Foreign Languages
I previously stressed the importance of language in the survival of homo sapiens and the formation of our societies.
My first language was Polish. Up until the age I went to preschool, my parents only spoke Polish to me. When they sent me off to school, all the other kids only spoke English. Although I can’t remember this experience, I imagine that as a young kid, the first few days were traumatic. However, kids learn fast. I imagine that at first, I communicated through bodily cues and facial expressions, but eventually, I had to learn the language on my own.
After a while, my English became better than my Polish, but my parents would not let that be for long. I was soon enrolled in a Polish Saturday school run by the Polish Consulate in Chicago. When all my friends were having play dates and having Friday night sleepovers, I was in school for the sixth day that week, 9.30–3pm. This continued until I graduated high school. (I resented my parents for years because of this, but of course, now I will be eternally grateful.)
Somewhere in the middle, I realized that I have an immense passion for foreign languages. I believe that it stems from already being bilingual (and how I learned English,) how often I traveled, and an innate talent for language, and my intense fascination with psychology. One way or another, I developed an addiction. I had studied Spanish in middle school and learned pretty much nothing, so I took matters into my own hands. I started watching movies and TV in Spanish, listened to only Spanish music, and found people to practice with. Soon enough, I had reached a near-fluent level. When I left to live in Peru for the summer at 16, I solidified my Spanish. But, I didn’t stop there. Throughout high school, I gave up all of my electives, study halls, and lunch breaks to take more foreign language courses. I refused to watch TV unless it was in a foreign language, and my music library was confusing to people other than me. Over those years, I studied Mandarin, French, and German, and tried to dabble in a few others at home. I’m now learning Portuguese and hope to spend some time in Brazil to develop an authentic accent.
I cannot stress enough the importance of learning languages. I have made many friends and received many opportunities solely because I spoke someone’s mother tongue; it creates an instant connection that reaches deep down to the core. When I travel, I take care to try and speak the native language and absorb as much as I can from their culture. More than ever, it is incredibly important to try and understand other peoples and gain a truly global perspective and understanding, which I strive for every day.
If you are looking for language partners to improve your foreign language skills you can find it on swaplanguage.com.
