Pleasure, Pain and Language Learning II
What's more fun? Studying language? Or going to work? For most of the people who visit this blog, language wins hands down. And yet we go to work every day and make excuses for falling behind in our language studies. And this isn't just about too much television or poor use of our free time. It is about how we set priorities. As a practical matter, we prioritize the avoidance of punishment over the gaining of pleasure. Which means we go to work to keep from getting fired, even if it leaves us lacking the energy to do the things we enjoy.
Now, obviously we can't have our boss threaten to fire us if we don't study three times a week. (Or at least, it's not a likely solution!) But we can attempt to replicate some of the sentiment that keeps us getting up and going to work like responsible adults every day. I'd like to offer three scenarios for contemplation that have an upside - if you study - and a downside - if you don't. The name of the game is that it hurts to let your enthusiasm for a language die, but we let it slide away, rationalize it away and repress it. We could be using it. So as you prepare to study, if you're wavering think of one of these scenarios or make up one of your own, and then go study!
1. You've just met an attractive member of the opposite sex who is having trouble communicating. You're studying his or her language. You may be happily attached, but hey, everyone likes to make a pretty girl/handsome guy smile.
Pleasure: You introduce yourself, apologize for your weak language skills, then help the person with skills far surpassing those you claimed. All eyes are on the attractive person, and now they're on you too. You have fun with onlookers, and more with your new charge, until, at last, you elegantly take your leave.
Pain: You're sure you recognize the accent. You're equally sure you can't pull it off. You stand there trying to remember the appropriate greeting for this type of situation and plot your answer to the most likely responses. In the meantime, some monolingual do-gooder has pantomimed their way into some form of communication, and your chance for glory - even for practice (!) is walking the other way.
2. You've always been fascinated by Europe/the Middle East/the Orient. The ad says there's an unusual employment opportunity for those willing to travel to the area. International travel experience is preferred, but the ability to speak X is a must.
Pleasure: You look at the stack of FSI courses, Pimsleur sets, textbooks and dictionaries weighing down your bookcase and smile because you've done them all, know them all and know you can do this. You re-read the ad, and aren't sure if this is the job for you, but you are sure that this is some kind of sign and that soon you'll be back in the region again, because you didn't learn X for nothing.
Pain: You look at the stack of FSI courses, Pimsleur sets, textbooks and dictionaries weighing down your bookcase and sigh, because you've started them all, given up on them all and will be staying right where you are while they stay right where they are because this ad is someone else's opportunity.
3. A few friends are in from out of town. Everyone's debating where to go out to eat. One of your friends wonders if the French/Thai/Persian place is still open and then opens his or her mouth to remark that you can order in the language.
Pleasure: You smile, and joke that if everyone wants horsemeat stew and shoe leather for dinner, you'll be glad to order for them. But at the restaurant, your smooth request gets the group the best table in the house and dinner, ordered with equal smoothness, is a hit with everyone except Jack/Jackie, who is a jerk and the one ounce of you that isn't pure virtue and wit is sort of glad to see them looking a little put-out.
Pain: You smile, and joke that you probably don't remember four words. At dinner with the other non-sophisticates, you try to have fun, but your shoulders are tense because you keep thinking that jerk, Jack/Jackie, is going to put you on the spot to say something and all you remember is "My desk is blue," which doesn't even make any sense but was on page 2 of the last reader you didn't finish.
I'm not saying that visualizing the two outcomes to each scenario will make you a language wizard. But they'll hopefully give your language learning a boost by making you contemplate the upside and downside of sticking with your language learning. You've got a whole culture to teach you the incentives for behaving the same way as everyone else and focusing on someone else. But dedicated self-study of languages is rarer. You've got to work out your own incentives for yourself to keep you going when things get bad, and keep you grounded when you might otherwise push yourself too hard on the way to burnout.
Note: Simon wonders if I'm a Learning Chinese sadomasochist. I can't tell from his comment, though, if he has any particular feelings about Learning Chinese. When it comes to language study, though, the masochism involved in wading through some of the self-study materials out there should be offset by constructing thought patterns and routines that give you pleasure when you study and, as importantly, a feeling that you're missing out on something if you miss your regular study time. Because you're going to hit plateaus where [sarcasm: start] the thrill of another subjunctive form or the excitement of discovering a declension just like two others with one crucial and painfully minute difference [sarcasm: end] just won't be enough to keep you going.
