Riding on a train from Nice to Milan speaking to my daughter in English, my friend in Italian and a fellow passenger in French – all at the same time. My brain freezes for a moment, wanting to use the wrong language with the wrong person or just make up some words that are a good combination of the three. I stop. Take a deep breath and relax. Okay. Here I go. I manage to pull it off, even pretty well. Then the realization that I just spoke in three languages and translated for those who needed it. What a dream. My thoughts – This is life, my life and how unbelievably awesome it is.
One of the many parts of learning and speaking a foreign language that I deeply love is the fact that I will be forever learning the language. I will never know it all, not even in my native tongue, English. It’s a life-long adventure. I will always mess up and butcher words, grammar, etc. but I will keep moving forward, getting better, being understood and understanding. I won’t wait until I know it perfectly, not only because that will never happen, but also because I want to use the language now. I want to get to know people and their cultures. One of my favorite quotes of all time is one by Nelson Mandela. I recently learned that he may not have said it exactly the way it is quoted but the quote expresses the idea perfectly.
“If you speak to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.”
Language Learning Tips:
- Try not to be shy. If you don’t use it, you will never learn it.
- Communication is the key.
- Mistakes are allowed.
- If you are in a country and are familiar with the language, speak it even if the native you are speaking to switches to your native language. Simply let them know that you prefer to speak ——–. Do not waiver. If they want to speak in your language, answer in theirs. You learn by doing.
- Do not be offended if you are corrected. Being corrected is more learning.
- If you are studying and living in a country, speak their language. Do not go searching for people from your country and speak your native language. You might as well go home.
- Read as much as you can in the language. Follow the news of a country where the language is spoken on social media. You will not only get better at the language but you will be better informed as you will see the news from different perspectives.
People Places Mag 