I have always been fascinated by the concept of language—how it originated, how it evolved, how it spread around the globe, and how it is has been adapted by a plethora of people from different cultural, ethnic, and social roots to form unique sounds, dialects, and practices that help convey complex thoughts and emotions. As of today, I consider myself to be a bilingual speaker of my native tongue Bengali along with English as my secondary language which I began learning during elementary school in Bangladesh. Aside from my formal education in these two languages, I have also had exposure to Hindi due to close geographical proximity and cultural ties to our neighboring country India and a brief stint in learning Arabic alphabets and phrases as part of my Islamic upbringing.
While learning a new language may seem challenging, with the correct mindset and strategies it can be an enjoyable experience. Three aspects that I recall enjoying were the social dynamics, objective based tasks, and open lines of communication. Firstly, as a small classroom community of about 25 students in each section, we had close ties to one another and therefore most of our education was centered around peer interactions such as writing a letter to your friend, sharing a personal story in small groups, or putting together an entire classroom play! These interactions helped us to not just understand new words or grammar but also their practical applications and the subtle nuances which make every spoken tongue unique. Secondly, our courses were taught in a very organized and structured manner. Each new concept or challenge was part of the big picture we were trying to piece together. This brought a sense of objectivity and rationality to our lessons—we not only learned the lesson but also the ‘why’ behind learning it. Having a set objective that we were striving to achieve always added a sense of clarity and direction to our process. Finally, we were always receiving immediate feedback on our work and sometimes the teachers would set time aside to personally talk to students one-on-one to further discuss any discrepancies or challenges they were experiencing. As students, we were always encouraged to ask questions in class and share any concerns or new ideas that might help us learn better. This emphasis on communicating ensured that we were all on the same page going forwards and no one ever felt left behind. However, there were certain aspects of my education that I disliked. I recall when learning Arabic, my instructor placed a great emphasis on proper grammar and sentence structure, which I found to be detrimental to my overall learning experience. The primary goal of any language is to get your ideas across and as long as you can do that, I believe that you are an effective communicator regardless of whether what you said is ‘grammatically incorrect.’ When learning a foreign language, the aim should be to build basic conversational skills instead of technical proficiency. I would find myself knowing all the words yet feel discouraged to try and put them in a sentence because my grammar was not up to the instructor’s expectations. Learning a new language is an iterative process which does not happen overnight. It requires patience, consistency, feedback, and support which is why I ultimately left my Arabic instructor and decided to focus on improving the languages which I already spoke ‘properly’.
Based on the FIRE model and surveys, I am primarily an auditory learner with a strong emphasis on rationality and strengths in nature, self, and social intelligences. While I may primarily have an inclination towards auditory learning, both visual and tactile learning make up 30% each of my learning style suggesting that a well-rounded holistic approach is what works best for me. My friends and family would describe as a rational being. I particularly enjoy thinking through open-ended questions in a systematic cause-and-effect manner and have dynamic interests across multiple disciplines. I enjoy learning but also place a great emphasis on autonomy and freedom to pursue what interests me in ways I find most effective rather than through a rigid one-size-fits-all approach which is why I am so excited to be taking this self-directed learning course and honing the skills necessary to be an efficient autonomous learner. Language learning activities that suit my learning style are one’s that incorporate speaking and listening as opposed to just reading, have an element of nature, involve writing down thoughts in a journal, reflecting on those thoughts later, and finally working in teams to achieve a shared common goal. However, given that the language I am trying to learn is ASL where there will be limited auditory interactions between myself and the instructor, I think that my overall learning process can be improved by expanding into a more interactive, visual, and real-world application-based approach that would push me out of my comfort zone and help me accomplish my end goal for the semester.
Comments
Fascinating post, Nibras! I was particular struck by the following excerpt: "I recall when learning Arabic, my instructor placed a great emphasis on proper grammar and sentence structure, which I found to be detrimental to my overall learning experience. The primary goal of any language is to get your ideas across and as long as you can do that, I believe that you are an effective communicator regardless of whether what you said is ‘grammatically incorrect.’" In class, we'll talk about the ideological tension between Noam Chomsky, who favored his canonical "Universal Grammar," and Dell Hymes, who in contrast, stressed social and communicative competence of linguistic messaging.
Also, I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the social dimension of your language learning. Did you ever perform in a play or performance throughout your language learning journey? This is definitely a great approach to learning, and I'd be eager to hear how it went.