Learning Spanish... In India!

Language is more than just the spoken word between two people

. Language conveys a whole cultural context and a way of life that is impossible to know unless one is a native to the country. This is why to become fluent in a language and understand its nuances is critical to understand native speakers on a consistent basis.

Why is learning a language through textbooks so hard to do? Because it lacks real world and cultural context. And once learned, it is very hard to remain fluent in a language without constant exposure to it.

My first language was not English. I was born in Mexico, where I was taught Spanish until I was 4 years old. At 5, my parents and I moved to Texas where I proceeded to learn English at an accelerated rate. By the age of six, I was fluent in both languages, but could only read and write in English. At the same time, I began to lose some of my Spanish fluency.

The decline in my Spanish skills continued until I was 14 years old. At that point I could hardly translate from English to Spanish. My parents were concerned because they both knew how important it was to speak several languages in today's globalized world. My Spanish got so bad that I couldn't even remember how to say "salt" which is simply "sal".

Ironically enough, the solution came from an unexpected circumstance. I was sent to an international boarding school in India that had several Latin American students. Given my Latin heritage, I immediately bonded with the close group of Mexican kids.

It was a small group of 13 Latin Americans and my new friends proved to be the salvation of my Spanish speaking skills, which were were facing certain extinction. When I first joined them they pointed out that that they would not so much as listen to me if I did not speak Spanish and they would not befriend me.

Periodically, I would test them by speaking in English, but, true to their word, they would ignore me.

I spent two years at the school, and my main social language became Spanish, not English. Although I was not in a Spanish speaking country, I was able to learn the Mexican culture from a small group. The Mexicans always celebrated the holidays from Mexico, they spoke in Mexican slang.

I noticed that the interactions between individuals was completely different in that culture, as compared to the interactions between the American students, and that proved to be an important insight. I became fluent again, then I started understanding the cultural messages and it made me feel good.

Looking back, I can remember the exact day I became fluent again. One night, I began talking in my sleep. My roommate woke me up to stop me from talking and he asked me, "Why are you speaking in Spanish?." It became clear at that moment that when one begins to think in the language, and not translate it back to his own language, is when you know you are fluent. That's exactly what happened that night.

When I traveled to Mexico that summer, I was right at ease. True to form, The Mexicans acted exactly how everyone in Mexico did. I could interact with the people with the same expressions and feelings as everyone else, and I blended right in. Looking back on that trip, I felt like the whole country was just one big group that could be labeled The Mexicans.

by: Richard Allenby

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