What really is the problem with learning languages?
They really are not difficult. Yes, they might be hard work and demanding, but really all there is to it is:
• Being proactive
• Getting organised
• Working out what you need to learn ….
• Practise the four skills – listening, speaking, reading and writing
• And learning it
• Having a go
• Collecting language
• Even grammar is not hard – there are just five points
1) Verbs (tenses, voices, mood and person)
2) Word order – default and proactive
3) Parts of speech
4) Prepositions
5) Number and gender
And pepper it up with a few idioms and idiosyncrasies.
There really is not too much to contend with. You don’t have to be clever or intelligent. But you do have to be prepared to do the sweat. Be motivated enough and visit it often enough and it just happens. If you haven’t got that motivation you can’t find the sticking power.
One of the greatest obstacles to motivation is shyness. We Brits do tend to be very self-conscious about making the effort in another language. In fact, most native speakers of English are. It is because we know everybody can speak our language, so we know it’s a type of false game.
And yet, there are a few who buy into the game and play it well. They end up communicating and understanding and reaching out a hand to another culture.
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I would like to argue the case for learning Esperanto, the international language.It is a planned language which belongs to no one country or group of states. Take a look at www.esperanto.net
Esperanto works! I've used it in speech and writing in a dozen countries over recent years.
Indeed, the language has some remarkable practical benefits. Personally, I've made friends around the world through Esperanto that I would never have been able to communicate with otherwise. And then there's the Pasporta Servo, which provides free lodging and local information to Esperanto-speaking travellers in over 90 countries. In the past year I have had guided tours of Berlin and Milan in the planned language. I have discussed philosophy with a Slovene poet, humour on television with a Bulgarian TV producer. I've discussed what life was like in East Berlin before the wall came down, how to cook perfect spaghetti, the advantages and disadvantages of monarchy, and so on. I recommend it, not just as an ideal but as a very practical way to overcome language barriers.
What do you think?
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