Week 6 Learning a Second Language

Learning a second language can be a challenging task for some, yet for others it can come very easily. I had the opportunity to interview a Local lady named Anna who not only was fluent in English and German, but Spanish as well. Retaining other languages was somewhat simple for her as she found interest in all of the benefits that came along with learning how to interact and talk with others from another culture. I noticed while communicating with her that she was very confident in her presentation and word choice as she has a lot of background studying words. Anna’s first language is English and then she decided to Take German and Spanish in school which she is now getting a degree in both languages so she can one day become a teacher to help others learn the languages that influenced her life in many ways.

Anna wanted to learn the languages because she was really interested in becoming multilingual, and languages themselves always intrigued her. The way people have evolved in different areas with completely different alphabets and vocal sounds is something that has influenced her to travel to experience the usage first hand. The similarities and differences in the structure of languages was a challenge for her as she seems to be one who wants to accomplish hard tasks learning all there is to improve her life. Anna is a quarter German, and still has family living in Germany, so she wants to learn more about their culture to be able to pass it on to the future generations of her family. I thought that was a really sweet statement as it seems like not very many people these days are looking back into their family tree trying to keep traditions alive, but Anna is one of the exceptions.

The process of learning the languages was hard at the beginning but over time it became easier for her to understand and use it correctly. The first foreign language Anna learned was Spanish, a romance language, which she said was very easy to be introduced to because the sentence structure and rules of grammar are pretty similar to those of the English language, especially in the way they are taught. German was her second language which was very different because it is a lot more strict. For instance, the verb is always the second part of a basic sentence, and in most clauses the verb has to be at the end, and usually the prepositions always come at the end of the sentence too. This was confusing for me to understand at first but she did a great job explaining it as she could tell I was lost by the look on my face. Anna said that the German language just has a lot of rules that English doesn´t have, so it was difficult to get used to at the beginning but now she can speak it fluently.

There are many advantages to knowing more than one language. For Anna it was being able to speak with more people, or to have the opportunity to work within Europe and overseas. She wouldn’t be able to use German much if she chose to work in the United States because it is pretty uncommon there, but to live in London she could then move to almost any European city as she would be able to find work that would involve speaking or translating German, since it is quite widely used in this part of the world. She said that it is helping her learn more by being connected with her family’s ancestry and history.

Some of the disadvantages to knowing more than one language would be getting them confused with one another. Learning the grammar and spelling of other languages she said has actually hindered her English grammar and spelling, just because there are so many rules going through her head it is hard to keep them straight sometimes. This would become very distracting for me to try and differentiate them from one another while trying to hold a conversation in the right context. Overall, Anna came to the conclusion that there were no real disadvantages to knowing more than one language, as it has benefited her in many ways.

The most significant impact on Anna’s life by knowing more than one language is that it has given her the chance to travel all over Europe and experience not only one other culture, but the tons of European cultures because the countries are so close. She said that she tries to travel a lot as she gets to meet people from all over the world, talk to them and learn about their countries. Anna quoted that “being able to communicate in a foreign language has given me a new perspective on how the world is viewed through the eyes of another culture and society”. I think that this was a huge impact on her life from an outsider’s view as we had a wonderful conversation on languages.

I would say that for someone else to know another language would be very valuable information to obtain if they ever wanted to travel a lot or especially for extended periods of time spent in another country. It would also provide a better job position if you are looking for a career, as being bilingual or even multilingual is rare. Having not only the ability to speak to someone of another language, but the ability to do so well is a major factor as many sounds cans be similar to one another. I also think that learning another language would not only increase his/her knowledge but use more of the brain.

If I were to learn another language it would be Spanish. Geographically, where I live on the west coast of the United States, there are many Mexicans and it would be nice to be able to talk to them in their native tongue. It would also benefit me to learn Spanish if I was to travel to Mexico or even other parts of the world, as it would be a lot easier to get around. To know if I was getting ripped off for something I wanted to buy or even if there was a bad situation, I could get help easier by knowing what to ask for. I think that learning another language would benefit me in a lot of ways just like it did in Anna’s case. Language is constantly changing as some are no longer in existence and others are just now coming into play. Without having the ability to communicate to one another, the world as we know it would be no longer. That is why I think it would be interesting to know another language, so I can help keep languages alive in honor of our ancestors and for the children of the future.