My personal language learning history

Hi everyone!

Today I thought I'd share a short version of my own "language learning history" with you, so you know that I've been where you are on many levels! Like many of you, I have had personal, academic, and professional reasons for wanting to learn foreign languages.

First, I studied Spanish in junior high and high school, because my grandmother was from Chile and I wanted to learn to speak her language. I am fluent in Spanish now, and get to use it from time to time with friends, when traveling, with people occasionally here in Philadelphia, and even sometimes for business. I'm so glad I have this language as a resource! But I still seek every opportunity to learn nuances and improve the naturalness of my communication whenever I can.

During my undergraduate university years, I decided to minor in Japanese because it seemed like a good business language. This course of study including a year abroad at Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto, Japan. What an incredible experience! I spoke almost no Japanese when I first arrived. If you're going to study abroad, I highly recommend doing a "home stay" program and living with a family that doesn't speak English. I learned more in the months in the homestay than in twice that much time in a dormitory with other international students. And I am still in touch with my wonderful homestay family, now 15 years later!

After I graduated, I became a teacher, and later moved back to Japan again, this time to Nagoya for two years. It gave me a chance to brush up on my Japanese again through private study and life experiences. I've been back in the US for almost 8 years now, so my Japanese is okay, but rusty! It's hard to keep it up without a regular chance to practice.

I have also dabbled on and off in studying Italian as an adult, but informally when I have time, as a hobby. I try to pick up bits and pieces as I can, using strategies I have learned over years of studying, teaching, and conducting formal research on language learning. I'm still a beginner in Italian, but I love to "play" with the language any chance I get. I am constantly putting my own theories to the test!

So no matter what language you are trying to learn, or what stage you are at, I have been there. I understand learning a language out of curiosity, as well as out of necessity. And I have studied through formal institutional programs, and piecemeal, taking little moments of opportunity and trying to create my own program. I understand and share your frustrations, your anxieties, and your triumphs.

I'll tell you about some of my experiences teaching English and Spanish, as well as what I have learned through my research, in other blogs. But for now I invite you to share your questions about language learning with me. Send them to me via e-mail at ForeignLanguageCoach@gmail.com , and I will post the answers here so we can all learn together on this language journey.

- Laura