by Suzy Stembridge

Created on: July 04, 2009

Learning a new language can be fascinating and fun, however in most cases it can prove to be difficult and boring. Many people find that the passion that once inspired them to learn that new language, fizzles out after some time. Difficulty in grasping the right way to form a sentence or fumbling over the correct tense to use can be frustrating, discouraging the learning process.

Learning a new language can be self taught or by attending a class or a program. These sources teach you the basics, from verbs and nouns to please and thank you. However once you break from the education environment, you subconsciously switch back to your mother tongue. Until the next session, there is usually no continuity after the class has ended. The lack of constant practice and discipline makes it difficult to train the mind. The best way to learn a new language is to surround yourself with the culture but how many of us can live in Paris, Japan or Italy for several months? Unless conditions force you to adapt to the customs, learning languages can prove to be tedious and difficult.

Even if you successfully complete the language program, you might still be thinking in your native language. While basic reading, writing and speaking might be enough to pass the course, it is not sufficient to master the language. To converse or compose, you would normally have to produce of the original thought in your mother tongue, and then translate it. This stunts the learning process as technically, you're not really forming thoughts in the new language. To train the mind to think in a new way takes time, commitment and constant application which may lead to boredom and lack of motivation. How many of us can have bilingual dreams?

While the language taught in a classroom might conform to simulated everyday applications, there is not real life experience to keep it interesting. With real life scenarios, you find yourself really tapping into the learned vocabulary, using the local slang and communication culture. The process of learning a new language is also a one way transaction, where the teacher disperses the information and the person learning it absorbs. However in an everyday two way conversation, the need to sustain the friendly banter keeps you acquainted with the language. You find yourself needing to form sentences that convey emotions, rather than textbook responses. Experience forces you to learn.

While the purpose of continued improvement of oneself is encouraged and important, sometimes the study of a new culture is just hard. The attempt to relate to the same species with different backgrounds is noble yet seemingly impossible. However, if you truly love the language or love to learn, overcoming the difficulty of learning languages can be possible. There is also a sense of accomplishment to know that persistence is rewarded by the impressive ability to introduce yourself in more than one language.

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