A couple of years later I accepted an assignment from
a client that landed me in Mexico City. I thought that
here was another chance to learn Spanish. I bought some
language tapes and used them for a few weeks. I thought
that with the tapes and being around people all day that
spoke Spanish, I was bound to learn. Once again I found
that “I wasn’t getting it”, although
I did learn how to order off any menu I saw in Mexico
(I love food). The business meetings I attended and the
work I was doing were all conducted in English, so I was
able to complete my assignment without having to know
Spanish. I realized that the menu “thing”
was a clue for me. That because food was something I had
a strong interest in I had force myself to learn enough
Spanish to be able to take advantage of my love of food.
Had I stumbled upon some unknown method of learning? Was
this an epiphany that would unlock the secret to learning
a language? Well no, I have found through some articles
I’ve read that this “secret” is well
known. That if some interest, desire, need, or desperation
is present that makes you want to (or have to) learn the
language them you will learn the language.
Unfortunately
my interest in ordering food is not a big enough basis
to learn a whole language, and that’s “the
rub” as they say. So the question becomes is my
desire to learn Spanish going to be enough to motivate
me to learn Spanish. The articles I read also related
a couple of other interesting facts. One, the people that
learn languages easily are in the minority and two that
it takes a lot of effort to learn a language.
So
now I am trying an immersion program, which is taking
a lot of effort. I believe in the adage that “hard
work is it’s own reward” and hopefully I will
reap the benefit of my efforts. But it’s not just
plodding along memorizing words and trying to follow grammar
rules that will give me the results I want. I have to
use Spanish in order for it to make sense, and that has
certainly been the hardest part. It’s embarrassing
to sound like Tonto from the Lone Ranger (me go, you stay),
but I know that’s what it will take. They say that
learning a new language can be fun, but I guess it’s
all a matter of your perspective, but there is another
old adage I believe in which is “it is what you
make of it”.
