Languages

Slight caveat here, this is actually a hobby I picked up 497 days ago but it counts as my most recent! You’re probably thinking that’s a very precise measure of the length of time and you would be absolutely right. However, it’s hard to miss as every time I look at my home screen the Duolingo streak is at the top left corner.

I picked up language learning again for a very specific reason, my trip to Austria. I hate being the typical British tourist, expecting my native language to be understood around the world and making no effort to learn at least the basics. In Austria the language spoken is German so I spent about 20 weeks or so trying to cram in as much as I could on Duolingo. To be fair to myself I could get around the city of Salzburg and exchange the basic pleasantries or questions and get us served in a shop or restaurant. I just wish I could have done more.

Now, I could have stuck with one language and just let it be a more academic process, and I did try. The problem was that I didn’t retain the focus because I wasn’t sure if or when I would go to a German speaking country again. I decided to add Japanese to vary things. We are planning a trip to Japan but probably not for another couple of years at least. Japanese, though, is something of a sore point. When I went over there I had a wife and two children as well as a full time job to focus on and the pressure from all sides was intense. I ended up with a very basic and functional level of Japanese which, I found out at the end of my second year, was regarded as an indication of laziness and lack of respect by my colleagues in the schools and head office connected to the JET programme. Nothing could be further from the truth and it meant that I ended up resentful in my third year, staying to earn as much money as possible and pretty much ignoring them. I can’t tell if I want to atone or to stick two fingers up at them metaphorically speaking when I go back! I suspect it’s the latter!

A few weeks back I found myself adding a third language! My daughter announced that I was going to Poland with her, her sister and her brother! We are going to Krakow in October and now Polish has been added to my Duolingo portfolio. It is, without doubt, the most difficult language I have tried to learn so far. The pronunciation is incredibly difficult, as nothing is phonetic in any identifiable way, and the words themselves will not stick in my head at all. I am looking at my current seven week deadline for the trip and thinking that there’s no way I can possibly learn or retain anything useful. If nothing else it’s a very useful insight into a language learning experience for someone who is an EAP teacher!

When I am in charge of the timescale I will be able to learn at a more relaxed pace and I will phase Swedish in sometime next year with a proposed trip in 2028! Wish me luck 🙏