Determination for Communication

There is a great article in the Richmond Times-Dispatch about the true story of learning a language through determination and immersion:

New Squirrels manager Alguacil prioritized communication skills

If you don’t have time to read the article, it speaks about a baseball player from Venezuela who came to the U.S. to play without knowing English. He bought a dictionary and surrounded himself with opportunities to learn English, by intentionally befriending English speakers and living with English speakers to force himself to learn.

What can the casual learner of another language learn from this? You may read this and think that you do not have the time to do what this man did in order to master the second (or third, or fourth!) language of your choice. The important lesson is to see the importance of exposure to the language. Your schedule may not permit you to go abroad for an extended period and be immersed in another language, and that’s okay. But, you can make time for opportunities to practice and speak your new language. That can be through a tutor from Ready Languages, a conversation group that meets at a café, or through listening to radio in the target language whenever you are in your car. And if you are someone studying abroad or in another country, you must make a conscious effort to force yourself to speak the language – do not hang out with people who speak English, or frequent English-speaking places. Make friends with native speakers and attend events in the target language.

The takeaway here is to maximize every opportunity to speak/hear/read/write/etc. the language you wish to learn. It will take patience and determination, but much like José Alguacil, you will learn and flourish.