How many languages do you speak? At a recent company get-together, we discovered that our team speaks 35 languages and not all of us are native English speakers.
This informal dinner table poll about languages made me wonder how difficult it is to learn a language. I then searched the internet for common myths about learning the English language and made a list. Although this list is about English, the list seems to apply to learning any language.
Some key myths:
- Native speakers can teach you better than non-native speakers
- To be fluent, you can’t make mistakes
- Learning English is boring
- You don’t have enough time to learn the language
- You need to visit or live in an English-speaking country to become fluent
- You can’t afford lessons
- You’ll never get the accent right
- You are too old to learn English
- You cannot speak English well without a large vocabulary
- Technology makes it pointless to start learning a second language (you can use an app)
What do you think about these myths? Do you learn a new language better from a native speaker? Do you need to visit the country where the language is spoken to learn to speak it well?
In my experience, if you want to learn a new language, just start, no matter your age. Attend free classes, watch YouTube videos, or subscribe to language-learning apps. And regardless of technology, such as Google Translate, nothing is better than learning the language yourself to ensure the point you want to make is being said.
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Vanya Wryter Consulting Services 
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