Learning a second language has always been a dream of mine. It's a goal I am striving to accomplish, but there are some things about learning a second language that can be a bit overwhelming.The language I am trying to learn is Spanish. Everyone has different reasons for wanting to learn another language. One of my main reasons is that my boyfriend already knows Spanish, so it would be nice to be able to understand what he's saying when he starts making comments in his second language. Another reason is that I one day hope to raise my children to be bilingual. I also think it would be a good skill for any career path I might choose.
I have a lot of motivation to learn Spanish, but learning a second language always comes with struggles. For example: vocabulary. Obviously to learn another language you need to learn the words of that language. Luckily there are some words that are cognates (words that have similar spelling and meaning). In Spanish for example: la cultura= culture, la naturaleza= nature, la montaña= mountain. There are many more. Those make it easy to grasp many of the words, but there are also false cognates (words that look similar to a word in your own language, but have a different meaning). There are many examples of these too: el campo= countryside, el pie= foot, embarazada= pregnant, pregunta= question. These words can cause some stress, but it's something you just have to memorize. It's part of the process to learning a language.
Grammar is another thing that can be overwhelming. The thing is, we don't always use correct grammar in our own language. In every day life we say things differently than what we were taught in school. For example, many people think nothing if someone says, "He did good." When actually it should be, " He did well." While this particular instance is not a big problem in English, there are some grammar mistakes that can cause a huge misunderstanding if used incorrectly. Grammar is an important thing to grasp. It can change the meaning of what you are trying to communicate in another languages. Learning the grammar of Spanish is my biggest challenge.
Communicating is the goal of learning a language. You have to take all of the elements you learn and put them together to form sentences. When first starting the sentences you form are going to be small. That is the stage I am at. I'm just starting out. As you learn your sentences will begin to get more complex.
Part of learning a language is to be understood, but also to make sure you understand others. In my Spanish class we have different assessments: reading, writing, speaking, and listening. Listening is actually harder than one would think it would be. People tend to speak quickly and it's difficult to catch everything that's being said. Being able to listen and understand will be a skill that will grow over time.
Reading and writing are very important to learning a language. I once tried learning Greek from one of those CD learning programs. I thought it was going well, but I didn't stick with it. The thing with those CDs is that they don't teach you reading and writing. My teacher said that those CDs can teach you to speak, but in that language you would be illiterate. It's important to learn all of the aspects of a language. Reading and writing are just as important as being able to speak and listen.
Learning a language can be discouraging at times. There are a lot of elements to it, but you can track your progression. There are numerous rewards to learning a second language. It opens you up to whole other world. You get to experience another culture. You can listen and understand new music and movies. You can read books in another language. You can communicate with people. You never know who you will meet. There is a whole new world that you get to be a part of once you learn a new language. Don't let yourself be intimidated. To get somewhere you have to start somewhere. It's a long process, but it's one that is deffinitely worth it.
