short time and only about non-medical things. So again, your concerns are possible but you shouldn't worry too much.

 

[LizzyM]

One of the things that interviewers should be assessing is your English language fluidity, vocabulary, and speech patterns (don't, you know, get me started on like not knowing like how to, you know, talk). This can't be done if the entire interview is in a foreign language but someone might want to exchange pleasantries in a language that you both know.