I was born and raised in Nepal where formal school education begins by the age of three. Majority of such early education is focused on teaching Nepali and English to students concurrently. Once students learn the alphabets, syntax, and grammar for both languages at a beginner level, most of the upper level education is offered only in Nepali and developing English proficiency becomes more of a choice than a need for students. Over time, my Nepali improved while my English remained at the beginner level because I never used it. I have no recollection of learning basic English or Nepali as I learnt it when I was really young. However, I do remember learning Hindi through a lot of cartoons and movies all throughout elementary school. This was mostly because Nepal just had a few news channels and most of the entertainment channels on our cable were Indian. When I grew up and moved to the United States five years ago, I began working on expanding my knowledge of the English language and have ultimately become fluent in it now.
Looking back at my language journey, I do not recall being a language learner in a formal setting, but I have a lot of experience as an independent learner. I think the most enjoyable aspect of learning both English and Hindi was associating that learning experience to a serious purpose. In elementary school, that purpose was to be able watch cartoons in Hindi and in the US, it was solely for survival- to get hired for a job, to get into college for undergrad, and to succeed in this liberal arts education system. The more time I devoted to learning the language, the better I became at it and it helped me fulfill those aforementioned goals. In addition, I loved how my understanding of the world and various cultures expanded as I learned other languages. It allowed me to compare and contrast how societal norms, values, and human behaviors vary across the world. I am also the kind of person that derives their energy from social interactions. Through my use of Hindi and English on the internet, I was also able to connect to a global audience from a small village in Nepal and it helped me grow immensely, both on a personal and professional level. On the other hand, I really disliked the feeling of being unsuccessful and/or imperfect during the learning process. I am a perfectionist and I get easily discouraged when something takes a long time to master. The biggest milestone in my language journey was convincing myself that it is not possible to know everything about any language- not even my native language. Language is constantly evolving and the best I can do is just persevere and keep working on my language skills without expecting complete mastery. This realization has made me a much more patient and effective learner. Another thing that I really disliked while learning English was how my accent was very prominent and that really discouraged me. My insecurities stem from a few experiences where people were either dismissive or verbally abusive just because I spoke with an accent. Over time, I have begun to realize that those few people do not represent everyone and it is possible to meet people who are more interested in me and my thoughts than my accent.
Based on all my language learning experiences, I am the kind of learner that gets really motivated by a purpose. For ASL, my learning motive is that I want to be able to interact with patients that rely on ASL as their only method of communication. I want to be able to guide them and advocate for them on clinical settings, which are often known to be overwhelming. Next, I am also the kind of learner that thrives on autonomy regarding the pace and structure of the learning process. However, I do appreciate a little bit of push from the instructor every once in a while because I tend to obsess over small details and lose sight of the bigger picture. Regarding learning styles, I believe I learn the best when I get to practice with someone else. I like to link new words to the exact conversations they came up in, so that it is easier to remember the words and their meaning. In addition to human interactions, I also learn really well through visual media- it could be videos, movies, pictures, or even vivid descriptions that allow me to form mental images. Finally, I love activities that are collaborative and call for personal opinions as well as a lot of critical thinking. Connecting the language to human experiences and stories is absolutely essential for me. Based on the FIRE model, I think I am an evaluative learner. Going forward, I am thinking of trying out more commonly used methods by language learners such as flashcards and language apps. I have never used those before. So, I am interested to see whether they will make my learning process more effective. I am also hoping to find a volunteering site in Richmond where I will be able to put my language skills to use. ASL is unlike any other languages that I have learnt before. By taking ASL in a formal setting with clear goals and a designated language partner, I am venturing into a new method of language learning this semester and am really excited to see how it turns out.
Comments
Fantastic reflection, Susmita. I especially liked this statement: "The biggest milestone in my language journey was convincing myself that it is not possible to know everything about any language- not even my native language. Language is constantly evolving and the best I can do is just persevere and keep working on my language skills without expecting complete mastery." You're absolutely right. Nobody knows everything, and every individual has a unique experience and relationship with the target language at hand. Even native speakers are still missing key understandings of vocabulary, derivation, usage, etc., and all the while, the language is changing organically through the complex process of cultural transmission and social development. The tendency to be a perfectionist exists within all of us, and it's a profound realization to acknowledge that not everything is meant to adhere to conformist trends and stagnant structures. Regarding accents, this is a topic we will cover at length when we get to our units on dialectology and articulatory phonetics. Students of a second language will invariably process the sounds through the aural lens or filter of their primary tongue. Your writing definitely resonated with my own experiences and observations.