Get Over Your Language Barrier
Turning impossible feats into manageable micro-goals
“Así que tuvimos esta cafetera con un filtro… reut…qué es esa palabra? (So we had this coffee pot with a … filter, a reus…what’s that word again?)
I am standing in the middle of my kitchen, friends gathered ‘round, listening to me in storyteller mode, as I try to explain about how I, quite likely, threw away our reusable coffee filter and so then we had to go buy paper ones, but I didn’t have my debit card on me, which led to hubby and I scrounging for spare coins in the car…it’s a good story…but one I could tell much better in English, because, well, it’s my first language.
But in that precise moment, I’m a storyteller in Spanish — with a captive audience — and I stumble, fumble, lose the entire form of “reutilizable”.
I miss the beat.
They laugh at my lack. “Reusable” I shrug sheepishly in English.
“Reutilizable — es muchísima más fácil en español,” (It’s so much easier in Spanish) Martha replies.
“Para ti, sí!” (for you, yes) I exclaim.
Pedro comes to my rescue, “que lo puedes usar varias veces” which means “that you can use several times”, avoiding the dreaded word altogether.
“Ah, sí, pues, tuvimos un filtro que lo puedes usar varias veces” … and I’m off again, coming to the end of my story.
I enjoy telling stories, being the center of attention for a moment, drawing out the laugh, finding a clever or witty reply. And I’ve been that way as long as I can remember. So much so that it’s an integral part of my personality and my self-identity.
Or, at least, it was — before I moved to México.
In Spanish, I’m no longer so quick-witted. I can’t always give the punch line on time. I now need to ask for help, look around for references, translate badly, or just seem a bit off in my thoughts. Even after six years.
This continues to be my language barrier — my lack of self-identity. My missing mastery of words.
Speaking and existing in another language has led to a loss of my previous self. That is my final barrier to overcome. My final hurdle to feeling fully fluent.
What is yours?
What is your barrier that keeps you from existing in another language?
What is your eternal struggle in learning your target language?
What part of you do you feel is lost?
Really consider the questions for a moment.
What barrier is keeping you from feeling comfortable in your target language?
Will you finally overcome that hurdle this year?
And despite the barriers, why do we still attempt learning another language?
Why do we struggle on despite the resistance?
Because unlike our monolingual peers, we now have the gift of connecting to more people, to reaching a whole other culture, to understanding a different world outside our own.
And we know we can overcome our current barrier because we’ve already come so far.
Remember, no matter what your current barrier is in your language learning process — it won’t be a barrier forever.
You can cross it. Just like you learned to count, how to order food, how to understand that YouTube channel. Just like you crossed multiple barriers before this one, you will also one day be on the other side looking back at one more defeated challenge.
How?
Break it down. Use micro-goals.
- Pronunciation — Break the difficult word down into smaller chunks. Use syllables, sound parts, and then focus on each part of the longer word. Listen to the word as often as possible. Ask a native speaker to say the word slowly, record it, listen back, repeat. Google Pronunciation or YouTube can also be great for finding native pronunciation online. Remember, you may have to learn to shape your lips differently or place your tongue in a new position. That is part of breaking through that barrier. Listen for the subtle changes from someone who speaks your target language. Take each smaller part as a micro-goal, then put it all together.
- Listening — Identify what is difficult. Speed? Accents? Slang? Idioms? Phrasal verbs? If speed is an issue, slow down the speed to listen at fifty percent, or 75 percent speed, then regular speed. Find news in slow speech, then keep speeding it up. If a certain accent is a struggle, find a podcast, Youtuber or Tiktoker who speaks in that target accent. Listen. Listen. Listen. See if you can find someone to explain the changes in accent to you. Maybe the difficulty is understanding slang, idioms, phrasal verbs, or humor. Identify what is happening when you don’t understand, then intentionally practice listening to them in micro-goals. Listen 5 minutes every day. When that becomes understandable, then listen 10 minutes. Then 15 minutes. When you can listen to the difficulties for an hour with ease, now you’ve gotten past that barrier.
- Speaking — Again, identify what creates difficulty in speech. Is it your nervousness? Are you afraid you’ll make a mistake? Do you doubt your own pronunciation or grammer? Find a friend, language partner or private teacher to practice everyday situations. Try out new phrases, ask questions about pronunciation, form question structures, give practice replies, everything and anything you can imagine might happen in a real life situation. You can prepare for these sessions by writing out your responses, listing new vocabulary you want to try out, or with deep breathing exercises beforehand. Once you have prepared, speak for 2 minutes continuously. Keep working on your target difficulties until you can sustain a 30-minute conversation without issue. Keep in mind, the nerves in real life still might be there, but by using the micro-goals, you will be able to overcome them. Slow down. Take a deep breath. And speak.
Remember, when setting language goals and breaking down our communication barriers, always set realistic metrics. Use micro-goals to reach your larger ones. For example, they might be:
- Learn 2 new vocabulary words a week.
- Improve listening to native speakers by watching one 30-minute show a week.
- Speak out loud and record it every day for 2 minutes.
- Read one article a week.
Step-by-step, day-by-day, week-by-week, if you stay consistent with micro-goals, you will eventually reach your language goals.
Be practical.
And remember, the next time you run into one of your barriers — slow down, think about how to overcome it, take a micro-step in the right direction, and keep right on moving.
One day, that barrier will be gone.
And the next time I get the opportunity to talk about throwing away my “filtro reutilizable,” I’m going to take it. Because I’ve been practicing “Re-u-ti-li-zab-le” one syllable at a time.
Which turns into one word at a time.
And one conversation at a time.
One day at a time.
Will you come with me on this language adventure?
What are your micro-goals for this year?
Drop a comment.
