Thinking of Learning a Second Language? Don't. Buy a Smartphone Instead

10 years ago, I enrolled in a language school to learn Mandarin (Chinese). The course promised fluency in the language after completing a three year diploma. However, after three months I was already quite confident. It helped that we were taught in pinyin, making it easier for me to learn.

Pinyin is Chinese using the Latin alphabet. So instead of being taught 你好 to say hello, I was taught as n? h?o. Learning in pinyin meant that I could also write in pinyin, and I practiced by texting my Shifu, and trying to transcribe my favourite Kung fu flicks.

I chose Mandarin over many other options, because it seemed then as it does now that China would inevitably become the centre of global commerce and trade. I wanted to be right in the middle of it and I figured knowing the language was key.

But as much as I was making progress, I had to drop out. The course was not targeted for working/business types like me. It was a mid-morning course, taught far from where my office office. After struggling to adjust my schedule for those three months, I realized it was too inconvenient, so I put it on hold.

I figured I’d work on my schedule and come back to it. But it is always easier to start something new than to continue something you had stopped, and I procrastinated. Finally around 2 years ago I thought the emergence of online learning would be my ticket back. I started reviewing courses and plotting my return, but then I came across something which changed my trajectory completely. What I found out hit me like a brick. Learning Mandarin, or learning any other language was not only not necessary, it would be a complete waste of time.

What I discovered was a technology called Natural Language Processing (NLP). NLP is not new, it’s been around for a number of years. In fact, most of us have used NLP through the virtual assistants Siri, Alexa, and Google Assistant. NLP is the Artificial Intelligence technology that allows computers to understand instructions spoken to them by a human.

NLP has been improving dramatically through the years, and every iteration of these virtual assistants bring them closer and closer to removing the need for anyone to ever learn a second language. If you’ve watched Star Trek, you’ve seen the crew use a device called the universal translator. This gadget allows two different alien species to understand each other in their native tongue even though they are speaking in different languages.

We already have many translator apps, but soon they will be able to work instantaneously just like the universal translator. Soon I will be able to go to China and speak in English, but those listening will hear Mandarin. And they shall respond in Mandarin and I’ll only hear English. And all I’ll need is my smartphone.

So why would I struggle to spend time and money to learn Mandarin, when what I really need is a good smartphone?