Importance of Speaking Other Languages

I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to be fluent in English and get complimented on how excellent my pronunciation is by native English speakers. I moved to the US when I was ten years old and struggled to adapt to the culture and assimilate with the language. I was born in the US but immediately moved to Colombia, my mom’s homeland, and lived there the first nine years of my life. Even though I did not go back to Colombia for thirty years, I maintained a strong bond with my family there. Latinos and Americans occasionally say to me, “you are more American, you’ve lived in the US most of your life.” I’ll be honest; it used to hurt my feelings a little. Those words made me feel like someone was taking away my history. It used to feel like someone was locking it up and throwing away the key. The pinnacle of a bilingual’s story is when the younger generation says they are Latinos solely based on their grandparents’ birth land or their parents’ time spent in Latin America. That’s a personal win for our family.

I visited Colombia in 2012 with my teenage children for our first family reunion. We call it “Reunion de Primos” or “Cousins’ Reunion.” This homecoming included family ages 7 to 70. We have families living in Spain, Morocco, London, the US, and, of course, Colombia. For most of us, it was our first time meeting. The love my Colombian family has for each other inspires me. To say I am bicultural is an understatement. I can honestly say it is difficult to be 100% Colombian and 100% American. It takes a lifetime to get used to customs, forms of expression, the value of quality time, adapting to polychronic vs. monochronic behaviors, let alone idiosyncrasies in language. This doesn’t even begin to touch an individual’s accent. 

I love hearing the different Colombian accents back in the US. Interestingly, when I am in Colombia, I don’t notice accents. I am so captivated by the environment, the daily living, and the relationships that my mind is not focused on language differences. I feel like I don’t have the Colombian accent my family has, but when I am in the US and speak with a Latin American, they can immediately tell I am Colombian. Ah, that’s a great moment of pride!

My oldest daughter and I returned to Colombia this year, and we loved that we had more family who was not fluent in Spanish join our second family reunion. Our cousins’ homecoming has now become a family tradition, and we plan on having them every four years instead of every seven years.

The new family that went to the 2019 reunion that was nonfluent ranged from 21 to 45 years old. Most live in Florida and are exposed to Spanish through family get-togethers with older generations and in the community but don’t use Spanish daily. I was amazed at how quickly they adapted and thrived in our 5-day journey through small cities in Colombia. They shopped without the assistance of the fluent speakers in the family; they figured out transportation and managed beautifully without being dependent on us. I noticed them take out their cell phones and use Google Translate to order from the menu. They wanted to earn language skills on their own. They are a testament that foreign language is a challenge, but it can be a fun challenge if you set your mind to it. Oh, how much easier life would be if we could all speak one language!

Did you know there is a minimum of 6,500 spoken languages in the world? I can only imagine that day at the Tower of Babel when they thought they could build a tower to reach Heaven. To their surprise, God divided them by linguistic groups instantly. The term Babel means confusion. We were all one culture. With this confusion of tongues or language multiplicity, people were forced to move away from their family units and start anew. They began to form new governments, education systems, religious beliefs, and traditions. 

Let’s fast forward to the 21st Century. We have an overabundance of information thanks to the internet. Did you know that the World Wide Web was founded 30 years ago to “serve humanity and reduce inequalities”? Sir Tim Berners-Lee’s proposal had great intentions. The article Web@30: Reliving History and Rethinking the Future addressed that only half of the world’s population is currently connected. The past is repeating itself. We want more without considering the threats to humanity. The focus now is on decentralizing the web to improve privacy while helping the second half of the world connect with the rest of us for the next 30 years. Then what?

At what point do we take the present into our own hands and migrate towards influencing our own families? When the flood gates opened and the web was made accessible to each person, we lost the personal touch and warmth of relationships. Last night I heard on the radio that 69% of teens ages 12 to 17 wish they had more face-to-face contact with people. What is more important, fake news, life hacks, or real-life connections that challenge us personally to live life to the fullest? How about taking “friendships” offline? 

A great way to have meaningful personal connections is through volunteering. Our most significant commodity is time. There is never a shortage of volunteering opportunities, and each platform has a culture of its own. Political, religious, athletic, educational, corporate, and street ministries are a few of the volunteering opportunities we can choose from today. Crowdfunding and Facebook fundraisers have become very popular. How about personally starting a new volunteer project? Check out how to begin your volunteering project.

How can you impact the world? Can you look beyond your inner circle? What can you learn from other cultures? We have an opportunity to stretch ourselves and enrich other’s lives. When we choose to learn from someone from another culture, we are opening our hearts and minds to see and hear the world through their daily lives. Watch this brief video and see how inclusion can begin to open your world in ways you never imagined. #InclusionStartWithI.

We take the word diversity for granted. There is so much beauty in diversity. Distinctiveness and uniqueness are synonyms for diversity. Diversity helps me understand what makes another community special, and I can choose to take away from there life’s lesson to make mine better. Honestly, it would be boring if we were all the same. I want to learn from others as much as I want to add to their lives. Who better to learn from than others with different cultures and life experiences? I love this video about unconscious biases because it paints a beautiful picture of how we can make the unconscious conscious.

