My Introduction, My Inspiration- Language Learning

Growing up in Northern New Jersey and going to my grandparent’s and aunts houses in Harlem, New York City many times a year, I heard English, Spanish, French and Creole. As a little girl English and Spanish is what I was introduced to first and heard the most. I come from an English speaking family so English is my native language. That did not stop my interest in the Spanish Language once I realized the difference between languages as a toddler. I would be in Harlem and Spanish music would be playing. I would walk past people conversing and realize that they were speaking Spanish. I always wanted to know what they were saying, not because I was nosy but because I was intrigued by the language that I heard. I fell in love with the rhythm of the Spanish language, the color and vibrancy in the way it was spoken and I started to observe the culture of those who spoke it. I knew I wanted to one day be fluent Spanish in particularly then maybe learn other languages in the future.

I used to love when my cousin Robbie would come and visit. He is one of my Mom’s first cousins and he spoke Spanish fluently. I vividly remember sitting on Robbie’s lap on the porch at my house asking him how to say various words in Spanish. He would patiently translate the words that I  inquired about. I also asked him how he learned Spanish since no one else in our family spoke Spanish that I knew of at the time. He told me that he learned in school and perfected his skills when he traveled and lived in Santo Domingo, in the Dominican Republic. Robbie could speak, read and write in Spanish just like a native speaker. I thought that if he did it and I could do it too as long as I kept at it. He became my inspiration. I don’t know if he knows it but I looked up to him then and I still do.

Learning another language is often challenging. There were many times when I questioned my progress and felt discouraged. If you are learning a new language or trying something new that takes time to grasp you may feel the same way and that is normal. In those discouraging times remember

your introduction and initial spark of your interest and all the work that you put into achieving your goal of learning that new language. Let that serve as your motivation to keep moving forward.

My surroundings growing up planted the seed for my Spanish language interests. My cousin Robbie was one of the first people to water that seed and nurture my Spanish language endeavor. For that I will be forever grateful.

KoMiSa’s Take Away Thought:

It’s not always easy to learn another language but remembering and drawing upon the introduction and inspiration that leads to this desire can be a great resource of motivation. It’s often a powerful tool to overcome the challenging times as you achieve your language goal.