I need more words!
Being a language instructor, an immigrant, and a language learner, I would consider myself quite experienced when it comes to understanding overwhelming feelings. In another post, I have already mentioned that one of the deepest frustrations students have to overcome is the fact of (initially) not having a vocabulary that is as rich as the one they have in their own language.
Cock-a-doodle-doo or chicchirichì?
“My problem is that if I could speak about this topic in my own language, I would be great at it! I know my job very well. But here, it’s pure frustration! I understand what people are talking about, but when I try to say what I know, I freeze. It’s so annoying!” – I often hear things like these from students and friends. Tell me about it! When I moved to Canada, although I knew English well, I couldn’t even sing a song as simple as Old McDonald Had a Farm (Nella vecchia fattoria in Italian). Did you know that an English dog says “Woof! Woof!” while an Italian dog says, “Bau! Bau!”? Not to mention the horse, the pig, and the rooster! COCK-A-DOODLE-DOO? What’s that? Is it an English rooster? A genius?
When I moved to Canada, meeting other people who were experiencing the same types of struggles proved itself very useful – sharing those feelings was reassuring. We understood that it was a matter of time, patience, and a little hard work. For this reason, in this post, I decided to share a couple of my friends’ experiences learning new languages.
Two experiences: A Q&A with Two Successful Immigrants
Francesca is a native Italian speaker, who has been living in London for over five years now. Target language: English
Stefania is a native Italian speaker, who has been living in Germany for over 10 years now. Target language: German
How would you describe your approach to learning a language?
Francesca
Very stressful. In the beginning, I was very concerned when I had to find a way of learning that would work for me.
Honestly, I still haven’t figured it out!
Stefania
The intention/ will to discover a new way to express reality, and myself, but also to understand other people from other cultures.
What was one of the most stressful things about speaking another language?
Francesca
Adjusting to the differences in grammar. As a foreigner, we tend to get lost in translation, especially at the very beginning.
Stefania
Thinking one thing, but saying something completely different because you don`t know enough words.
What was your main concern?
Francesca
In terms of grammar the use of hypothetical sentences and sometimes future tenses because, very often, they don’t reflect our own grammar.
In terms of speaking, I stress quite a lot when conversing with someone well versed in the language. The reason for that is that I know I am quite good in my own language, and the fact that I haven’t been able to transfer those skills from Italian to English.
Stefania
When learning, I was worried about using all the grammar rules when speaking.
When speaking, I was worried about being misunderstood – or worse, “manipulated” – by other people, or having bad pronunciation.
Do you consider an accent a problem?
Francesca
I do not consider my accent a problem, but I do consider it a small limit that I try to overcome. Unfortunately, here in the UK, I do think a lack of accent would be better appreciated more often than not. It’s a very subtle feeling and it depends on the environment.
Stefania
No, I don`t. However, for those who are biased or particularly nosy, it matters. I will always need to deal with that. This is my experience.
Can you tell us an embarrassing but hilarious experience that you’ve had speaking the new language?
Francesca
While talking to a customer about my workload, rather than saying “shed load of things to do” I said, “shit load things to do”. Luckily, we were in a very informal environment, and my manager at the time was a lifesaver.
Stefania
One day I wanted to buy an ashtray in Germany. The German word for ashtray is Aschenbecher, instead I asked for an Arschenbecher. In German “Arsch” means “ass”. In other words, I asked for an “asstray”.
Do you think that living in a country is enough to learn the language?
Francesca
ABSOLUTELY NOT. Does it help? Yes. Is it enough? Nope!
Grammar is what makes all the difference, in my opinion.
Reading is very important. It helps to increase your knowledge and competence in the new language, especially because you can see the words as they are written, aside from their pronunciation. Spelling is one of the main problems in English.
Listening to people or the TV is important for adjusting our ears to the accent, or different accents. However, the best thing to do is to study the grammar.
Stefania
It helps, but the truth is that, to learn a language, you need to want it. You need to be proactive.
Do you have any advice for those who struggle learning a new language?
Francesca
Learn at your own pace. Try not to compare different languages too much, and keep an open mind. This will help you to not stress too much. There will be less barriers to overcome. In fact, our brain automatically tries to adjust to the new language. Facilitating this process will help us.
Stefania
Don’t try it if you don’t really want it. If you don’t have a choice, then try to see the practical benefits of it. For example, when you meet new people at work or in your free time, you will understand everything they say. 😊