<< Back July 2005

In a Strange Land
Learning the language
By Larry Pitman

Getting off the bus in Kaohsiung, Taiwan, I knew immediately I was in trouble. Although I had the phone number of my contact at the university, I discovered that public phones in Taiwan required a card to operate them. Where could I buy a card? How could I explain to someone what I wanted since I didn't speak a word of Chinese? I looked around at my fellow passengers. They were quickly dispersing. No one indicated that they spoke English. I looked at the street signs...all in Chinese. I felt completely alone. I could not communicate. What to do?

Finally, I decided to look for a fancy hotel believing that they would have an English speaker. I was right. Someone called my contact at the university and wrote out instructions in Chinese for the taxi driver. My problem was solved.

Obviously I did not prepare myself for this situation. I assumed that there would be someone who knew English who could help me or there would be some signs in my language. Wrong.

It was an irritating way to begin a business meeting. More than that was the feeling of helplessness, even fear, that I felt knowing I had to solve my problem. Just recently I was thinking about how someone who does not know Spanish could possibly have the same experience in Peru. But it is more than just making a simple telephone call. It is daily life in an environment where you do not know what is going on. At worst, it is the paranoiac feeling that the people who are laughing at the next table are actually laughing at you. Or it could be the uncertainty you have whenever you have to meet someone who does not speak English. I am sure that some avoid these situations as much as possible.

I believe that happily adjusting to life as an expatriate in Peru has a lot to do with language. It is not the impossible goal of becoming a native speaker of Spanish, rather it is the continuing effort to acquire the language. This allows you to make a connection with people. I personally have found that Peruvians are very patient and appreciative of the efforts we make to learn Spanish. The effort to communicate is what matters.

Recently, I was at an international conference where I met an American who is living in Italy. We talked about the challenge of learning a language, especially as an adult. He said, "Í do not expect to be even close to perfect. That is not possible. Instead, I do my best and see each day as an opportunity to learn more." He also said that when there were complicated negotiations, he brought his Italian wife with him.

My wife, María Luisa, is my inspiration in learning another language. At the age of 39 she moved to the United States for work. She had little English at that time. This is what she did. She read the newspapers in English. She watched only English language television programs. She listened to the radio, only in English. She lived where there were no Spanish speakers. She made friends with Americans who were her neighbors and her co-workers. She read novels and magazines, only in English. She went to classes and studied hard. Quite simply, she used English in every situation available to her.

Her English is very good. She has a terrific vocabulary. And she can respond in most any situation or figure out how to respond. Of course there are complex cultural situations or negotiations where I can help, but she is fully functional and easily understood by native speakers of English. Not many of us are so disciplined. Even so, we can look for the many opportunities that are available to us to learn the language.

Having observed successful and unsuccessful language learners, I believe that the key is quite simple. It is the willingness to engage the language and to understand that it does not have to be perfect. Perhaps you will never get that complex thought into the imperfect subjunctive, but with the good old present tense most things can be understood.

So if you are language learner. Get on with it. Speak to everybody you can. Enjoy yourself and forgive yourself for not being perfect.

For comments on this article or the desire to share common experiences, you can contact Larry at larryjamespitman@hotmail.com