What is the best way to learn a foreign language?

One of the activities that I enjoy doing weekly at the local gym is Zumba. It’s fun dancing and music, and it’s another great way to meet women in the community. If you have ever done Zumba, you know that the music and dance are from Latin America and most of the music is in Spanish . . .

“Zumba Spanish,” as I call it!

When living in south-western France, Spain was our family’s favorite vacation spot. In about 45 minutes, we could cross the border into Spain and suddenly find ourselves in an entirely different world. We were immediately immersed in a different country, different language, and different culture.

The people looked and acted differently, and the Spanish food and lifestyle were worlds apart from the French. Paella, tortilla omelets, tapas, and fresh churros dipped in hot chocolate were on every street corner. 

We also loved the relaxed rhythm of life with late breakfasts around 10 a.m. Late lunches were around 2 p.m, followed by afternoon siestas. Late dinners ended the day around 10 p.m. It may not be a time schedule that suits everyone, but our family had no problem adapting.  

The language, however, was another story. We are very limited in our Spanish, squeezing by with only a handful of practical phrases, like “hola” and “cómo estás.” The expression that always came in handy was the usual, “No hablo espagnol.” (“I don’t speak Spanish.”) We hoped that the listener would be especially gracious and kind to us in knowing that we didn’t speak a word of Spanish. They were usually, however, touched by the mere fact that we at least tried to speak a few words of their language.

This morning, during my Zumba class, I realized that I had really progressed in my Spanish-speaking abilities. After months of hearing “Zumba Spanish” one hour per week, my vocabulary had increased significantly.

“Checking out” of my Zumba class mentally, I suddenly imagined myself walking the streets of Barcelona. 

I could hear myself saying, “Bella, Pedro, el Zumba, Roberto, bonito, mucho, despacito . . .” while trying to order in a local restaurant. I realized that “Zumba Spanish” was actually quite limiting. Honestly, my ignorance hindered me from really knowing what I was saying. As I stumbled over my own two feet, missing multiple dance steps, I quickly snapped out of my Spanish dream. The hard reality hit me that I was in a gym studio in rural Pennsylvania . . . not exotic cobble-stoned European alleys.

I began chuckling to myself, as I recalled the many times that I have used vocabulary or expressions in new languages, not fully grasping the meaning behind the words.

Many silly mistakes, sometimes even offensive ones, have blurted out of my mouth! As I reminisced, I actually began laughing out loud while doing my Zumba dance moves. I’m not sure what my Zumba instructor was thinking about me, other than the fact that I was really enjoying her class. 

I recall all too vividly my first major contextual mistake in my French language learning. My first summer days in France were either spent with a three-year-old, reading children’s stories, or with Vincent and his “gang” of friends, going to local restaurants and discothèques.

My French was improving rapidly. I was picking up all kinds of “slang” and “cuss” words, even though I didn’t realize it. 

When you learn a new language, it’s hard to pick up on all the cultural and contextual nuances behind the words. 

As a good language learner, I just proudly repeated and practiced my new vocabulary and grammatical structures.

One evening, shortly after being introduced to Vincent’s parents, I was invited by them to a fancy, creole restaurant for dinner. It was a huge celebration with their friends, and everyone was enjoying drinking the local rum. Vincent’s mother, Sylvia, was dancing and having a good time. She was REALLY enjoying the rum!

I was dancing next to her and yelled over the music, “Tu es bourrée!” and laughed. I THOUGHT that I was kindly remarking that she had been drinking a little too much. However, I could read the shock on her face, as well as on the faces of her friends who were dancing with us. My intent had clearly not been communicated. 

One of her friends explained to me that my word choice was very vulgar and offensive. 

Oh my goodness, I had just insulted my future mother-in-law and didn’t even realize it! 

I had been learning all kinds of words and expressions from Vincent and his friends during those summer months. However, I had not learned in which contexts to use the words and expressions. I learned my lesson that day. 

One must learn context and culture alongside any language. It’s all a part of language learning.

I apologized profusely for offending Vincent’s mother and for using words and expressions ignorantly.

Thankfully, people are usually forgiving of the foreigner who is trying to learn their beautiful language, and massacring it in the process.

It’s all due to ignorance. My intention is never, by any means, to offend my cultural hosts. Sometimes, I just communicate things and really have no idea what I’m saying . . . kinda like with “Zumba Spanish!”

It reminds me of others I have seen making similar mistakes, all in ignorance and naivety. For example, one will sometimes pass people in faraway lands in Africa or Asia who are wearing shirts with American cuss words or other shocking expressions on them. 

They are communicating messages through their clothes, and they have no idea what they are wearing . . . and saying!

Other times, I have heard young French or Korean teenagers singing the lyrics of their favorite American music. They have memorized these songs word for word. They belt out the words. Yet, they have absolutely no idea what they are communicating. This, at times, can be quite dangerous!

We must be on guard with what we are communicating in new foreign languages, through our verbal messages, through music lyrics, through our clothing messages, etc.

We must also study and ask good questions to better understand the cultural context in which we are living and interacting. If not, the language and cultural bridges that we are attempting to build with our cultural hosts may crumble under the weight of vulgarity and offense. 

One way to do this it to ask native speakers questions when learning new words and expressions. For example, “In what context would you use this word or expression?” or “What type of people can I use this expression with?”  

Don’t let this scare you and keep you from going out there and learning a new language!

—The Cultural Story-Weaver

Rosetta Stone is a great resource that our family has used to learn foreign languages—exists in lots of different languages—before hitting the ground. It can spare you from all kinds of embarrassing language and cultural bloopers!

Let’s Weave Cultures!

What “unknown” or “unseen” messages have your accidentally communicated in foreign languages and cultures? What messages do you see those around you communicating in their cultural and linguistic ignorance?

We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures!” Write about them in the comment box below.

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