Learning a Language

Something neither beauty nor fashion related today but more lifestyle - a topic I’ve been wanting to write about for a while, so I hope this post is useful. I may or may not have said before that I study French (with English) at Uni. People often approach me to ask what it’s like to learn a language and how it feels to be able to speak it at a reasonable level. Today I’ll talk about the pros and cons of learning a language and for those in education, what learning a language is like at various stages in the UK education system.

I’m clearly biased, but I think learning a language is really great. Here are my five top reasons as to why I think you should consider giving it a try:

·      It’s interesting. You don’t just learn another language, but you learn about the culture of the country or countries in which the language is spoken, including everything from history to fashion to art to food.

·     You can learn a lot about your own language. This is particularly helpful for me as I also study English Language, but nonetheless it is particularly informative and helps with some of those more obscure Trivial Pursuit questions.

·    Employability. Employers love people who can speak more than one language and with the current job market as competitive as it is any little extra skills you can bring to the table are a bonus.

·   Confidence and communication. Learning a language brings you multiple other skills,  particularly communication skills and in turn those skills contribute towards making you  a more confident person.

·   Impressing your friends. And your parents. And men...I always get asked to ‘say  something in French, it’s really ...’ ;)

Studying a language, as with any other degree, is not easy. Obviously if you want to see results you have to put the work in. And it’s not just the speaking. When studying a language like, you have to commit to the grammar lessons too. Although personally, I don’t think they’re too bad. If you study a language at a higher level too, you may understand where I’m coming from.

My language journey began in Year 7, when I was 11. I was only ever offered French, so I never had to choose what language to study. (Although I did GCSE Spanish during my second year on college. I remember literally nothing.) Being frank, at GCSEs you’re taught enough (and how) to pass the exam. I got an A* at GCSE but when I got to college I knew not even a quarter of the French that some of the other people in my class knew. I don’t say my grade to brag but rather to prove the point that you could get top marks at GCSE but be completely unprepared when starting A levels 3 months later. My advice would be to revise verbs. As boring as that sounds, if you haven’t got a basic grasp on them, you’ll struggle to stay afloat.

When I arrived at college, I had to play a lot of catch up. I ended up being the only person from my school to continue French to A2 level. It was around this time that I decided I really loved learning a language and I knew I wanted to continue it at degree level. It was hard work but it wasn’t just another subject that I couldn’t relate to the real world, it was a skill I’d be able to use in the future. University level French wasn’t such a big jump as the gap between GCSE and A Level because by now you should have a good grasp of all the basic and more complex areas of grammar (if your college or sixth form prepares you well enough). The area I always struggled with was speaking, but don’t worry about any areas of weakness, they will improve with time and practice as long as you have the enthusiasm and dedication.

If you’re currently studying a language or just starting to learn one then good luck (or should I say bon courage!) As long as you’re enjoying yourself it’ll be worth it in the long run – promise!

-Alex