Josie Stevenson Is the Next Generation of Language Enthusiasts

As a a self proclaimed over-achiever, Josephine Stevenson's relentless approach to language studies has not always been the easiest journey. But now, her determination is paying off as she moves towards the future.

By: Grace Stevenson 11/1/21

The clock chimed 10am, the birds chirped outside and four puppies scrambled towards the front of the kennel. Those were the background noises as Josie was sitting down on the couch. She was working on some new vocabulary words. French had proven to be an interesting challenge and she was just starting to get the hang of it. As her tutor sat down beside her, with a book that looked way too big set firmly in her hands, Josie let out a loud sigh and got on with the work.

There is something about Josie that draws you towards her. Maybe it is her sense of confidence, or maybe it is her smile. But talking to Josie for just a matter of minutes, it is easy to find an element of what attracts you to her. Her witty jargon and how she integrates a variety of languages into her everyday speech is intriguing. You find yourself inadvertently learning more and more snippets of different languages. The carefree manner in which she weaves foreign vocabulary into everything has aided her tremendously in her ability to memorize information. "Talking in French or Chinese in everyday life helps me to memorize different words and phrases simply by saying them over and over ." Not only does this seemingly straightforward tactic increase her ability to retain the information that she is learning, but it demonstrates her devotion to her studies.

Though Josie only started studying languages 6 years ago, the challenge has since sparked a passion in her, and she then she has studied French, Latin and Mandarin Chinese. "When you know someone's language, you can understand someone's culture better" says Josie, talking about how her interest in languages is rooted in the exploration and understanding of other cultures. She describes the learning process as a "competition". "It was legitimately a competition, because I saw other people were better at languages than me and so I wanted to be able to learn every single language.” Over the years, her teachers and mentors have pushed her to pursue different languages, starting with French " All of my tutors have said that I had a knack and a special talent for it and that I should use it."

Josie is still plugging along with her studies. Her determination and grit have paid off and she is looking to add more languages to her arsenal. "The goal is to learn every single language. In reality that might not be possible, but I can try. The next language I am going to start learning is Arabic." Even now, six years down the line, she still encounters many of the same obstacles as she did when she had first started “There are always things that I don’t know, like sayings or a sentence structure. It’s a little bit easier to pick up on stuff because you have more of a foundation, but I still encounter many of the same struggles that I used to.”

" I am currently in the process of applying for scholarships that would take me to Taiwan or China to continue learning Mandarin." As with many ambitious students, she has aspirations based around her educational goals, and that is just one of them. As well as the scholarships, she is also hoping to pursue a career that would allow her to implement the knowledge that she has accumulated. Recently, she has been able to look back over her studies and come out with a piece of advice for new students. "If you are wanting to get into studying a language you really want to make sure you are studying with someone or that you have a group you can go study with or a tutor on the side who has done this language before and can help you, because learning languages is hard. Repetition is key."