{"id":272745,"date":"2023-11-15T01:40:26","date_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:40:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwalks.com\/blog\/?post_type=columnist&p=272745"},"modified":"2023-11-15T01:40:26","modified_gmt":"2023-11-15T00:40:26","slug":"when-it-comes-to-language-speaking-perfectly-is-your-enemy","status":"publish","type":"columnist","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverwalks.com\/blog\/columnist\/brian-feutz\/when-it-comes-to-language-speaking-perfectly-is-your-enemy\/","title":{"rendered":"When It Comes to Language \u2013 \u201cSpeaking Perfectly\u201d Is Your Enemy"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m from the United States and, many years ago, lived in Mexico on a college exchange program. I went there on a spur-of-the-moment decision and stayed for almost four months.<\/p>\n

When I arrived, I could barely say the word \u2018taco,\u2019 but after a few weeks of intensive 3-hour-a-day classes, I began to pick up the language.<\/p>\n

The family I lived with spoke no English, which made the first month extremely challenging. It forced me to use my broken Spanish combined with gestures and pantomimes. As a result, I was quite the entertainer. At dinner, I\u2019d stare into the distance as I formulated a simple sentence, and when they saw that, they\u2019d all set down their forks, sit patiently, and await my statement, usually something benign like \u201cFood good\u201d or \u201cSchool fun.\u201d \u201cMuy Bien, Brian!\u201d they\u2019d say after I spoke.<\/p>\n

Locals attended the same school and as my command of the language improved, I made friends. They took me to their homes, showed me their town, and we shared tips on our respective languages. I\u2019ll forever be grateful that they taught me to \u2018try\u2019 and not worry so much about tenses and conjugations \u2013 and to just get the message across.<\/p>\n

They told me: \u201cJust give it a try. We\u2019ll be able to figure out what you\u2019re saying.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

I learned that perfection isn\u2019t necessary when speaking another language. Four months later I found myself traveling all over Mexico, speaking and communicating confidently. I remember the taxi ride to the airport where the driver and I chatted about everything for an hour, and he complimented me on my language skills. Only four months, and I spoke quite well.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to my return to college. With great pride and my new Spanish-speaking skills in hand, I signed up for advanced Spanish classes, with the plan to become fluent so I can travel the Spanish-speaking world with ease.<\/p>\n

On my first test, I got an F. My second test ended in an F. I dropped the class.<\/p>\n

Turns out, in college we\u2019re expected to speak and write Spanish with precision, to conjugate verbs in the proper tense, person, voice, number, and mood. In contrast, what I knew was to simply throw verbs at the listener and let them figure it out. Nuance would come later, if at all.<\/p>\n

So, I took a lower class. Failed that one, too. Devastated, I dropped it and took a beginner class.<\/p>\n

One day the teacher introduced a pair of students from Mexico to the class. They\u2019d come from the same city where I studied, so I was eager to talk with them. The teacher explained that they spoke no English and if we had questions, we should raise our hands and ask them in Spanish. I looked around the room and saw a sea of eyeballs bulging with terror. The thought of speaking beginner Spanish to actual Spanish-speaking people scared everyone but me.<\/p>\n

So, I raised my hand and asked them where they lived. I asked if they knew any of my friends (they didn\u2019t), and I asked them dozens of questions while the rest of the class sunk deep into their chairs, hiding, relieved that they wouldn\u2019t be embarrassed trying to articulate Spanish in perfectly formed complete sentences.<\/p>\n

I knew my Spanish was worse than my classmates when evaluated by vocabulary, verb choice, and conjugation, but I got my message across and enjoyed a lively two-way conversation that afternoon.<\/p>\n

After class, I invited them to a party (it was college, after all), and all evening long, I hung with them and translated English and Spanish back and forth with everyone who wanted to speak to them. They had a fantastic time, and so did I.<\/p>\n

I failed that class and gave up on formal Spanish lessons, but I can still hack my way through a Spanish-speaking country.<\/p>\n

The lesson is: Don\u2019t get hung up on perfection.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Whenever I visit a country that speaks a different language, I learn a few words, verbs, and phrases. I use them knowing that my pronunciation, conjugation, inflections, and all the nuance that goes with a language will be terrible.<\/p>\n

They don\u2019t care. They love it when we try.<\/p>\n

Trust me. Speak up, speak poorly, and enjoy yourself.<\/p>\n

\n

Planning a trip to Â鶹APP ? Get ready !<\/p>\n

\n

These are\u00a0Amazon’s\u00a0best-selling<\/strong>\u00a0travel products that you may need for coming to Â鶹APP.<\/p>\n

Bookstore<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. The best travel book : Rick Steves – Â鶹APP 2023<\/strong> –\u00a0Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
  2. Fodor’s Â鶹APP 2024 –\u00a0Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Travel Gear<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

      \n
    1. Venture Pal Lightweight Backpack –\u00a0Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    2. Samsonite Winfield 2 28″ Luggage –\u00a0Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n
    3. Swig Savvy’s Stainless Steel Insulated Water Bottle\u00a0–\u00a0Learn more here<\/a><\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Check Amazon\u2019s best-seller list for the most popular travel accessories. <\/a>We sometimes read this list just to find out what new travel products people are buying.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1731,"featured_media":272746,"template":"","categories":[],"tags":[4935,4936,4933,4932,4934],"topic":[4821,4056],"class_list":["post-272745","columnist","type-columnist","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-college-experience","tag-communication-challenges","tag-cultural-exchange","tag-language-learning","tag-language-perfection","topic-language","topic-travel"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nWhen It Comes to Language \u2013 \u201cSpeaking Perfectly\u201d Is Your Enemy - Discover Walks Columnist<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I\u2019m from the United States and, many years ago, lived in Mexico on a college exchange program.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverwalks.com\/blog\/columnist\/brian-feutz\/when-it-comes-to-language-speaking-perfectly-is-your-enemy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"When It Comes to Language \u2013 \u201cSpeaking Perfectly\u201d Is Your Enemy - 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