No, this is not an advertisement for #GoPros (although GoPro if you wanna sponsor me I’m open). Am I talking about people who are regular bank clerks by day and crime fighters by night? Nay. I’m talking about language heroes. I already mentioned them in a recent blogpost about being like water. According to the calypso dictionary of language learning, a language hero is somebody that will sit with you, through the good and the bad, and help you learn a language. They will be patient, listen, try to understand, and answer in your target language. When this fails, they will translate or help. You’ll schedule meetings, hang out, and be socializing in your target language. It will be difficult for both, but ultimately, you’ll both get something out of it, whether it’s friendship, company, or a pure language exchange. I think back to all the people that have helped me learn Dutch and I’m incredibly grateful. To this day, I still have some friends that I ask for these ‘favors.’ I think this is crucial. In order for you to properly learn a new language you need to stop thinking in the ones you already know and get your brain geared into the new one. When you’re fully immersed in an environment, the cues that your brain is taking in are purely in your target language. Add some conversations, that would normally be too difficult with strangers, and you’ll be speeding this process up tenfold.
A language hero is somebody that, in one way or another, will help by dedicating some of their time and effort to conversation with you. Despite your desire to switch to your own mother tongue, despite the difficulty you are having in the conversation, they will be a stoic example of the target language, helping you learn. Obviously, this is something both people and both parties need to want. That is, you need to be open to have somebody correct you; this is not a very easy situation to live with, actually. You also need to find somebody that will put up with you making mistakes and forgo a ‘normal’ conversation that they otherwise would be having. More on the first point, to illustrate, I think this is the reason why a lot of people give up on language learning. It’s hard. It’s hard to hear you making mistakes. All. The. Time. It does something to your motivation and it stops conversation. For this reason, I recommend, at least in the beginning and intermediate stages, to ask to be corrected only in fundamental errors you’ll be making. For instance, verb/word use. I would not, for instance, unless I’m advanced, care much which article a specific word takes. Basically, use the 80/20 principle (80% percent result with 20% effort, in this case, 20% mistakes corrected). The language hero relationship is unique. It need not be one of real friendship, though it helps a lot to be interested in the other person. On the other hand, I also think it’s hard to be in a romantic relationship with your language heroes, albeit, I am sure it’s possible. If you ask me, a relationship is hard enough as it is, in your own mother tongue. Add a layer of “lost in translation” and thinks will get funky real fast. There’s also an added ‘comicity’ about being corrected by a significant other that is terribly irritating.
So! First of all, find a language hero, they are somebody who will probably be: friendly, nice, patient, and speak your target language. Second of all, be a language hero. As a great band once said: “and in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make” (can you guess who they were?). It helps a lot, to first understand what your own struggles are learning, by having a language hero. Once you see how it is, try out the other side, be a language hero and help another soul out. They will be forever grateful. Two great friendships of mine started along these lines and I’m sure this can easily be true for anyone.
I honestly don't know why this band or this song aren't more popular. Check them out!
Ciao belli,
calypso
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