Fighting the Language Barrier

A frequent objection to travel I hear is “oh, well I could only go somewhere that speaks English.  I’m no good at foreign languages.”  Well that’s just silly, I say.  Here’s why:

I maintain that no one is bad at language.  They simply haven’t learned right.  Language is thought to be the only human instinct we still have.  Most people don’t know how they learn most effectively.  There are four main ways of learning: verbally (written word, taking notes, etc.), visually (images, patterns, etc.), aurally (hearing and reading), and tactile (motion, sense of touch).  One of the first steps is learning how you learn.

Language incorporates a little bit of all of these.  All of my teachers have said that there are four parts of fluency in any language: reading, writing, speaking, and listening, which all add up to immersion.  So in many cases, some people are stronger in some parts of language than others.  I know some who, after hearing a few sentences begin to pick it up, but are helpless when they see it written out and vice versa.  But as you gain skill on some areas, others follow naturally.

Maybe you’ve done this.  And maybe you’re still just not learning as fast as you would like to.  This is a bone I would like to pick with the educational system.  In many places, language education doesn’t begin until around age 12 0r 13.  I have always insisted that this is idiotic, because the language centers of your brain are most elastic (and therefore make it easier to learn) around age 5, and they harden up as we get older, making it more and more difficult as time goes on.  That’s not to say learning a new language later in life is impossible – far from it. It’s just a bit harder for you (I’ve always said that I’ll be raising my kids bi- or trilingual from birth – it’s such a massive advantage that it would be stupid to go without in this globalizing world; it’s smart of you to want to learn that second language).

Now, if I can make a few suggestions for learning any language:

• Find a friend who also wants to learn – it’s much easier if you have someone to practice your speaking and listening skills with.
• Practice every day, no matter what – set aside a half hour each day.  You can’t expect to become fluent with no practice.
• Every time you learn a new word or phrase, think about how many times in a day you might use it in English.  Every time you do use it in English, repeat it in the other language a couple times.
• Don’t focus on making complex sentences or getting every word translated exactly.  Focus on getting your main idea across until you become more advanced.
• When you travel, even if you only know a couple of phrases, use them!  In many cases, the effort will be appreciated and reciprocated.