Not long ago Lisa Hetzel, one of my fellow contributing bloggers, wrote a very telling post titled “Help! I’ve Reached the Foreign Lanuage Flatlands!” I found Lisa’s entry honest and helpful in terms of aiding me with my own opinions about learning a second language. I think what her post did was help expose many of the common misconceptions about language learning. All too often we hear things like, “Oh just go to the country and immerse yourself, you’ll pick it right up,” or “My cousin bought one of those Rosetta Stone programs and now speaks fluently,” or “Well, I actually learned the language all on my own just watching TV and foreign films.”
It is important to recall that we all learn differently. Some have more cognitive memory ability while others prefer to learn experientially. Though each individual has a unique style in terms of learning languages, what needs to be made clear is that rarely does anyone simply “pick up” a second language. Don’t believe the hype. Learning another language once you’re a mature adult is an incredibly difficult thing to do. Only on rare occasions does anyone become fluent after a semester abroad, or watching TV shows, or spending a ridiculous amount of money on a computer program.
This brings up another question: what IS fluency? We can all ask for “el baño” and “papas fritas” after our three years of high school Spanish classes, but does this mean we are fluent? My friend held impassioned conversations with her Spanish boyfriend during her semester abroad, but did that mean she had achieved fluency? How is real fluency measured? Should we assess it through a person’s ability to talk on the phone without the aid of hand signals, or one’s capacity to lead a business meeting, or maybe the aptitude to appreciate subtitle nuances covered in poetry?
After several months of immersion, I’ve decided that language fluency is a state of mind. Even within our primary language, we all fall somewhere on the scale between first words and the Noble Prize in Literature. Assessing your own abilities and goals is what’s important. If you decide you want to become proficient, expect to put in years and years of hard work and practice.
I may not be able to define what makes one fluent, perhaps no one can, but I do know that it takes long hours and patience to get there. Judging by my own goals, I know that it is worth it. I’ve come far enough to realize learning a new language is enticing to so many because in the end it’s incredibly rewarding. After all, what could be more gratifying than opening up whole new portions of the world to yourself through communication and interaction?
Latest posts by curtisfox
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An interesting trick that sometimes works is listening to people making mistakes in English as a second language. If they say, ‘I have 20 years’ you can figure that in Spanish you should be saying ‘Tengo 20 años.’ It doesn’t always work, but it can from time to time.