Aren’t hiatuses lovely?
I know I said that I wouldn’t have this long of a break, but
life got life-y. New job, new opportunities, new languages, and new things. You
understand...and if not, well, BYE.
I wanted to talk to you all today about Forced Immersion.
For those of you new to the language game, Forced Immersion is where you placed
in a situation where you are completely taken out of an area where your
language is spoken and dropped into a new area where you’re essentially an
alien. It’s the same kind of situation you’d be in if you took a trip to a
foreign country and didn’t think to learn the language before you arrived
(which would be incredibly stupid…in-cre-di-bly stu-pid).
Even though I’ve never been outside of the United States, I
do believe that Forced Immersion is one of the best ways to learn a language,
because you don’t have a choice. You’re going to learn that language or else
you’re going to be homeless, hungry, and have to use the bathroom on the
street, which would probably wind you up in jail. In your own country, you have
the option of studying it, or not, because when you go outside, no one is going
to be screaming in a language you don’t know (in most cases). At home, you’re
the majority. In other countries, not so much.
What’s the point of all this? Well, I’ve been fortunate to
have been working at a brand new job, and thank goodness because the job I used
to work at was one of the most nonconducive places to promote positive mental
health on the face of the planet. Anyway, now I’m an editor at a university,
and not just any editor. I’m a freaking bilingual editor. I get to work with
English as well as Spanish courses. My direct supervisor is a MONSTER at
Spanish, and on day one, I felt what Forced Immersion really was. I haven’t
been doing a lot of integral stuff with the Spanish courses yet, because I’m
not completely fluent, but I am working on some minor projects right now, and
let me tell you, I’m learning between 30-40 new words a day, and it is
fantastic. The words are sticking…why? Because I don’t have a choice but to
know them. Another perk is that my
teammates and I are getting free Spanish training to boost our skills, so we’ll
watch videos, do interactive Spanish teambuilders, and spontaneous other
activities…completely in Spanish.
For example: This past Monday, our supervisor called us into
a room, and told us to have a seat. He pulled out a bunch of pieces of paper
and set them face down on the table. We all were instructed to pick one, and we
then saw that each piece of paper had a verb tense on it. Then he told us to
pick a number between one and 18. Each number corresponded with a verb. Feel
where I’m going with this? We had to conjugate each verb with that tense 7 ways
off the tops of our heads. It was insane, but I loved it.
In addition, I added another degree of my form of Forced
Immersion. At my job, we all have this instant messenger service that we’re all
able to use, so I told him to not speak to me English for a week, which ALSO
was an extreme help, because you not only learn new words, but you also learn
slang too, for instance if you want to rudely say that you don’t care, you can
say “Me importa un bledo,” which means something like IDGAF. You’re welcome.
If you’re interested in learning a language, I’m begging you
to immerse yourself, no matter how miniscule your immersion may seem. Follow a
foreign language speaker on Twitter, go to a foreign restaurant, watch TV shows
on Hulu, or whatever else you can think of. Just do it.
It’s good to be back, and I look forward to writing more
posts for you.
Your Favorite Polyglot
Twitter: @mistercapoeira
