“I am a juggler!”

Make it part of who you are

I’ve got a friend who juggles. He’s really quite good and can do lots of tricks. When we were growing up he started learning by watching an old video he found. Since then he’s used YouTube and the internet to get to an amazing level. He has run a juggling club at University and goes to national juggling conventions in his spare time. When we were young and he was starting he said to me, “You should try it”, but I wasn’t really that interested. He has since enjoyed hours and hours of practice, the social life that has come with it and the adventure of learning something new. At no point has he ever complained about not being good enough or not being where he wanted to be. He just kept learning and kept enjoying himself.

This is a useful lesson for language learning. If you can find the fun in learning; if you can be interested over a long period of time; if you can enjoy the simple steps you need to take — you’ll find yourself well on the way.

I also think it comes down to identification. When you meet someone new for the first time, what do you tell them about yourself? Your job? Where you grew up? Your hobbies? Like juggling, speaking Spanish takes confidence. My friend feels confident juggling and firmly sees himself as a juggler. If you are learning a language, tell people it is an intrinsic aspect of who you are. I think the phrase is ‘fake it before you make it’. The converse side of this argument is to say to people, “I’m trying to learn a language, but I’m not very good and I don’t know very much.” That’s hardly a confidence boost, is it?

If you are thinking that telling people you are learning a second language will lead to them saying, “Oh, OK, tell me something in Spanish then?”, well, that’s easy. Learn some impressive sentences and like juggling, they’ll stand back and say, “Ooo!”

I know people who are competent at speaking a second language, but are nervous about doing it, so they start by saying, “I’m not very good.” This attitude will lead to mistakes, nervousness and will make the person listening focus on what you say wrong/can’t do. Learning a language, to an extent, is an exact study. Outside of accent and regional differences, you are either right or wrong. So be confident and tell people you can speak in a second language. It will transform your learning experience into a long-term, enjoyable journey.

As your confidence grows, Spanish will become part of who you are. You’ll feel comfortable going to speaking classes with other beginners (like my friend going to juggling conventions). You’ll find ways of absorbing the language without even knowing it. You might read some news in Spanish, listen to Spanish radio, talk to people at parties who have the same interest, watch YouTube videos of people learning it. This has been a massive aspect of my learning. Since I have started, Spanish has been bleeding into my life and like my Grandma at The Dog Obedience Circle in Mexico, I am starting to think in Spanish.

I cannot overstate how important a positive attitude has helped with learning Spanish … and we can all choose what attitude we have towards our hobbies.

Here is my friend, showing his juggling to the world with pride!