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Broaden your linguistic horizons
Have you considered learning a second language?
In the last year I've met several people taking language classes for career purposes, including a judge who wants to improve services in her courtroom, firefighters who need to calm people in a crisis, an arts school secretary who wants to communicate better with students, and an OB-GYN who learned to say "Push!" in a second language before she mastered basic grammar.
I've also met people who are learning languages for personal reasons, including an adoptive mother who wants to raise her foreign-born child bilingually.
I encountered all these people -- and more -- over the last 18 months while taking classes myself. The language we've all been studying is Spanish, and we all have different reasons for being in the classroom. I am working on a personal goal of being bilingual and a professional goal of being able to more capably oversee translation of my company's materials, including this column.
While I wouldn't say I'm ready for the United Nations (I'm probably about a lifetime away from fluency), I'm still closer than I would have expected to be at this stage.
Having studied French in college has helped me understand some of the grammar points in Spanish -- while also making a wreck of my pronunciation. No matter how hard I try to rewire my brain, the non-English word that comes to mind first in class is almost always French, and then Spanish. This three-way translating has led to some particularly dopey answers to some easy questions.
Nor are the errors limited to the classroom. Last month I was visiting a friend in Washington and stopped by a little food cart operated by Hispanics -- and probably largely for Hispanics. Undaunted, I walked up to the window, ordered a large decaf coffee and came away with . . . a monstrously huge can of chilled coconut juice. Was it my imagination, or was that server laughing at me?
Inexplicably, despite all the humiliations involved in this process, I feel more confident these days, not less. How is it possible to be continuously wrong but come away feeling better about oneself?
That's the mysterious power of learning a second language, and it's one of several good reasons for adding this task to your list of resolutions this year.
If, like me, you're unlikely to be taking an extended trip to another country anytime soon, you'll have to settle for nonimmersion methods of study. Here are several that I have tried and enjoyed.
Semi-private tutor: I started my studies in the living room of an instructor from Central America who teaches small groups to converse in Spanish. The relaxed setting is probably one reason I feel comfortable making mistakes in front of others; the wine he served occasionally didn't hurt, either.
Language-school classes: Using a certificate from a silent auction, I took a 10-week evening session in a Spanish language school. The class was larger and the approach was more formal, but we still focused mostly on conversation.
Community education classes: The teacher was much less prepared than I expected, and there were no teaching materials except the blackboard. Even so, I enjoyed the variety of students and the casual setting.
College courses: I am auditing my second college course in Spanish, and I couldn't be more pleased. After laying a foundation with the earlier learning experiences, I am ready to practice reading and writing and to apply a more rigorous pace to the study. The audit fee is reasonable, and it's fun to be around students half my age.
Other options include coffee-shop conversation groups, books, CDs, DVDs and online study. In my town of St. Paul, Minn., the public library offers free online access to the Rosetta Stone program for city residents.
If the second language you choose to learn is Spanish, there's almost no end to the free and low-cost ways to study. My cable service offers several Spanish-language stations, my radio picks up at least three Spanish stations, and I even can switch "Desperate Housewives" to a Spanish version.
Is it worth all this trouble? Am I going to become bilingual? I don't know; ask me (in Spanish) in a year or two. In the meantime, I'm feeling good about myself, I've gained a deeper understanding of other cultures, and I've met people I never would have met otherwise. I also got to drink an enormous can of coconut juice. What's the downside?
- Amy Lindgren owns Prototype Career Service, a career consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn. She can be reached at alindgren@prototypecareerservice.com or at 1071 W. Seventh St., St. Paul, MN 55102.
