Second Languages « Lingua Franca

Second Languages

Even though English is widely spoken throughout the world, becoming a lingua franca of modern times, I am a firm believer that a second language should be learned for anyone who hasn’t already done so. Now, I know what some people might be thinking:

“Get off your soapbox, who needs Spanish or Italian or anything but English? They should be the ones learning our language; ours is spoken all over the world!”

True.

When I traveled throughout Europe a year and a half ago, I used English exclusively to communicate with people outside of Italy. Everybody spoke it – hotel clerks, random people off the street, waitresses, shopkeepers; it was almost like an exclusive club. I think the reason why English is so widely spoken is due to the fact that when people from different mother tongues live within close proximity they need a common medium to converse in. Put a Dane and a German in a room together and they’ll most likely be exchanging English pleasantries such as “Where are you from?” and “My name is…” in no time. While their level of English may be no where near a native British or American’s level, they still speak the language.

But what about the red, white, and blue?

In America, I feel our schools don’t push hard enough to educate our children in other languages; when the courses are offered they are largely rudimentary at best. I can remember taking Italian when I was in middle school, still being fed Luca compra la macchina (Luca buys the car) even after two years of study. My classmates all hated the fact that foreign language classes were required to graduate, many of them blatantly failing or not caring for at all for the coursework, hiding under the umbrella that the skills would never be used. On top of this, there still exists much xenophobia, often prompting many school systems to let foreign language courses fall by the wayside, sometimes even cutting their funding. Finally, practicality is an issue, some arguing the varying amount of language dialects make it redundant to learn a second language when, for example, a French Canadian and native Frenchman might still converse in English to better understand one another due to the different variations of French they speak.

The problem: Isolation from the rest of the world

Apart from these obstacles, I think learning a foreign language is incredibly fun and easy…if you know how to do it.

Many people immediately shy away from learning a second language because of the various stigmas associated with how good they’ll become or if it’s even worth it. People talk about how long it takes to become fluent and debate what really should be considered fluency. Honestly, I think it’s a bunch of nonsense that in the end is highly relative to the individual. I am definitely not an expert but I would imagine these are factors that ultimately decide how good a person can really become:

Is the individual predisposed to being savvy with grammar and communication?
Is the individual regularly exposed to the target language and forced to communicate in it?
Is the individual’s mothertongue vastly different in structure from the target language?
Is the individual motivated to learn?

Those were just my two cents, but some “experts” go even further claiming that true fluency cannot be achieved unless the language was started before adolescence, arguing that our ability to master languages is strongest at that time and after which vastly deteriorates. I imagine this is why some professionals will work abroad in China for an extended period and still not be able to have a fluid conversation in Mandarin or read a local newspaper. This reinforces #3 on my list; going from English to Chinese will be much harder and require more dedication than going from English to Spanish, where some of the words have similar roots. That isn’t to say going from English to Spanish (or any other European language) will be a walk in the park, effort is needed regardless.

To begin, I would say some form of formal grammatical training is necessary. I’ve heard stories of people “picking up” Spanish working in a kitchen or in a similar setting but I don’t think they would be able to write a letter or read a book, necessary to professionally function in a Spanish-speaking country. While grammar school is fundamental, it isn’t the last step and should be approached with care. Tim Ferriss, author of “The 4-Hour Work Week” (which I’ve been trying to get around to read) has written an excellent post on the subject and claims the class’s progress is only as strong as the weakest student. He recommends selecting a school where slower-progressing students are forced to be transferred to lower levels if they cannot meet the class’s level.

After some grammatical training, I think the next step is to experience conversation by either listening to it or, better yet, partaking in it. This is the exposure factor I talked about earlier. Here are some ways you might not have thought of where exposing yourself to another language isn’t hard at all and doesn’t require a plane ticket…or a friend.

Subscribe to target language podcasts in iTunes. Do a search for podcasts in iTunes while specifying the language setting. You’ll get tons of results with hundreds of programs in the target language on topics you might actually care about. And since iTunes does a great job of syncing and downloading the latest material daily, you’ll regularly be exposed to the target language, in the car on the way to work, from an mp3 player in the subway etc.
Watch T.V. in the target language online. Skip pricey satellite TV packages. Check out wwiTV for hundreds of free, streaming TV stations from around the world. The channels aren’t obscure public television programs but mostly the same channels natives in those countries regularly watch.
Play videogames in the target language. I thought of this one day and am surprised no one really mentions it when talking about learning a new language. It provides all the essentials: situational learning, visual learning, and conversation exposure – all key. Here’s a video that explains how to set it up:
Watch movies in the target language. Foreign films are a great way to learn colloquialisms and hear how the target language is actually used in a country it’s spoken in. You’ll hear slang, dialects, and curse words…all the good stuff.
Wikipedia is your Bible. I think reading gives you unprecedented insight into the target language’s grammatical structure, and Wikipedia has access to millions of articles in a slew of languages. You can also install an add-on bar in Firefox for looking up articles on-the-fly within the target language, making reading about Vladimir Putin and Liberace that much easier. For those wanting to learn English, Wikipedia also has a “simplified English” portal.

I’ve only scratched the surface here. From thinking like a baby to becoming emotionally attached in the target language, the methods are endless. Ultimately, I think living in a country where the target language is spoken is the final step. Many people might agree it’s far better to go to a foreign country with minimal knowledge of its language, hoping to learn it through a “trial by fire” type of method. I think this presents two problems: provided you’re not in the company of Anglophones, you’ll be forced to speak the new language and make more frequent mistakes, creating a stressful environment that will take the fun out of the learning process and might make you self-conscious about speaking at all (although generally making mistakes and correcting them is good). Second, I think people might become apprehensive about having to correct you at every turn, growing tired of your Tarzan-like attempts to order food and ask where the bathroom is. I would much rather have at least a fundamental understanding of a foreign language before I’d attempt to live in a country where only that language is spoken.

Second language acquisition is fun and it’s never too late to start. I can’t wait to start learning Spanish and hopefully French someday, myself. In the meantime, I envy these people: