So You Aren't Fluent, Four Reasons Why You Didn't Waste Your Time Learning that Language
Many people worldwide are required to learn a second language in school; however, if you were to take a poll on how effective these classes were, the results would be abysmal.
Even I fell victim to this. After taking four years of high school Spanish, including AP Spanish, I took the Spanish placement exam to enter university. I received the news that I placed in Spanish 2 with review of 1, so I had learned practically nothing in the last four years of classes, nothing that allowed me to communicate effectively. This poor performance made me question if I wasted my time trying. Yet, looking back, I can think of many situations where I had a blast with my friends, and it did save me the cost of one Spanish class in college. But my goal was to be fluent.
I spent the following years working on trying to master Spanish while my other interests got in the way. Years and years later, I can finally say that I am comfortable in Spanish. It wasn't easy, though, and all of my English language learners will say the same regarding their English journeys. Learning another language to fluency takes a lot of time and commitment. This commitment is why most adult learners fail to succeed in their language learning journeys, so if you don't have the years needed to get to fluency, is it still worthwhile to study a second language?
These are my top reasons for learning a second (or third, fourth, fifth, etc.) when fluency isn't the goal.
- Empathy and patience: Once you experience the difficulty of learning another language, you will better understand what someone else is going through when they communicate with you in a second language.
- Appreciation and Respect: When you take the time to learn even basic phrases, it shows that you are interested in a communities culture. This gesture can go a long way in bettering cross-cultural communication.
- Critical Thinking and Problem-solving: Accessing another language allows you to think about situations and problems in a different way. Because vocabulary, grammar structure, and application are all different, it can enable you to think about situations from many different angles. Researcher Lera Boroditsky has a wonderful TedTalk on this idea.
- Entertainment: Frankly, language learning can be so much fun. When you learn another language as an adult, you can learn on your terms and focus on the aspects of learning that most excite you. Whether it is music, food, or anything else, it will be fun to learn.
These days, when I study a language, I don't make it the goal to achieve fluency but to focus on the knowledge gained each time I sit down to study or practice. This change in focus has helped me be happy with my progress instead of feeling stuck. When I work with my students, I recommend not putting so much pressure on themselves to attain fluency. Regardless of your language learning goal, fluency is a vague term that will change depending on whom you interact with. Focus on making measurable goals and the other benefits of studying another language, and it will be easier to stay motivated.
And remember that wherever you are on this journey, you haven't wasted your time.