I have been going to the same café in the mornings for some time now, and I am starting to recognise people saying the Japanese words I know. This is a very new language learning experience for me, and even if I don’t learn as much as I want to I know that this experience will not have been in vain. As a travelling English teacher, I am often lucky enough to be on both sides of the fence when it comes to languages: I am simultaneously a learner and teacher. My years of experience with both has helped me to think about language in a more abstract way.
After all, they are just sounds which we give to the things we sense. A means of communication, a tool or a representation. Words seem to cause both so much mess when it comes to misunderstanding, but yet so much joy when it comes to art. When we are put in a situation where we don’t understand each others sounds, then the language of the body takes over. The facial expressions, gestures, and eyes can convey so much, as well as your general presence. But it can only go so far. There comes a time when you are living in a new country, you haven’t had a meaningful conversation to anyone around you in weeks, and you start to feel strange. You long to learn the language that everyone does, so you can laugh with everyone else or tell others the story of why you’re here. It can make you feel isolated.
Luckily, I’ve grown a lot over the years and I am able to not let the loneliness get to me. My stay here is only short term anyway, so keeping that in mind helps. Instead, I now see Japan as an experiment. A language that has a different script, very different grammar and completely different culture to where I have been before… how much can I learn as I naturally go about my day? I’ve realised that the biggest barrier, and the biggest contributor, to my success in learning a language is the confidence I have to speak up. If I am not confident enough to say a few words I know and risk being rude, silly or inappropriate… then I can immerse myself in a country for years and not learn a word.
Language learning truly is a journey in knowing yourself, and letting yourself break free from the constraints so often put on your potential. It is truly an opportunity to grow as a person, and as a lucky outcome you end up being able to communicate in a different language too. You give yourself the chance to see the world from a different perspective, because learning a language it not just about sounds and words – it’s about ideas and cultures. It’s a game we play with syllables. A game that partly follows the rules of the majority, but also the rules of your own personal experience too. If I’ve learned anything from my experiences, it’s that you can never learn a language perfectly because there is no perfect. It’s always a matter of expression within a certain set of cultural boundaries.
I am reminded every day of the same struggles that my students face, the same insecurities and desires. It helps me to connect with new students, when I let them know that they are not alone. It’s a game we all play. In fact, I learn a lot from my students too. Sometimes it takes a non-native speaker to use the language in a different, more creative way. To naturally put together an expression that I have never heard in English before, but sounds so beautiful. I suppose, or I hope, that when I speak another language that I could be capable of harnessing the same creativity that I see in my students. It is a game after all, or perhaps I could say a work of art. Even Shakespeare made words up, broke the rules and did so with confidence. When we look at language this way, the idea of learning one suddenly becomes a lot more fun.
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