How to Fall in Love With a Language

You may be surprised by the title of this post, and if that is the case, then there is no need to worry, because I felt the same way when I first watched Luca Lampariello’s video that is down below. I have already used this terminology before, but even so, it can be hard to explain why I “am in love” with a language, as falling in love with something is usually only applied to people. On the other hand, falling in love with a language is a passion and a drive. When you experience this feeling and have such a strong connection to one, it is hard to let it go and not be in constant interaction with it.

Although I love all 6 languages that I have studied, it was not until I started learning German that I realized what loving a language truly meant. Before doing so, I had never started a language from scratch, and therefore had never had to go through the full journey of mastering a language. Please keep in mind that I am not fluent in any language other than my two native tongues, Spanish and English, quite yet, but am close to doing so in French, German, and Italian.

To this day, it is hard for me to point out a specific moment in which my infatuation with German grew, however, the simple fact that its grammar, syntax, and ways of phrasing and putting words together was so different from anything that I had ever been asked to do made it thrilling. As I progressed in my German skills, I realized that I could no longer translate from German to English and vice-versa to fully convey my thoughts and express myself. Instead, I had to start thinking like a German and be like one. I could not think of how an American would approach a situation, but rather what a German would say to fill in the gaps in conversations. For example, it is very common for Americans to ask how someone is doing and to receive “good”, or “fine” as a response, when in many cultures saying so may be offensive, or sound exaggerated. In German, I have found it more acceptable to say how I actually feel instead of giving answers that others what me to say (ex: “I am exhausted”, or “I could be better”).

I message my friends whom I met at my language institute in Frankfurt on a daily basis. I have FaceTimed them and have made sure to keep in touch with them by asking them about their lives. Whenever I am sad, or need some motivation to complete a difficult task, I listen to some of my favorite German songs. I also have my phone in German, as it is currently the only langauge that I am not taking in college, so that I can keep it fresh. I watch German YouTube videos, and, most importantly, I keep it close to my heart. It is incorporated into most important parts of my life to ensure that it does not slip away. This does not mean that I go over tedious grammar exercises for hours on end, but rather make it be present throughout the day in whatever ways I can.

As Luca says in the video, in order for you to have a powerful connection with a language, “you have to find a reason…It’s more about the experiences that [you] have with a language, the things that are represented by that language.” I agree with his statement that committing to a language is a lifelong quest. “You have to give it daily care. In order to do that, you have to have some kind of long-term plan, or goal.” You cannot only know how to keep this love story going, but you also have to know why you are trying to do so and know how to deal with this love that you have developed over time. In other words, you have to make your language be present in your life by learning about topics that are personal to you. You have to make it exciting and make some sacrifices by doing whatever you would otherwise do in your mother tongue in your target language (ex: by watching videos, listening to music, or watching cook shows) without forcing yourself, or dreading to do so.

If you have not experienced this feeling yet, I want you to know that I believe in you. Now that 2016 is coming to a clsoe, it is a perfect opportunity for you to reassess what you have done thus far in your language-learning process: what has worked and what has not, as well as what you want to continue to do, what you would like to start doing, and what you should no longer do. Remember that the most important thing is that you enjoy the process, no matter how many roadblocks you may face. It is important to constantly remind yourself why you are learning that language in the first place and to be thankful that that language is a part of your life. Once you remind yourself of all of the people and memories that you associate with it, you will be off to a great start.

As a bonus, here is a link of a Huffington Post article titled: “Falling in Love with a Foreign Language: The Risks of a Metaphor” that you may find interesting: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/lucy-bell/learning-foreign-language_b_7488534.html.

How to Reduce Stress by Meditating in Another Language

Hello, everyone! For anyone who is returning to my blog, thank you so much for your unending support and patience. Despite the fact that I have not posted anything in a few months, I am hoping to get back on track in the upcoming weeks. If you are new to my blog, I am glad that you stumbled upon this post and hope that you stick along for the ride by following it. That being said, I am sure that most of you have experienced some kind of stress recently, because it is that time of the year again. Whether you are a college student who recently took finals, are a high-school student who is in the process of finishing up college applications, or are simply overwhelmed with work, it is easy to forget about the importance of taking time for yourself.

After years of overworking myself and not being as productive as I could be by asking too much of myself, I finally realized that I was missing one thing: practicing self-love and valuing my own worth. It may sound somewhat selfish, when in reality it is one of the most important practices that you can follow. I have learned that I cannot love others if I do not love myself, especially now that I am in college. One of the ways in which I have spent the little free time that I have in my spare moments throughout the week is by meditating. Though this practice may seem unrealistic, or even difficult to some, I hope that you give it a try by the end of this post.

