6 Takeaways From Learning a Second Language
On the surface, deciding to learn a foreign language appears to be just another goal that requires daily effort and unwavering persistence. But after a year of studying Russian, I confess that language learning is the most arduous journey I’ve ever embarked on—yes, even more challenging than running a 100-mile race or building a successful business. Language is not simply another skill to be practiced and progressed in, like learning the guitar; it requires you to adopt and integrate an entirely new way of thinking. Perhaps that sounds dramatic, but it’s true.
“To have another language is to possess a second soul.”
Language guides how we communicate, express our emotions, conceptualize our experiences, understand relationships, assign meaning to words and things, group and associate objects, and more. Exiting your native language and supplanting yourself behind a new set of lenses for experiencing the world is akin to adopting a new consciousness. On the one hand, learning a foreign language follows many of the same principles as any other skill, but it extends into another dimension.
In August, I posted about my experience learning Russian on my own after I had been studying for five months, but my naivety was painfully obvious. Although I stand behind most of what I wrote last Summer, my methods, mentality, and approach to studying have changed drastically since then. I’ll share a video on these changes and my overall thoughts on the past year in March, but for now, I wanted to share six takeaways I’ve had from learning my second language.
1. A Fast-Track to Humility
The thought of laughing at an immigrant’s accent or expecting them to ‘just learn English’ will evaporate from your body once you begin learning a foreign language yourself. I will elaborate on this further below, but getting to the point of comfortably and confidently speaking in a second language takes an incredibly long time. Even a year isn’t realistic in most cases. It will take 3-6+ years before you feel that you’re able to fully and accurately express yourself in the same way that you can in your native tongue.
The journey from babbling like an incoherent toddler to fluently articulating yourself is a lengthy process. Just as much as extreme physical training will quickly humble you, language learning will introduce more humility into your life, especially for immigrants trying to assimilate into any country.
2. Language is Culture
Celebration of Maslenitsa (Мaсленица)
Learning a language is not solely learning how to communicate. It’s also about immersing yourself into another culture and understanding how they experience the world. Their religion, cuisine, dances, music, art, and history—all of it bleeds into their language.
For example, in Russian, the word for 'God' is Бог, and the word for 'wealthy' is богатый, which means 'blessed by God.' By understanding etymology and the ways that religion influences language, you gain a deeper sense of how the grammar structure operates and how to use words in appropriate context.
You’ll naturally need to immerse yourself into the culture to learn the language, so embrace it and seek ways to absorb the culture as much as you are the language.
3. The Journey is Longer Than You Think
It can be motivating to dream about what level of fluency you’ll reach by a certain point or to imagine what you’ll be able to read or watch in a foreign language in the future. However long you think it will take, you might as well double it.
If you google how long it will take to reach fluency, you’ll get a vague answer like 400 to 2,200 hours. Not only is that a wide range, but it also doesn’t distinguish between quality of hours and quantity of hours. Casually flipping through a Duolingo exercise for 30 minutes is not the same as a speaking with a native for half an hour. Setting overly ambitious goals or overestimating your level of fluency can be discouraging.
When I first tried to use my Russian in person after only studying on an app, I felt humiliated. I wrote about my wake up call here. To summarize the takeaway from my experience, preconfigured sentences and memorizing vocab does not prepare you for the rapidity and fluidity of a real conversation. The day you’ll read Dostoevsky in the original or navigate Latin America with confidence is likely farther away than you think. That’s not to crush your dreams, but to give you a reality check. Your rate of progress can vary, it won’t be a result of using the ‘right’ app or any ‘secret’.
4. Different Paths, Same Struggles
Despite what the clickbait videos across YouTube tell you, there is no hack to learning a language quickly. The fool claiming to have learned German in 60 days is lying to you. There are no hacks, tricks, or ways to expedite your language learning journey. In fact, you’re wasting time that you could be studying by seeking out some special method.
Sure, some learning methods are more effective than others, but they’re more about efficiency than being a hack. Regardless of what resources or tools you leverage, you’ll still face the same adversity that all language learners face. You’ll need to commit to daily practice, expose yourself to the language in all its forms (listening, speaking, writing, reading), and be consistent. Dabble with different modalities to find what helps solidify the information the best in your brain, but get rid of the notion of any unknown trick to fluency.
5. Daily Deposits Pay Dividends
Likely the most essential tip for learning a language is to focus on daily deposits. Just like with any goal you may have, taking a few steps each day adds up to miles over the long haul. As the old proverb goes, you can only eat an elephant one bite at a time.
Focus on doing a little bit each day—an hour here, 30 minutes there. However much you’re able and willing to commit each day, make that deposit consistently. The progress will compound as days become weeks, weeks become months, and months become years. This is advice that sounds obvious, but isn’t always easy to follow. Life gets disrupted and routines get deconstructed. Find ways to stick to your pursuit and allow for time to yield results.
6. Natives are Your Biggest Fans
Leverage native speakers in your language learning journey. Not only will they be able to spot your mistakes and offer valuable practice, but you’ll make incredible friends along the way. Natives are more than willing to help a foreigner learn their language and are typically endeared by your efforts.
I’ve experienced this frequently with Russian speakers, especially in our current geopolitical climate. Greeting a native in their own language and asking them about their favorite ethnic dishes will immediately bring a smile to their face. It shows you care, you respect their culture, and have a willingness to learn.
It can be hard to make friends in your local community, let alone overseas with a language barrier, but I promise it’s easier than you think. Use apps like Tandem and HelloTalk to meet natives that are learning English. You’ll be able to mutually assist each other and even establish long-term friendships through your chats.
Keep Going
At the end of the day, learning a second language over the past year has been an immensely frustrating and fulfilling journey. I’ve had to overcome discouragement and failure on a regular basis and become relentlessly patient. Mistakes deflate me, while sparse success typically earn me soft applause. But at the end of the day, I know the commitment I’m making today will drastically enrich my life down the line. If you’re curious about learning a second language, I encourage you to take the plunge and see what it takes you.
"The limits of my language mean the limits of my world." – Ludwig Wittgenstein
