My Unsteady Path of Learning a New Language

What if I told you that you could live in a foreign country for 10 years and still not speak their language?  

I’ve been in a French-speaking country for a year and three months, and my French is still struggling. It’s funny, old me would have assumed that by now, I’d be speaking like a native. I was wrong.

The truth is, learning a new language is not easy. It certainly takes hard work. 

Stepping into the unknown is scary. The learning curve can feel intimidating, so we keep postponing the start.

Our minds fill with doubts and excuses: ‘I can’t.’ ‘I’ll do it tomorrow.’ ‘What will they think?’

For 10 years, I dreaded riding a bike. After falling numerous times, collecting scars, and enduring jeers and laughter, I gave up trying.

The desire was there, but the willingness was not. 

When I came to France, my colleague offered me a bike and I couldn’t say no. I gladly accepted knowing very well I had no clue on how to control the two-wheeled motor. 

I left the bike in the garage for almost a month, but since I was paying rent for it, I figured I might as well use it.

One day, out of boredom, I woke up, took the bike and went to the apartment’s backyard to finally face my fears. Aware of the many eyes on me, I crossed my fingers, took a deep breath, and swallowed my ‘phobia’.

I sat on the bike, gripped the handlebars, and fixed my eyes ahead as my mind repeated, ‘Always look forward, keep your eyes off the tire.

Those were the words I had heard over and over during my early riding days.

I pushed the pedal forward, got on track, and tried to pedal again. I missed the turn, my feet dangled in the air, and my eyes dropped to my legs. Yet, my mind kept chanting, ‘Always look forward, keep your eyes off the tire.’

I don’t know what happened, all I know is that, my determination to finally ride this bike was stronger and I was willing to fake it till I make it.  

Without stopping, I lifted my gaze and focused ahead. After a few seconds of near chaos, I finally found my balance. And that’s how I learned to ride a bike.

Learning a new language is analogous to learning how to ride a bike, swim, cook or master your course work. Point is any new skill requires effort.

Our minds either push us forward or hold us back with fear.

We also tend to settle into our comfort zones.

For instance, after seven months of speaking broken French in France and overcoming my fear of making mistakes, I finally pushed myself out of my comfort zone.

But the moment, I realized I could communicate in English while in France and Switzerland, I relaxed. I started abandoning French and it started feeling foreign once again.

When you sow a seed, it needs care, water, warmth, light, and a touch of love. With the right nurturing, it sprouts, and a young plant begins to grow.

Once its roots become strong and steady, the plant gains independence.

That’s exactly how learning a language works. It takes months, even years, of nurturing.

The problem? I stopped nurturing my baby French at nine months old. The moment I obtained my B2 French level certificate, I sighed in relief and stopped caring as much.

Don’t be like me.

Learning a new language should feel like a game. Learn a phrase today and throw it into every conversation you have.

Use those phrases everywhere, even when they don’t fit, until you’ve mastered them. Then, keep learning more.

To wrap it up, if I spend two years in this country and my French still isn’t good, my fellow countrymen have every right to come and drag me back home!