It is unfortunate that the act of learning and mastering a new language is generally viewed as a chore and not an opportunity.
As for me, the first new language I learned was English, starting my formal (and informal) studies soon after I arrived in the United States in 1979, from the former Soviet Union. I was six. I started first grade at Cabrillo Elementary School in San Francisco’s Richmond District in January 1980. After a few months of ESL (English as a Second Language), I was moved to the mainline first grade class, where I, like others, worked on learning how to read, pronounce, enunciate, and write. I remember (now somewhat vaguely) pronouncing words in my head, to make sure I was getting them right. No one in my household spoke a lick of English, except for my father, who taught himself the Queen’s English (beg your pardon) in our native Ukraine. Thankfully, most six-year olds, including myself, are sponges, and as far as I can recall I was able to pick up English rather quickly. In second grade, I was placing well, if not winning, spelling bees. I found myself in an accelerated learning class in fourth grade. In fifth grade, I moved to a new school (Stuart Hall), across town, in San Francisco’s tony Pacific Heights neighborhood. There, I started learning French, which continued for eight years, until my last year in high school.
Besides not knowing English (with the exception of my dad), like most newly-arrived immigrants my parents and grandparents were running around, just to make ends meet. In the San Francisco public schools of the early 1980s, it was mostly sink-or-swim. While most of my initial friends were likely from the former Soviet Union, I recall most of our conversations, for better or worse, in English. I recall embracing the opportunity. I was here (in the United States) and this (learning English) was simply something that I needed to do (quickly). Put otherwise, it was a priority, inasmuch as anything can be a priority for a six-year old. It helped as well that there was accountability at home, mostly from my maternal grandmother, who was always asking me about my classwork and homework (although not in the position to explain or help me with it).
As my English improved, my Russian regressed. When we arrived, I could speak it fine, but I could not read or write. Over the years, I have more or less maintained my ability to speak the language and, regrettably, only now, 41 years later, I am making a concerted effort to learn how to read and write it.
Why learn a new language? For starters, colleges require it. For example, the University of California system requires two (and recommends three) years of the same language other than English. Some colleges require three (and recommend four). In turn, high schools require it, and some middle schools offer it. Even elementary schools have joined the act, with one featuring Mandarin immersion not too far from where I live.
As intimated above, I did not have a choice not to learn English. I enjoyed French, and did well in it, but I remember it being more of a chore. Have I used it much since concluding my studies in high school? Not really. On a business trip to Brussels, many years ago, I asked a question in French, and received a response in perfect English. Visits to Paris, not the most welcoming city to Americans, were ameliorated by knowing the language, although it was not an absolute necessity. My French did come in quite handy in a visit to Martinique, an overseas French territory, when I was able to freely converse with the hotel clerk about some at that time seemingly important matter. I can read contracts and legal opinions in French, perhaps with a little assistance from a French-English dictionary and/or Google Translate. That all said, put me in front a television with French-only programs for a week, and I can assure you that most of my knowledge of and facility with the language will come back.
To be sure, it easier to learn a new language once you have a few (including English) under your belt. As applied, at least qualitatively, picking up Spanish seems easier having (a long time ago) mastered French. In full disclosure, to date my Spanish is limited to what I have been able to pick up watching La Liga or LigaMX matches (I am a soccer aficionado if that is not clear yet) and picking up a word or phrase here and there over the years. That said, it seems that there is enough of an overlap between Spanish, French, and English that I could make my way through a basic conversation. A trip to Spain a couple of years ago, including a La Liga match, confirmed this.
Other languages are more tricky, although still manageable. In Prague, I used a combination of English and (mostly) Russian to successfully navigate a few conversations. Thankfully, again, there is enough overlap among the Slavic languages that knowing one can help you navigate many of the others.
I could go on, but I think you get the point.
In a world that is getting smaller by the day, global fluency is no longer a choice, nor is knowing just English (or any other one language). While English remains the predominant language of business, and cross-border transactions, it is also the case that not inconsiderable business is conducted in other languages, including Spanish, French, Mandarin, and Japanese, just to name a few. Further, language fluency helps ensure that less is lost in translation. Thus, if you are fluent in two languages, and generally understand the colloquialisms in each language, you can help ensure that there is a meeting of the minds between the parties. More broadly, you cannot understand a certain place and culture without understanding its language. Again, as the world gets smaller, as it has during this pandemic, this will become even more important. Along the same lines, learning and mastering a new language engenders empathy, which, regrettably, is in short supply these days. Simply put, then, a new language is a new opportunity, a window into a new world, but it requires a lot of work. It requires accountability, consistency, structure, persistence, and practice. As with any subject, before you can run, you need to learn to crawl, then to walk. Success, then, will depend on developing a solid foundation, followed by practice, practice, and more practice.
Thoughts welcomed.
Resources
https://admission.universityofcalifornia.edu/counselors/graduation-requirements/language/
The Peninsula Hiking Club 