by Andrew Lyell
I have never taught myself a language before. A licensed teacher has taught every single language I have learned. Because of this, the first few meetings with my language partner were rough. We talked about whatever we felt like and learned whatever vocabulary I didn’t know. While this casual conversation was useful, I was not able to learn more in this environment; I only got better at speaking what I already knew. I realized that I needed some sort of structure to help me attain my language learning goals. Therefore I developed a syllabus using the structure of my current Spanish class. Mondays were grammar days; Wednesdays were listening days; and Fridays were reading/catch up days. This structure forced me to talk about topics I normally would not talk about and really broadened my vocabulary.
For the grammar days this semester, we used a textbook that had plenty of examples of the grammar structure we were studying. I would try to learn the structure and then translate the examples. For the listening days, I watched Bengali Sesame Street known as Sisimpur. Through this exercise, I became familiar with such topics as kite flying, traditional dance, and brushing your teeth—all from a kid’s perspective. I probably acquired the most vocabulary through the listening days because I was able to remember the context of particular words, and therefore able to know many words’ meaning without translating from English. Through the reading days as well, I learned a lot of children’s vocabulary by reading a lot of dialogues and children’s stories. My reading speed did improve some, but not as much as I would like. At this point, all I really need to improve my speed is practice—reading aloud and to myself.
I almost accomplished my goals. One of my main goals this semester was to learn 500 new vocabulary words. Especially because I had only studied the language for two months in Bangladesh and therefore had limited exposure to the language, I really wanted to increase my functional vocabulary this semester. With my language partner’s help, I have 431 words written down from the semester that I can at least recognize. While this is significant, I cannot use all these fluently yet. In the month before I leave for Bangladesh this summer, I hope to internalize all these words and be able to use them fluently. In line with another goal, I now can count to fifty, but I still struggle counting higher than that. As stated earlier, my reading speed did not increase as I would like, but now that I know so many more words, reading is just a matter of practice.
Through this class, I discovered that I love Bengali more than my other subjects. It often felt like a fun hobby instead of a real class. I actually enjoyed waking up at 8AM three days a week to meet with my language partner. Studying on my own though was difficult as I expected. Especially when I had tests for other classes, I found it challenging to be motivated to study the language. If realized that if I didn’t tell myself assignments in front of my language partner for the next meeting, I would not be very productive in my studying. When I did promise my language partner that I would study a particular topic, I usually did. I also realized that I learn out-loud. I do not learn subject by simply reading a textbook, I have to process things audibly. I have definitely become aware through this class that I need to grow in self-discipline. Although I still enjoy having a teacher assign me specific assignments, I know that much of life and particularly language learning is dependent on how much effort you put into studying it.
Many times this semester I felt as if I hadn’t learned a thing particularly when speaking. But other times I noticed myself able to understand conversations that I had previously not known any of the vocabulary. I learned that language acquisition takes time, and there are many stages. During the first stage, I am able to understand the words the other person is speaking, but not necessarily the full meaning. In the next stage, I am able to understand those expressions and phrases and use them hesitantly. Finally, there comes a point when I can use these phrases unconsciously and in the correct context. The problem is that I am in all three stages at the same time. Depending on the subject and the complexity of the feeling I am trying to express, I can find myself speaking easily or with difficulty. I have heard that this experience is common among language learners, and therefore I endeavored to keep striving to be better even when I didn’t feel like I was making much progress.
Through talking to my language partner, I learned many things of cultural importance to the Bengali people. One thing I came to understand was that god is an important concept to them. My language partner was very interested in my god, even telling me that the knowledge of god was of first importance to her. This sentiment is consistent with the people I met in Bangladesh. I do not find people here in America often that are interested in the concept of god or think it is of “first importance.” My faith in Jesus has completely transformed my life because I have been forgiven undeservedly because of what Jesus did on the cross. At her prompting, we talked about this, and while this stretched the limits of my Bengali ability, I think we both learned immensely from this time. This is just one of many cultural differences I noticed throughout the semester.
In conclusion, although I taught myself with my language partner’s help, I still became more competent in the Bengali language and culture this semester. I look forward to this summer and next semester, as I seek a mastery of this language. The main reason I learn Bengali is not for the intellectually stimulation or its potential usefulness in the future, I learn it almost exclusively so that I will be able to interact with and really understand these wonderful people.
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