Provides

online language program costing just $96 a year, teaches 25 languages. Duolingo, another top program, is free but offers a premium subscription for $84 yearly, and teaches over 40. This sort of fast-paced, wide-spread exposure can only exist on an online format. The rapid dissemination of information that can be accessed virtually anywhere in the world is impossible to replicate in person. Duolingo and other such digital formats are ever-evolving and ever-changing. They are expanding to incorporate pronunciation guides and tests, reading and writing tests, and other practices that increase comprehension.

It’s also worth pointing out that many online language softwares are created by a broad range of experts and reflect an accurate portrayal of the language, while many language courses in the United States are taught by white teachers and professors, many of whom are not integrated into the culture that the language they teach belongs to. This can potentially lead to inaccuracies, biases, and missed nuances during instruction.

Still, there are some problems with online language learning.

Online courses can be isolating, and an important part of language is actual communication between people. During in-person classes, most teachers require speaking and communication exercises to strengthen comprehension. While online courses are being taught by programs and algorithms, trying to make other people uncomfortable.”

I am proud that hazing isn’t a huge part of campus. It’s a testament to our dedication to being kind and making sure our student body feels safe on campus. I do wonder, though, if our confidence is misplaced, potentially covering up the hazing that could be happening in more private parts of campus.

“I personally haven’t ever met anyone who had a really negative hazing experience,” College second-year Maya Angles said. “You consider hazing to be doing something violent and bad, doing stuff that you don’t want to do to be initiated into a group, and that I haven’t experienced. I have experienced initiation rituals that are an opt-in basis, but I am always comfortable.”

A reason for the lack of hazing could also be because sports and private clubs at our school aren’t as popular as at other schools. While I’m sure someone could say that there has been behavior that fits the hazing criteria in their respective sports team or organization, it’s not considered a large issue on campus. According to the poll, many students don’t consider it a problem or recognize it exists.

“It’s hard to say because the only thing I can think of when thinking of hazing would be like the varsity athletes, and I purposefully distance myself from them,” College third-year Amelia Sterling-Angus said. “I could imagine hazing to be true. But I’ve also not heard any horror stories of hazing. So I’m not adamantly saying that they have hazing, but it could be a low-key possibility.”

Oberlin College is also a place that puts stress on consent and a comfortable environment. The student body and groups, at the very least, acknowledge consent and stray away from peer pressure or making people uncomfortable for the sake of humor.

“I think Oberlin is a cool place in that we understand consent, maybe more so than other places,” Angles said. “I don’t know a ton of people on varsity sports teams, but I think I can speak pretty solidly for club sports to say that any forms of hazing would be gentle, kind, and with pretty well-informed consent by the people being ‘hazed.’”

Later this semester, College and Conservatory students must undergo hazing prevention training. This training will be administered in a brief online session. My first thought is that, of all the training Oberlin could mandate, hazing isn’t at the top of the list. I would much rather have training on diversity and inclusion as a stand-alone session instead of implemented in PRSM training. With that being said, I don’t negate the fact that it can never hurt to become more aware of the dangers of hazing.

“I feel like there should be more consequences and ways of learning about hazing,” College first-year Sydney Banks said. “It can be really harmful to other people. And it can happen a lot at parties, so I am glad that Oberlin is initiating this training.”

I am interested to see how the Oberlin student body responds to the training. I hope that, regardless of previous notions, people use the training to better familiarize themselves with tactics of hazing. Maybe after the training we’ll find that we, as a community, still have things to work on.

Alternative to Traditional Classes

the structured assignments and on-demand help that in-person classes provide can be vital to the language-learning process. Also, many in-person instructors incorporate lessons on the history and origins of the language. These sorts of assignments foster an inclusive community wherein students are more sensitive toward differences between people, particularly if they ever intend to travel abroad.

Perhaps most importantly, online language-learning courses represent yet another threat to teaching positions. While accessibility and ease are important, jobs and the livelihoods of some of the most underpaid professionals in the workforce are equally important. Not only that, but language softwares are indicative of a larger phenomenon: technologification.

Technologification, the effects of which have been increasing rapidly through the years, is the process by which technology becomes more ingrained into society, often subtly, and becomes a primary part of a person’s subconscious. The tendency to go on one’s phone when there is a sudden lull in a conversation is an example of technologification. The instinct to constantly be listening to music, watching a show, or texting are other examples. It’s rather unsettling to imagine how complacent society is in the face of these language-learning softwares. Language is how we communicate with one another, and with an online interface, we completely remove the essence and nature of language itself.

While technology has brought numerous benefits, it has many proven health disadvantages, including lowering our attentiveness and perception and making us lazy. So while online language courses can be easy alternatives to intensive college classes, the in-person option is still important.

In my experience, language-learning softwares are incredibly effective. I have been learning Spanish on Duolingo for over a year, and the results have been great. Despite practicing for only 10 minutes a day, I was able to communicate in Spanish when I visited Mexico several months ago because the conversational language-learning features on the software had made it easy to develop a passable accent. Conversely, in my five years of learning French in school, I retained little to no information year-to-year despite attending one of the top public high schools in my area. While this may not necessarily be comparable to a college-level language course, many high-school courses are structured based on material taught at the college-level. Though in-person language courses did not work for me, I don’t completely disregard their usefulness. Instead, I suggest a balance between the two. Taking college-level courses to provide a foundation for the language, skills and tools for comprehension, and an understanding of culture and history while using online softwares to supplement learning, especially during breaks and when classes are less regular, seems ideal. Technology has made so much possible, but it’s important not to discredit the advantages of non-tech forms.