(This is a picture of me in Lisbon at Plaza del Comercio, thinking about similarities between Portuguese and Spanish.)
When teachers give outlines to their students about five-paragraph essays in the United States, many suggest the use of dictionary definitions to begin these papers. The Webster-Merriam dictionary says that language is defined as “words, their pronunciation, and the methods of combining them used and understood by a community.” While a dictionary can tell you how the academic community considers a word, oftentimes it is incomplete or mildly incompatible with the way that it used within one of these communities. For example, one could spend their entire life learning language through a dictionary or a textbook or one could live in a place that speaks the language and learn from their friends and acquaintances. Albeit, one could argue that these actions are not mutually exclusive. Nevertheless, language learning tends to fall in one of these categories. Either a student spends their time studying a foreign language in their home country or the person spends time “abroad” immersing themselves in a language. Contemporary thought suggests that a combination of the two is ideal. Although I do not necessarily agree that starting an essay with a definition is the most intelligent way to begin a conversation, I do think that contemporary thought hit the nail on the head with a combination of classroom learning and then cultural immersion through study abroad in order to acquire fluency in a non-native language.
My first experience with the Spanish language came in the 3rd grade. My friends Emerson and Yessica are of Mexican descent and used to teach Spanish to me. At the time, I did not take much interest of the study of a language other than English. I was more concerned with passing my vocabulary test on words like “different” or “similar.” In middle school and high school, I exclusively studied French and a little bit of Latin. I even went abroad to Biarritz, France during high school to study this language, but only for two weeks.
During my second year of college, I had a language requirement at Pitzer. Instead of returning to French, I decided that Spanish would be the best option since there were ample opportunities to practice it in California. Also, it was very practical since I relished in the thought that I could speak in another language at my favorite Mexican food joints in Pomona, like Lily’s or Santana’s. I also wanted to study in Costa Rica and learn more about ecology so I needed some Spanish practice. After two semesters of Spanish, I spent 3 months in Costa Rica living with two families that could say no more than “hello” in English. Total cultural immersion served as a vehicle to language learning.
While in Costa Rica, I learned an important lesson about how to augment language confidence abilities. Many people simply translate the meaning of an unknown word to their friends. However, I learned the skill of using words in Spanish that I knew to describe a word that I did not know in the language. This has served as my secret to success throughout my time with the language. Simple translation between languages does not provide the psychological mechanism necessary for lasting comprehension. This methods values the repetition of the translated word in order to secure reenforcement. A far more successful method is to practice association of a new word with something you already know. The ability to describe unknown words in words you already know leads to greater reinforcement than the simple repetition method.
In the aftermath of Costa Rica, I longed for opportunities to practice the language. I participated in a community-based program at Pitzer that allowed me to eat dinner with a family in Ontario, a city next to Claremont with a large Hispanic population, and practice my Spanish. Additionally, I spent the following summer in Claremont with a friend of a friend named Eleazar from Cadiz, Spain. He paid rent and stayed for two months at my house with me and my friend Nick. During this time, I learned a plethora of new Spanish vocabulary. During my senior year of College, I practiced Spanish with some of my American friends.
All of this history helped me eventual transition to not just studying abroad but living abroad in Madrid. For the last four months, I have immersed myself in the culture as well as I can. I attended many intercambios, meetups at bars where English and Spanish speakers take turns practicing their language skills. I also live in a shared apartment with four others – two Spaniards, one German, and one Italian. This has provided me the opportunity for new language learning. At the end of the day, language has been one of the greatest art forms, opening up my eyes to the beauty of communication. Previously people that I could never talk to have new insights to offer me. One question I still must ponder, “Is language simply artistic, or is language simply a manifestation of art forms?”
baucebeat 