Chances are you've probably sat through at least one foreign language class. Perhaps as a high school student, or even an eager 8th grader. You listened intently, a look of perplexity stretching across your face as a muddled mess of syllables passed through one ear and out the other. Despite your initial fear, however, you managed to battle through an abundance of conjugated verb tenses, perpetual vocabulary flashcards, and nerve wracking speaking tests, ultimately dedicating yourself to the goal of comprehending an entire foreign language. Here are the stages that everyone endures on the way to reaching this goal:
1. I can do this!
You’ve just sat through your first lesson, and instilled within you is a sense of enthusiastic wonder. Learning a foreign language is going to become second nature to you. Maybe within a few years, you’ll be fluent.
2.) There’s still so much I don’t know
It’s been a year and you’ve learned present verb conjugations, basic vocabulary, and numbers, yet you can only form the occasional simple sentence. Maybe this is going to take longer than you thought.
3.) What does this mean again?
There’s no telling how many times you’ve used this verb in a sentence or read it on a worksheet, yet your mind is forever blanking on its definition. Come on, shouldn’t you know this by now?
4.) Maybe I can’t do this
You’re starting to feel frustrated at the seemingly little progress you’ve made. Now is a good time to review your first lecture and see just how far you’ve come.
5.) Practice, Practice, Practice
You read labels, substitute words in sentences, and blurt out phrases in the language; every opportunity to speak counts. Who cares if no one understands what you’re saying?
6.) I think I’m getting the hang of this
Slowly but surely, your pronunciation and sentence formation begins to come together just as you knew it would all along. Oddly enough, you’re starting to think in two different languages.
7.) I can do this!
It's been a long journey since you dedicated yourself to this goal, but with hard work and determination, everything you’ve worked for comes together.
