on language learning

Taking a break from my massive cramming for Chinese exams... Again, I feel like I am totally not ready for these exams that are coming in a week. I think I could've put in a lot more work and in get a better grade than what I will get. You know, I figured out freshman year that if I wanted an A in a class, then instead of trying to see how much I need on the final to get an A, I need to decide in the beginning of the semester that I want an A in this class and therefore will put in the effort necessary. Since then, there have been many classes where I have wanted an A but I haven't found that will power to go through with, "it's enough to put in 3 hours but if I want an A, I need to put in an extra 2 hours". Maybe it's because there are too many things out there that I want to do. And if I actually put in the effort to get really stellar grades, I won't get to enjoy other things. Um... that would be me trying to comfort myself.

Anyway, this also happens to be how I feel about language learning. After blindly stepping off the plane and starting my summer in Germany, I suddenly found out why some people have so much motivation to learn other languages. All throughout middle school, I've told myself that I really don't like learning languages and that now that I've gotten a grasp of English, it's good enough. And actually, English is such a global language nowadays that I got by with it in Germany. But there's something about being able to understand a conversation in another language that's really exciting. I've always believe that culture differences and differences in ways of thinking is linked with language. The way people express themselves leads to the way things work.

I've also really appreciated how different languages relate to each other. In Denmark, we found that Danish is pretty similar to German. Similar enough that we can get by (with Mahalia's German, of course, not mine). I was talking with a friend in my college yesterday at dinner about different languages. He's from Finland and is fluent in Finnish, Swedish, German, Danish, Norwegian, English, and I'm probably missing something. When I said I wanted to start learning Spanish again (Spanish is not as popular here as it is in the States), he said that he would really like to learn a Latin language like Spanish because it would allow him to learn Italian and Portuguese quite easily.

I'm really glad that I now have some background in German and Spanish. I think once you've taken a beginner's course and 打好基础, the rest is really up to you. Once you've gotten the background, then you can move on to reading on your own, listening on your own. I really believe in listening. A lot more than I do reading or writing. Because listening to conversations lets you start to create your own. I think speaking is by far the hardest thing to do. With reading and writing, you can do that on your own pace. With listening, you only have to pick up key words. But to speak a sentence requires vocabulary, grammar, pronunciation, thinking, and it's really about putting everything together.

But language learning takes a lot of time and dedication. The problem is, there are so many languages out there that I want to learn. I'm really glad that I took Chinese here. But if I had stayed at MIT, I think I would've taken Japanese. I just recently got a book titled Read and Think Spanish which contains articles written in Spanish with all the vocabulary on the margin for easy reference. It came with a CD as well. But... I don't have time in the next month to look at it! I have Chinese to study for now and projects to do. And I should probably try to learn a few key words in Dutch and French before I go to Amsterdam and Paris.

I should make a list of "key words to know". Here's a start: thank you, excuse me, hello, chicken, beef, pork, fish, (believe me, the biggest challenge is reading the menu), yes, no, [feel free to add].