What I Learnt Attempting a Language
O lo que me apprendía después de intenter de aprender un idioma
As a bright-eyed first year, a lot was new and I didn’t know a lot of it. For instance, I had wrongly assumed that all modules were chosen for the student in the first year.
After going through the registration process in one of the gym halls, I was taken to a computer by a helpful lady who said that I needed to choose the modules for my course and, if I so wanted, I could take a wild module.
For half a minute, I blabbered, saying I was not sure if I wanted to take any wild module and then my eyes fell upon a section of the computer screen which said: “Spanish”.
Before I left home, I had read an English translation of El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de La Mancha. Perhaps it was the spirit of Miguel de Cervantes himself or just my tendency to act on sudden impulses which prompted me to choose an A-level in Spanish as a wild module.
I had never tried to learn a language before and so I practically failed the A-level. I say “practically” because, officially, I passed “on concessions” according to the Student Data System. I did not understand this but because I had “passed” and, because of my tenacious personality, I took the Spanish B2 as a wild module in my second year.
I, of course, failed this as well.
In the early days of the course, I was doing so badly that the head of the Spanish department invited me to his office and told me (explicitly) that he was concerned, because his job was to prepare 2nd language students for a year abroad in Spain and then told me (implicitly) that I would not be able to ask for basic directions and understand a speaker’s response.
Once I told him this was my wild module and I was not going to Spain, it was as if a massive weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he cheerfully told me the meeting was over and there was nothing to worry about.
Nearly two years later, I am still learning and I finally feel like I could pass that A-level (progress!).
I not only learnt some practical tips about language learning, I also made some practical observations which have helped me in life.
Practical Tips
#1 Learn to love grammar.
Being linguistically inclined, I already knew English grammar quite well and I was able to transfer this knowledge to Spanish. While my classmates were learning about subject pronouns, I was able to ask questions about where one should place the indirect object pronoun.
#2 Learn phonetics and the International Phonetic Alphabet
It is important to learn how the alphabet of the target language works and you take time to should focus on this, especially in the beginning, because it won’t be straight forward.
For instance, in English, <a> can represent multiple vowel sounds (such as /a/ and /æ/) while in other languages -such as Spanish- it only represents one: /a/.
I didn’t properly learn phonetics and phonology until the second year of my linguistics degree and as a result my attempts to read Spanish aloud floundered. I kept interpreting Spanish vowels as English vowels and somehow didn’t realise that the relationships between the sounds and letters were different.
Alas, it was a realisation that came far too late.
#3 If you are struggling, try to get one-on-one teaching.
By virtue of bugging my Spanish teachers during every single one of their office hours, I received a one-on-one lesson every week from a Spaniard who doing her master’s at the university. This is where I made a lot of progress in learning to read sounds and words correctly.
#4 Duolingo is your friend.
Once you get past the green owl’s passive-aggressive messages informing you it is time for your daily lesson, you’ll discover that it is a useful supplement to your in-life lessons.
The app is handy for learning how to read and write in the target language. It is not so good at helping you learn how to hear or speak it correctly.
#5 Don’t use Google Translate.
Or to be more specific, don’t use Google Translate unless you want a good laugh. If you want to discover conjugations or find new words or check spelling, use Word Reference and look for websites such as Spanishdict.
Practical Observations
#1 Passion is a better motivator than success.
Aside from some translation tasks (at which I was surprisingly good) I cannot count a single success I enjoyed in those two courses. Every exam and test result was a disappointment (50% was a high-ish score for me) because I did genuinely try. As well, I think, my teachers became tired of my slow learning capabilities and I could sense that they didn’t think I was a good learner (I would, however, maintain they thought I was a good student which is something different).
Yet, I rarely felt discouraged because the intellectual satisfaction gave me a passion for learning the language. Due to this, I was able to attend lessons without depression and, instead, with fresh curiosity.
If I had attempted to learn the language and my motivation was the possibility of assessment-based success, then I would have abandoned my adventures in the language by the end of the A-level.
#2 It is never too late.
As mentioned previously, I had never attempted to learn another language before I arrived at the University of Kent. A more sensible voice in my mind did suggest not taking the A-level in Spanish because I hadn’t done the GCSE and had never tried to learn a language before and it was too late to start now. Moreover, it suggested the A-level would take up valuable time which could be better spend on my actual modules.
I ignored that voice and I have no regrets. There are so many lessons and experiences about linguistics, Spanish, education and life which I would have all missed if I did not take those A and B levels.
Sometimes, you should take a plunge into the unknown.
