Growing up, I was forced to either pick up Serbian or not understand what my family was talking about. In high school, I took a good three years of Spanish. More recently, I've decided to take on the Arabic language. Learning another language is an amazing experience and I'd recommend it to everyone, but it's a lot easier said than done, especially if you decide to try Arabic or Mandarin on for size. Here are the five stages of learning a foreign language I think we all could relate to.
Stage One: "I'll be a pro in no time."
This stage is the stage where you exhibit the most confidence and exuberance. You're probably underestimating the difficulty of learning a new language and the first day of class seemed like a piece of cake. You learned how to say things like "hello" and "how are you." You feel like you're already a pro.
Stages Two: "I can do this."
At this point, you're probably a few weeks into classes. Your confidence has begun to recede, but you're still hopeful that you will come out on top. You've probably covered most of the alphabet depending on what language you're taking on and are now covering basic vocabulary. You eventually finish Foreign Language 101. You do pretty well. You feel confident enough to sign up for an intermediate level class, probably thinking, "How much harder can it get?"
Stage Three: "What the hell?"
This was me my first week into Arabic 102. My professor informed us that within the next few weeks, there would be no more English in the class. Your textbook, which is supposed to be your knight in shining armor, suddenly becomes your worst enemy. You struggle to do your homework assignments because all of the titles are in another language and the directions become less and less helpful. Your instructor expects you to spend all of your free time studying the language. He or she expects you to dream in the language. This stage may include permanent emotional damage that will scar, bouts of hair-pulling, temper tantrums and tears.
Stage Four: "I still actually have no idea what's going on."
You really are still lost. Your emotional outbursts and undying frustration have evolved into apathy. You may feel occasional despair here and have many thoughts of giving up. Study sessions may turn into deep meditations on your purpose in life. This stage may continue for a long time until you reach "the click."
Stage Five: "The click."
Finally. You were sitting in class one day staring off into space when suddenly it all made sense. It clicked. You survived. Your confidence levels shoot back up and you're determined once again. Success is finally within your reach. You celebrate by speaking in the language incessantly until you lose all of your friends. Then, you resort to your family members who have no choice but to accept their fate. Weird symptoms include dreaming in your new language and muttering it to yourself when you think no one else is around. Congratulations. You've officially lost it.
But until it clicks, just hang in there. We'll get through this one way or another. I have faith in you.
