My language learning experience

My very first exposure to languages was in Middle School when we were all assigned to take one semester of both Spanish and German (in a small, rural high school, there were not many choices). Technically my roots are in German and my grandfather still can speak and understand a form of Pennsylvania Dutch, but I was always more drawn to Spanish for its practical use. During high school, my teacher was recently interested in the TPR (total physical response) approach and also using a lot of songs, videos, etc to make learning Spanish more interesting. Looking back now, I think learning some of these methods and strategies has really helped me to continue language learning on my own. I also participated in a 2 week trip to Spain with the Spanish club during one summer. The moment that I saw words in print, on billboards, etc. that I recognized or was able to answer basic questions sparked a feeling in me like no other type of learning.

In college, I pursued Spanish as a second major, even though it was my most difficult subject material. I had a dream of traveling, and Spanish seemed to be my ticket to doing that. During my junior year, I decided to study abroad in La Plata, Argentina. This was my first real test in utilizing my Spanish and really taking it to the next level. I wish now, however, that I had better memories or had better documented my learning during this time. My recommendation to anyone learning a language now would be to tape record yourself at various stages of learning a language (which I too will do when I learn a third language). I would love to have a tape version hearing myself with an Argentine Spanish accent because this is something that I can’t even mimic now. The only thing I remember about learning Spanish in Argentina was that I forced myself to think in Spanish as often as possible. Walking down the street, I would describe everything around me using whatever words I had in Spanish. It was this training of my mind to think in a new language is what I truly accredit to my mastery of Spanish. From there it was just a matter of acquiring more vocabulary and improving grammar.

After I came home from Argentina, I was finally confident and excited to use my Spanish and looked for every opportunity to do so. I worked, volunteered, and did internships to continue using Spanish in my community. I also became turned on to Latin American history and politics and remember the excitement and passion that my professor of Latin American history had for the subject that made me want to find out more. Through my experience in Argentina, I also now had a much broader base of authentic (and interesting) materials to use to practice Spanish. Learning Spanish for me now was not just reading Garcia Lorca in a literature class, but meant listening to and learning the latest Shakira lyrics on my own time and reading Latina authors such as Esmerelda Santiago in their native language.

Using Spanish in the US was a whole new experience. I now possessed an ability that many around me did not have and I could be the link between people who spoke different languages. I continued to pursue employment where I could utilize my Spanish abilities and eventually went on to spend a summer in Mexico at a volunteer project with other Mexicans and then to a year of post-grad study at a University in Spanish. By that point, I did not need to think much about using Spanish and was able to float between languages easily.

Now that I have gotten to a comfortable level in a second language, I am interested in learning a third. When I am around other language speakers, I often try to learn at least a few words and am amazed at how difficult I find it to remember even those few words. If the language is one of the romance languages, I find myself floating back into Spanish since that is my default language. In order to learn a third language, I think I will need to employ some of the techniques that helped me learn Spanish, but also employ new methods and make a new space in my mind for a third language and new way of thinking.

Reflection on self as a language learner

Here's the assignment: Write a 1-2 page journal-style reflection on your experiences learning language(s). Some things to think about: effective teachers, classroom experiences, traveling or living abroad, interaction with native speakers and media/Internet.

Why, you may ask? This assignment rests on the assumption that to become a great language teacher you have to understand what it really means to be a language learner.

I'll give this a try myself. My first exposure to a foreign language was 7th grade French. This was 'back in the day' when the audiolingual method was still in use. We repeated phrases interminably. About the only thing I can say with confidence now is "Moi, Je n'aime pas les saucisses." So I might survive as a vegetarian in Paris but I wouldn't be able to order a Bocaburger. I didn't feel much connection to French - it seemed as cold as the teacher - who I remember as cursing my best friend once in class.

In high school I decided to take Spanish, as it seemed more practical and interesting. I was lucky to have a native speaker of Spanish as my teacher - he was a Cuban refugee who had gone to school with Castro, and hated the Castro regime vehemently. He said interesting things to liven up the class - like explaining to us that the girls sitting with crossed legs rhythmically kicking up their foot were really masturbating. (That must have really bothered him! ;-)) His Spanish class was more along the lines of cultural immersion, with a good mix of grammar-translation included.

On my own, I decided to keep a diary in Spanish and used it to chronicle all my nefarious activities I wanted to keep away from my parents' eyes. So I had to use a dictionary to look up a lot of words that were not in the textbook! Keeping the diary helped me to carry on an inner dialogue in Spanish, I think. Speaking Spanish became more comfortable to me as a result. I ended up my school years with a minor in Spanish Literature as a result.

Moving on to college, I took a Linguistics class that was great, but I got a D because I happened to take it in the semester in which I fell in love. So I transferred to another school which had a more extensive linguistics program, and started to major in Linguistics. The first divergence from Spanish I took was Portuguese, which came fairly easily. One of the requirements was to take a non-Indo-European language, so I chose Chinese. I had some exposure to Chinese from family friends whom I babysat for. I took their kids to summer school lessons in Chinese, and was fascinated by the culture. Teaching methods had progressed incrementally by the time I was in college - but there was little interaction in the language and few opportunities to practice outside of class. (remember this was pre-Internet times.)

I had courses in reading German and in Mayan (a dead language, but still very interesting - did you know they had 37 words to describe 'talk'?) in college. After graduation I still tried to learn Chinese, moving to San Francisco and taking an intensive course. Many years later, I decided to go to Japan to teach, and started a night school class in Japanese. This was taught with a more communicative focus, so we had to speak and carry on conversations. The problem was, the method of teaching Japanese then was to use only one level of politeness. When I finally got to Japan, I couldn't understand what people were saying on the street because they weren't using that politeness level. I had to carry around a dictionary for the first 8 months, and adjust all the verb forms so it wouldn't sound like I was being too snooty. Being immersed in the culture in Japan was exciting and frustrating. Words would come to my attention and I'd try to figure them out from the context, eventually looking them up and adding them to my repertoire. One that I remember was 'naruhodo' which means something like 'actually.' I kept hearing it and really wondered about it. I finally looked it up and realized it was a useful word to remember.

Reading and writing in Japanese is such a nightmare - four sets of writing characters and multiple possibilities for pronunciation and meaning. I struggled with Kanji for about 8 years before giving up on it - I will just have to be semi-literate, but sane.

I lived in Japan for a total of seven years, so I can carry on a conversation and know enough of the written language to shop and get around. Back in the US, I've pursued my study of Chinese again by sitting in on a class at GW. I am still confounded by the characters and wish they'd just write in pinyin (the roman alphabet) to make things easier for me! Am I a lazy language learner?

The latest language I've attempted is Arabic. I began studying it in September at a free class offered by President Tractenberg. I realized I didn't have enough time to devote to studying it enough to learn the alphabet and the grammar. But it was very fun for me to learn a little about the language and to get to the point where I could understand a little of what was being said around me by native speakers.

Learning languages has been the most rewarding and exciting aspect of my academic career. When I get a chance to use one of my languages to interact with someone it makes me really happy. Teaching language is always rewarding - opening up new doors to other cultures and ways of looking at the world. So I don't regret any of the time I've spent in studying a foreign language - I wish had used more effective methods early on, though. Now that I know about learning strategies I think I could have found more practice opportunities and worked more efficiently to make more progress. I believe I'll never stop learning language - it will probably help me avoid Alzheimer's as I get older. One of the ways I'm studying Chinese now is using a podcast.