Whenever I have me-time (time for myself to spend it the way that I desire), I like playing relaxing, soothing music and or meditating and reflecting. I recently realized how therapeutical it is and how much it helps heal my soul. Since I knew that it was something that I wanted to start implementing into my daily routine, I figured that it would be most beneficial if I did it in another language. Recently, I have been dealing with a lot of emotions, so I felt that it was best to find a relaxing way that could help clear my mind. If you simply go on YouTube and search "meditating", "meditation", or something of the sort in your target language, hundreds of videos will show up. I personally like watching videos of different people and then subscribing to the channels that I like the most, so that I easily check my feed whenever they post similar videos.

All you have to do is play one of those videos and follow exactly what the person tells you to do. Oftentimes, you will have to close your eyes, take in deep breaths, or simply relax your body. What makes this practice so worthwhile is that you can do it from the comfort of your bed, or home. If you are having a lazy day, but still want to progress in your language learning, you can do so and review words, such as "to breathe", "mind", and "to close" without even thinking about it. In other words, many of us would most likely meditate or relax anyways, so what better way to do so than to do it in another language. 

The video that is above is the first meditation video that I came across in Italian, but feel free to find ones in your own target languages. I hope that this post was helpful for all of you and that you start practicing more self love by healing your entire mind, body, and spirit. 

What’s The Best Age To Learn A Second Language?

One of the most common questions that adults ask themselves regarding language learning is when it is the best time to acquire a new language. Although most studies suggest, and oftentimes scientifically prove, that the ideal time-period is childhood, I hope that you are convinced that this is not always necessarily true.

As the video above explains, there are several theories that suggest that if you get more exposure to a language at a young age, ages 2-13, you have more plasticity in your brain, which is better at making connections and is more adaptable. On the other hand, adults' brains are better at focusing and have complex thought processes, making it faster when learning a new language. The main reason behind this phenomenon is that you are using conscious systematic learning.

That being said, I have met just as many bilingual and multilingual individuals who have acquired a second, or a third language as early as birth up to their 80s. I, myself, have a little bit of bias, as I have always been brought up bilingually and have acquired the benefits that come along with it, but am just as motivated and dedicated to my language studies as individuals who were brought up monolingually. If you want to learn about my experience being raised in a bilingual household and what it was like to attend a bilingual elementary school, make sure to read my post "Raising Your Kids Bilingually” in March 2016. For more information about bilingualism, make sure to read my post “5 Benefits of Bilingualism: Why You Should Be Blingual” in February 2016.

I want to assure you that age is nothing but a number and that anyone is capable of starting from scratch, or of restarting language learning at any age. Due to our incredible brains, we are able to acquire new information at a rapid speed and have the possibility of communicating with all types of people. If you are above 13 and are reading this, do not automatically beat yourself up and tell yourself that you can never learn another language. Most importantly, try not to get into the mentality that you are too old, or were not a good enough student in your language class, and therefore cannot pick one up. My biggest recommendation is to get into a positive mindset, and even trick yourself into believing that you will reach a somewhat difficult goal sooner than you would expect. It is all psychological: if you tell yourself that you can do it, the motivation will come more easily. As the little blue engine said, "Can you do it?"... "Yes you can."

If you were struggling with motivating yourself to start, or to build up on your language, you might benefit by reading my post titled "How to Stay Motivated When Learning a Language" in March 2016. Aside from that, make sure to watch inspirational YouTubers who were monolingual a few years back, but have come to master, and to become fluent in dozens of languages. My favorite polyglots from which to gain inspiration are: Benny Lewis, Tim Doner (I have an entire post devoted to how he inspired me to become a hyperpolyglot titled "Tim Doner: The Hyperpolyglot That Inspired Me" in February 2016), and Luca Lampariello.

How to Speak Multiple Languages Without Mixing Them Up

I have recently been thinking of possible topics for my next post on this blog, and wanted to give some useful tips on a topic on which I have briefly touched up: speaking multiple languages and how to go about speaking them with ease. I recently watched the video that is down below by Langfocus, one of my favorite polyglot YouTubers who not only posts videos about language learning, but also about linguistics. Below, I will be giving you 3 tips that he gives in this video and will briefly expand on them to give you some concrete and practical ways on how to not mix up all of the languages that you speak. Make sure to read my previous posts about learning multiple languages titled “How To Learn Multiple Languages At A Time” in March 2016 and “Taking Classes in Multiple Languages: My Experience and Advice” in April 2016.

