Immersion and Confidence

Language learning is a fascinating phenomenon to observe, and I have spent my entire life learning various languages, including attending formal education specifically for language learning. In my experience, the most effective way to acquire a new language is through immersion and building confidence in using the language. Retaining the knowledge is another matter but if you ask me the fastest way to learn language is always immersion and having confidence in using it.

As a child, I was often invited to give opening speeches in English, Bahasa Indonesia, and Arabic. While I don't know if others understood what I was saying nor did I, I presented the texts that were given to me with confidence. This experience taught me the importance of confidence in language learning, and how it can help improve communication even if you are not yet fluent in a language. At the same time, I was also learning Arabic at school and was rather fluent with it at some point. When the internet came into my life, it was one of the ways I talked to people from the Gulf and Levants. What I found was astonishing; the Arabic that I was taught and learned are not actually often used in regular conversation. In Syria for example, I learned they use romanized alphabets instead of Arabic writing to send texts. They were all really foreign to me and fascinating. That’s when I learned the idea of Immersion.

Have you ever noticed that people ask these following questions

• Are you from x (insert native country)
• Have you lived in x (insert native country)
• Have you visited x (insert native country?)

That’s one of the ways people refer to immersion. There is this common belief that you can pick up language faster when you live and immerse yourself in the culture. While it may not be wrong there are some outliers. The outliers are the people who have never lived in the native language, never visited it but they sounded fluent, and even had an accent, marker that you share the same geographical location. These outliers always piqued my interest and others too.

When I joined the language exchange app Tandem to improve my Spanish speaking fluency, I spoke with several people who had learned Spanish solely from the internet and were able to be understood by native speakers. They were mostly telling me that 1) their native language shared similarities with theirs, 2) they just learn it from watching shows, 3) having a partner from said countries that speaks the language, 4) mimicking the things that they see online, 5) interacting with those people online.

Shortly after, I quickly learned that Spanish can vary greatly from country to country, with different accents and intonations that can be confusing for a beginner like myself. When I attended a party hosted by a Spanish speaker, I initially felt lost and struggled to understand the conversations around me. However, I made an effort to take notes and learn a few key phrases, which allowed me to extend my conversations from just 5 minutes to 10 minutes. From listening, I eventually braced myself and built my confidence. I started participating in conversations with native speakers.

As a shy person, it took me some time to build the confidence to speak in Spanish. However, once I made the decision to try, I put aside my shyness and focused on my goals, which is, speaking the language as fluently as possible. I paid attention to the intonation and pronunciation of the native speakers around me, and tried to mimic their accent in order to sound less like a foreigner. This approach helped me to improve my fluency within a few days.

There’s one thing I believe in language learning: when learning a new language, it's important to be willing to try and make mistakes. It can be intimidating to speak a language that you are not fluent in, and you may be concerned that others will make fun of you. However, if you are surrounded by people who are also learning the language, you are likely to be in a safe and supportive environment where it is okay to make mistakes. Afterall, we are all in the same boat!

I often host parties and these conversations often come up too. We all mostly agree that making mistakes is part of learning. If you don’t make mistakes, then when will you learn?

Sometimes I also find myself at parties in overly crowded places. They are not my thing and often I find it hard to say something. So another thing is to try to find a place where you can practice the language that makes you comfortable. When I am a host, I try to create a welcoming and supportive environment. I want to help people to feel more comfortable speaking the language for the first time. But once again, it all comes down to confidence when speaking or learning a new language. But by being welcoming to others, it made it easier for them to open up. In short, find a place that fits you and is welcoming enough. Last but not least, speak up and don’t be afraid making mistakes.

In the coming week, I will be sharing more about my experiences with language learning. I will discuss some of the challenges and successes I have had in the past, as well as my current experiences with learning new languages. I hope that by sharing my experiences, I can inspire others to take on the challenge of learning a new language and diving into a new culture.