Culinary Institute, Essay Example

I understandthe importance of language proficiency in ensuring that all students take maximum advantage of learning opportunities both in and outside classrooms. It is not surprising that communication has emerged as one of the most in-demand soft skills in the job market because the ability of organization to achieve its objectives also depends upon how effectively various stakeholders within the organization communicate with each other. Even institutions with the best instructors and state-of-the-art facilities can fail to achieve their objectives if communication barriers prevent students from achieving the program’s objectives. Luckily, I possess the required language proficiency to take advantage of all the educational resources available at Culinary Institute of America (CIA).

I have been studying in the U.S. for almost four years now. I started learning English even before I came to the U.S. but the progress towards English proficiency in the U.S. was amazingly faster than back home. The experience taught me that no test or language teaching classes can beat the process of learning language through actual conversations with locals, consuming media in the local language, and reading books. My experience in the U.S. has significantly improved my English vocabulary and has also allowed me to learn variations in English language around the world through interactions with students from other English-speaking countries like England.

I have also learnt that our progress in any language becomes quite faster once we start thinking in that language. During my early days of speaking English, I would usually follow the two-step process which would involve gathering the idea in my native language and then translating the idea into English language. But as I gained proficiency in English over time, thinking in English became natural to me. This may be due to the simple fact that practice significantly speeds up the progress. Back home, I would only speak English during the English language class but after coming to America I had no choice but to adopt it as my primary mode of communication.

I have also improved my food-related vocabulary which will be quite helpful at CIA. CIA has become increasingly diverse and my food-related vocabulary will also enable me to improve the learning experiences of other students from my native country or related cultures. My food-related vocabulary has also improved because I have been reading books on food and cooking that mention agricultural products, spices, and herbs etc. from all over the world. The reading activity has also opened my eyes to the tremendous progress in gastronomy in the last few decades and some chefs and cooking experts such as Nathan Myhrvold are even exploring the art of cooking from scientific point of view.

I hope I will be granted an exemption from the TOEFL requirement because my English language skills far exceed the institute’s required English proficiency. Moreover, I also have developed an impressive food vocabulary in English language that will further improve my learning experiences at CIA.

Even though my current major is Photography, I actually started my studies as a Fashion Merchandising major. I made the mistake of choosing the major with incomplete knowledge of the program as well as understanding of my own strengths, skills, and interest. I did will in the beginning of the program but eventually started struggling because the program turned out to be quite different from my expectations. As a result, my grades suffered and I eventually changed my major to photography. As soon as I changed my major to Photography, the trend of decline grades reversed and since then I have been doing well. Thus, my cumulative grade is not a good indicator of my performance in current major because most of the courses that have determined the grade were related to Fashion Merchandising. The lessons learnt from the experience motivated me to do proper planning and research to ensure that culinary program will be the right fit for me.

I have no doubt I will do really well at CIA. First of all, I will be coming to CIA with a wealth of knowledge obtained from reading books and article on the science and art of cooking. In addition, I already know that my strengths, skills, and interests are suited to the culinary education. As I read the books, I got inspired to learn even more and I will be brining the same passion for learning to CIA. I am also excited because at CIA I will be able to interact with several individuals who share my passion and come from diverse cultural background.

I hope the admission committee will put greater emphasis on my grades in photography-related courses because they are more reliable indicator of my potential performance as a student at CIA. I chose fashion merchandising major without proper research and paid a high price as a result. But the experience also taught me the importance of planning and I have applied to CIA only after being convinced that cooking is my passion and I have the skills and foundation to succeed in the program.