What impacted your life, and how can you give back to others going through the same journey? Did you know that you don’t have to be ready to lead, you only need to be willing? For me, it was my parents’ journey to come from Colombia and Cuba that prompted me to give back. As a child, I was unaware of the sacrifices and effort they put into moving four children from the US to Colombia back to the US. When the opportunity came for me to step up and help immigrants, I committed wholeheartedly. They are facing similar life-altering decisions, and if I can help make that transition smoother, that’s my way to give back for what was given to my parents what seems like a lifetime ago.

Our first challenge before truly learning culture is understanding its language. The juxtaposition of languages is a beautiful thing. Take it from someone who struggled but now teaches two languages; there is no better way than to compare and contrast vocabulary, pronunciation, and sentence structure. We were not meant to be robots and memorize and repeat. Learning happens when we take a personal interest to see how language works and work with others to answer questions. We were intentional in making our first lesson in both our English and Spanish courses at Fitness Latinos on cognates. Cognates are words that are similar in English as they are in Spanish. Thirty percent of English and Spanish are cognates. They are similar! How does it feel knowing that you already know 30% of the language?  

We also challenge our students to read and write, not just speak the language. We need to pace ourselves and stay motivated. The best way to stay motivated is to challenge ourselves in various forms throughout the week with specific vocabulary to retain the information long term. It is essential to commit to learning the basics of the language first before jumping into learning phrases. Phrases vary by content and can take some time to put into practice. Foundational vocabulary does not change, and anyone, regardless of age, can learn it. The early stages of learning a foreign language are the most important. Securing basic terminology gives you confidence and the ability to recall the words independently long term. If you cannot remember vocabulary, you will be limited in making phrases on your own. You can only go so far mimicking short random phrases.

Once you have the necessary vocabulary in a variety of topics, you can confidently start a conversation. When you start speaking in short sentences, you will be emulating a speaker of your choice. There are a lot of different ways to convey a message within the same language. You only need to know one pattern to deliver a message, and everyone will understand the meaning. Lots of vocabulary and proper grammar are non-negotiable. Remember, this is the starting block that will help you successfully get to the finish line.

It is vital to be curious and seek answers on our own. We can’t expect to be spoon-fed by YouTube videos, apps, and expect instant results. Learning a foreign language is a marathon, not a sprint. Did you know that every word has a history? You don’t have to be a scholar to be curious about a word’s etymology. In the last 300 years since the settlement in the United States, dictionaries have evolved significantly. Likewise, the Real Academia Espa?ola has made some subtle changes. I say this not to overwhelm you but to inform you that there are resources you can use to make the learning journey personal. If we focus on the reason why we want to learn a foreign language, then these tools become fun resources to help us along the way. At the beginning of our course, we provide you with a Master Guide that will keep you focused and provide all the resources you need to help you create your sentences. We wanted to remove distractions and help you stay away from Googling everything and get distracted by the myriad of choices on YouTube. There are no shortcuts in learning, but there are valuable tools to help you reach your goals.

Have you ever asked yourself “what is the most useful language I should begin with?” Let’s assume you need it for your future livelihood. Did you know the business world expects the workforce to speak a minimum of two of the top three languages: Mandarin, English, or Spanish? By 2025, it will become mandatory in some countries to know a prominent foreign language to compete in the international marketplace. For those of us that live in the US, it is imperative to learn Spanish as it will become the majority population and language spoken by 2050.

If it doesn’t challenge you, it won’t change you. Fred DeVitto

Here is a summary of the most spoken languages in the world by the total number of native speakers:

Mandarin Chinese: 955 million speakers. The need for Spanish has increased 30 fold in China in the last 15 years. The most significant demand for online tutoring comes from China. The market is expected to be worth more than 714 billion Yuan ($101 Billion) by 2025.

Spanish: 480 million speakers. It is the second most studied in the world. In the US, there are 41 million native speakers, not counting immigrants, and 12 million bilinguals. By 2050 it is projected that Spanish will be the predominant language in the US.

English: 360 million speakers. Indeed, English is the most studied language in the world. It is spoken as a second language in more than 146 countries. Online education has grown exponentially, thanks to technology.

My two greatest accomplishments have been to become fluent in English and to teach my children at home. Without books, mentors, lots of practice and letting go of the stress that can be associated with learning, I would not be the teacher I am today. I earned a marketing bachelor’s degree, yet I am a foreign language teacher to children 8,000 miles away. Everything I have learned has thanks to relationships. The more I want to help others, the more I learn from them how to be a great teacher. I am thankful for my children and students who have allowed me to explore education right along with them. I have learned more from them than anything else. Practical experience makes learning permanent. Define your “why,” pursue your passion and remember the world outside the world wide web is where you genuinely achieve deep intimate connections. We are here if you want to commit to learning a new language. It is our pleasure to challenge you outside of the classroom. Join our tribe!

Nothing extraordinary starts inside your comfort zone.