My Sophomore Classes

High school has just kicked off, and I’m diving into my sophomore year with a total of eight classes on my schedule. While many of these courses are designed to meet my high school graduation requirements, a select few have been chosen to align with my specific interest in exploring linguistics and its intersection with technology.

AP World History:
Taking at least one history course per year is a graduation requirement at my high school. While world history may not seem directly relevant to computational linguistics, I opted for the more rigorous AP-level course for several compelling reasons. First, the class offers valuable cultural context, which is important when working with languages. This broader understanding can be particularly beneficial in the linguistics field, where social and cultural nuances often come into play. Additionally, AP World History sharpens critical thinking skills, which are essential in any academic discipline, including computational linguistics. The course also provides a sweeping view of global history that could offer unique insights into the evolution of languages.

AP Computer Science A:
At my school, we get to pick some electives, and this year I went for AP Computer Science A. The choice was a no-brainer since computer science is closely tied to computational linguistics. What I learn in this class can be applied directly to natural language processing and machine learning, both of which are key areas in the field of computational linguistics. My school also offers AP Computer Science Principles, but I chose the more advanced class because I already have some coding experience under my belt.

AP Calculus AB:
Navigating my high school’s math requirements, I opted for AP Calculus AB this year. While it’s a class I need to take to graduate, I have other reasons for choosing it too. Computational linguistics demands a good grasp of complex algorithms and mathematical models, and this calculus class can really help me get a handle on those. On top of that, it’s a great way to build up my analytical thinking skills, making it easier for me to get my head around the abstract theories and algorithms I’ll encounter in computational linguistics.

Spanish 3:
Even though I’ve already met my high school’s language requirement for graduation, I decided to take an additional year of Spanish. This choice aligns with my interest in computational linguistics, a field that often works with multiple languages. Improving my skills in both English and Spanish will provide me valuable insights into how languages are structured and processed, both by humans and computers.

English 10 Honors:
My high school offers only two English courses, and since an English class is required every year, I opted for the honors option. This choice extends beyond merely wanting to improve my grammar and English skills. A more rigorous English course will also benefit my understanding of computational linguistics. The class will delve into the structure and semantics of language, both of which are foundational elements in computational linguistics. Additionally, like other challenging classes, it will help me develop the analytical thinking skills needed to understand the complexities of computational linguistics.

Required Courses Unrelated to Computational Linguistics:
Chemistry – Meeting the required number of science credits is a must for high school graduation. Among the available courses, chemistry caught my interest the most, even though it doesn’t directly relate to computational linguistics.

Walking Wellness – Just like with science, I have to fulfill a certain number of fitness credits to graduate. Since Walking Wellness is a one-semester course, I thought it would be a good way to knock out this requirement and free up the second semester for another class to fulfill a different requirement.

Graphic Production and Design – For the second semester, I’ve enrolled in this course to meet my school’s art credit requirement for graduation. Given the one-semester options for art credits, this class seemed the most intriguing to me.