Now, obviously we can't have our boss threaten to fire us if we don't study three times a week. (Or at least, it's not a likely solution!) But we can attempt to replicate some of the sentiment that keeps us getting up and going to work like responsible adults every day. I'd like to offer three scenarios for contemplation that have an upside - if you study - and a downside - if you don't. The name of the game is that it hurts to let your enthusiasm for a language die, but we let it slide away, rationalize it away and repress it. We could be using it. So as you prepare to study, if you're wavering think of one of these scenarios or make up one of your own, and then go study!
1. You've just met an attractive member of the opposite sex who is having trouble communicating. You're studying his or her language. You may be happily attached, but hey, everyone likes to make a pretty girl/handsome guy smile.
Pleasure: You introduce yourself, apologize for your weak language skills, then help the person with skills far surpassing those you claimed. All eyes are on the attractive person, and now they're on you too. You have fun with onlookers, and more with your new charge, until, at last, you elegantly take your leave.
Pain: You're sure you recognize the accent. You're equally sure you can't pull it off. You stand there trying to remember the appropriate greeting for this type of situation and plot your answer to the most likely responses. In the meantime, some monolingual do-gooder has pantomimed their way into some form of communication, and your chance for glory - even for practice (!) is walking the other way.
2. You've always been fascinated by Europe/the Middle East/the Orient. The ad says there's an unusual employment opportunity for those willing to travel to the area. International travel experience is preferred, but the ability to speak X is a must.
Pleasure: You look at the stack of FSI courses, Pimsleur sets, textbooks and dictionaries weighing down your bookcase and smile because you've done them all, know them all and know you can do this. You re-read the ad, and aren't sure if this is the job for you, but you are sure that this is some kind of sign and that soon you'll be back in the region again, because you didn't learn X for nothing.
Pain: You look at the stack of FSI courses, Pimsleur sets, textbooks and dictionaries weighing down your bookcase and sigh, because you've started them all, given up on them all and will be staying right where you are while they stay right where they are because this ad is someone else's opportunity.
3. A few friends are in from out of town. Everyone's debating where to go out to eat. One of your friends wonders if the French/Thai/Persian place is still open and then opens his or her mouth to remark that you can order in the language.
Pleasure: You smile, and joke that if everyone wants horsemeat stew and shoe leather for dinner, you'll be glad to order for them. But at the restaurant, your smooth request gets the group the best table in the house and dinner, ordered with equal smoothness, is a hit with everyone except Jack/Jackie, who is a jerk and the one ounce of you that isn't pure virtue and wit is sort of glad to see them looking a little put-out.
Pain: You smile, and joke that you probably don't remember four words. At dinner with the other non-sophisticates, you try to have fun, but your shoulders are tense because you keep thinking that jerk, Jack/Jackie, is going to put you on the spot to say something and all you remember is "My desk is blue," which doesn't even make any sense but was on page 2 of the last reader you didn't finish.
I'm not saying that visualizing the two outcomes to each scenario will make you a language wizard. But they'll hopefully give your language learning a boost by making you contemplate the upside and downside of sticking with your language learning. You've got a whole culture to teach you the incentives for behaving the same way as everyone else and focusing on someone else. But dedicated self-study of languages is rarer. You've got to work out your own incentives for yourself to keep you going when things get bad, and keep you grounded when you might otherwise push yourself too hard on the way to burnout.
Note: Simon wonders if I'm a Learning Chinese sadomasochist. I can't tell from his comment, though, if he has any particular feelings about Learning Chinese. When it comes to language study, though, the masochism involved in wading through some of the self-study materials out there should be offset by constructing thought patterns and routines that give you pleasure when you study and, as importantly, a feeling that you're missing out on something if you miss your regular study time. Because you're going to hit plateaus where [sarcasm: start] the thrill of another subjunctive form or the excitement of discovering a declension just like two others with one crucial and painfully minute difference [sarcasm: end] just won't be enough to keep you going.
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