Languages as Nokia always says connecting people. A new language is one of the most rewarding experiences for anyone, but even more so at a young age. “During the first three years of life, the foundations of thinking, language, visions, attitude, aptitude, and other characteristics are laid down. It would be a waste not to use a child’s natural ability to learn during his or her most vital years when learning a second language is as easy as learning the first,” says Ronald Kotulak, author of Inside the Brain. Also, my Turkish teacher once said, “If you understand 2 languages, then your third, fourth, fifth, so on will be much easier.” And I couldn’t agree more! I find people with 3 or 4 languages are faster to learn Turkish or any other languages than people who speaks just 1 language. It also happens to German course. I can memorize words by connecting them to other languages, for example, I have the word ‘kirsche’ means cherry. I mix up kiraz (Turkish) and cherry (English) to become Kirsche (German). So does Spanish, the word ‘Zapato’ (shoe) which sounds similar to Indonesian ‘Sepatu’ (shoe). Isn’t it interesting?
Why learn languages?
I would like to tell you my stories. I come from Kalimantan and speak Banjar. When I was in Jakarta, the capital city of Indonesia I met some students from many cities in Indonesia. Mostly they don’t understand Banjar so I should speak in Indonesian. Sometimes they speak in Java or Sunda or any other languages. Yeah, Indonesia actually has up to 700 languages and it makes Indonesia becomes second most languages spoken country (742). Number 1 is Papua New Guinea (820).
In 2013, I moved to Turkey for higher education. I made friends from other countries. One day I sat next to my friend from Ghana. He asked me something about Turkish lesson, but I couldn't understand anything because he spoke in French. But thanks to Google, I could finally answer his question after googled it. Even though the pronunciation was totally wrong (Lol).
In the other day when I was in Turkish preparation class, My friends and I were talking about world issues. We’re talking in English, suddenly changed into Arabic. They might not be Arabian but they could speak Arabic fluently. I couldn't understand what they were talking about, so I asked them to speak in English or Turkish. One of them said, “Are you a Moslem?”
I said, “Of course I am, don’t you see I’m wearing hijab”
"You know in some religions, they are also using hijab. Anyway, if you are a Moslem, why don’t you understand Arabic? It’s your religion language. “
It’s like they gave me a punch right on my face. Instead of giving an excuse to myself, “They were lucky cause they had learned at Madrasa.” I said, “Thanks for reminding me, I will learn it one day.”
In fact, learning a new language is not easy. For example, some people say Turkish is a hard language. According to the table below my answer is yes.
These are real and grammatically correct. Yes, bewildering grammar strikes! Grammarphobes may consider finally dropping to their knees to defeat the complexities of Turkish. Other hardships that we should overcome are distinctive and melodic. I live in Kayseri and Kayserililer (Turkish who live in Kayseri) have a different accent than Turkish who live in Istanbul. I found Turkish has a unique tongue, they sound different than other countries. I have lived in Turkey for 3 years and I couldn’t get the accent though. But it’s Ok since they understand what I’m talking about.
How to conquer the problem of learning new languages?
- First of all, learn the basic. If you want to learn the language, learn the alphabets then you can go on.
- Second, you should listen what a native speaker listen to get pronunciation correctly. You can listen to the radio, audio programs or watching tv. I referred to watch animation and cartoon first because they use simple language.
- Third, you should practice regularly both speaking and writing. Find the native speaker friends really help you.
- Fourth, read in the language as much as you can. For instance, read from general books which have topics you like it. But I recommend to read from children's books first, then read from magazines or newspapers.
The most important above all is your desire. If you have the desire you can overcome the hardships.
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