Tip #1: Refine your pronunciation

Although pronunciation may not be many language learners’ number one priority, especially when they are starting to get comfortable in another language, I believe that it is one of the most important aspects of a language. Pronunciation is ultimately what distinguishes one language from another, even languages that are very similar and belong to the same language family (ex: Spanish and Italian that are both Romance languages). If you speak many languages, whether they belong to the same language family, or are not related to each other whatsoever, in order to fluidly and quickly switch from one language to the next, you should be very comfortable saying the phonology and words as a native speaker would. This does not mean that having accents is bad, but should encourage you to continue perfecting your accent as much as possible. Even though it may not sound feasible, it is possible to eventually sound like a native speaker. In this case, practice makes perfect.

You may be asking yourself: “How do I refine my pronunciation? How should I go about doing so?”.  That is a very difficult question to answer, because everyone has different methodologies to go about doing so. I, however, will give you a few tips that have worked for me over the years. The first is to speak as early and as often as you can. I have an entire post devoted to this topic titled “Being Afraid of Making Mistakes in Another Language” in January 2016, so feel free to check it out for a more in-depth explanation about this. The more speakers (native and non-native alike) with whom you interact and speak, the more chances are that you will be kindly corrected if you ask them to do so, or if they want to help you improve.

Just as a baby mimics his parents’ mouths and the sounds that they make, you should do the same. By making mistakes, you will learn the difference between two words whose spelling is similar, but whose pronunciation is different, and will be able to distinguish right from wrong. Bad, or flawed pronunciation could lead to accidentally insulting someone, or to a frustrating miscommunication, so make sure to get as much exposure as possible. On the other hand, if you ever find yourself in either of these situations, do not panic, ask for clarification if possible, and laugh it off. Not saying something correctly can, in most cases, lead to more good than harm, because you are reminded about what you should have said differently. I also have an entire post devoted to improving your accent called “How to Improve Your Accent in a Language” in April 2016.


Tip #2: 100% commitment

The next tip is just as important as the first. If you are not 100% committed to each individual language, or have not put enough time into your studies, you can easily become discouraged. Just as professional athletes who want to eventual compete in the Olympics train for years, you should have a positive mentality when tackling more than one language. You should constantly remind yourself that you if you surpass a certain level, that you will eventually be able to read a short chapter book, or effectively communicate with your German friend. In other words, you should try to stay motivated. Feel free to read my post titled “How to Stay Motivated When Learning a Language” in March 2016.

When having to speak more than one language at a time, or instantly, you should close the door behind you. Whichever language you were speaking before is no longer as relevant as the language that you are now speaking. You should make a conscious effort to tell yourself “Now it is time to speak (language).” By doing so, you are mentally preparing yourself for what is next, and do not become as frazzled trying to make do with the few words that you can remember in the next language. This helps you turn on a signal in your brain that will make it easier for you to effectively communicate in another language.

3   Tip #3: Imagine scenes that remind you of that language

The third tip that he gives is by far the most abstract, and is the hardest to explain how to do, but I will try my best to give you a detailed explanation of this type of scenario. One of the most effective methods to not only learn vocabulary and improve your pronunciation in another language is by imagining scenes that remind you of that language. I have already watched countless videos of polyglots who have used this method, and who have learned much faster than the majority of their acquaintances by doing so. Associating scenes with a language is a great way to think about cultural nuances and norms that are different and that distinguish a language from another one.

The most classic example that he uses, and that I have heard many times, is imagining a café in Paris when speaking French. You usually picture the pouring of a coffee, and eating a fresh baked baguette. Many locals go to cafes with other friends, or alone and work on their laptops. Those who go with friends tend to discuss how their families are, and how their jobs are going, just to name a few common topics of conversation. If you personally have been to Paris, you may remember the voice of your waiter at the café, and you may distinctly remember his Parisian accent and talking to you so quickly that you had to ask for clarification. Whichever scene you can vividly envision will help you to be in the mindset of a local. In other words, you will no longer be, say, your American-self, but rather your French-self.

As I mentioned in my post “Personality Changes When Speaking Multiple Language” in February 2016, you become a new you for every language that you speak. You cannot roll your tongue the same way that you do in Spanish as you do for English, and you should pay attention to how you use your throat to pronounce words in an authentic French-sounding way. Getting in the zone and taking control of your perception can make you more excited to be a new you and pay attention to the world around you through new lenses. Your world perception can change remarkably by being culturally aware and willing to pay attention to different languages’ nuances.

I hope that all of you language-lovers found this post helpful in some way, and that you learned a few tips that could help you be a little less anxious speaking multiple languages.