6 Things that Will NOT Happen If You Learn a Language

If you ask any polyglot what it’s like to learn a language, they’ll all tell you it’s fun. I’ve never met a person who could speak 7 languages and said they hated the process.

If it is fun, then why wouldn’t you do it?

For most people, it comes down to a misunderstanding of what the journey is like and what comes with it. If you’re one of those, it’s okay.

Many years ago, I marveled at people who spoke many languages and yet barely spoke English. What changed? The intensity of my curiosity for the Japanese language triggered me to give it a go. Now, more than 15 years since my first encounter with the language, I couldn’t be happier I tried.

Unfortunately, not everybody is as lucky as I was to get this “push” so let me share what won’t happen on your journey so you can start yours, too.

You won’t be laughed at

Embarrassment is a beast isn’t it? Learning to pronounce new words, put emphasis on certain syllables, and having a smooth flow of sentences are all hard. We’re also scared of using the wrong term and sound stupid. What if people were going to make fun of us?

Without a doubt, this is what prevents most people from ever starting to learn a language. We avoid discomfort. We run away from embarrassment. In reality, what you’re afraid of never happens. Native speakers will look at you, smiling and thankful for the effort you’ve put.

Sure, you’ll make mistakes. You’ll say something that sounds “off” to a native or, even more common, has a completely different meaning! People might laugh. But they won’t laugh at you. They’ll laugh with you.

My entire life speaking languages has shown me how understanding others are. People will make efforts to understand you when you have trouble. They’ll point you toward the right grammar pattern or word. When you get better they’ll let some of your errors fly under the radar, only pointing out the major ones.

But above all this, they’ll also contribute to incredible experiences. My travels to countries where I didn’t speak the language were nothing compared to the ones where I did. When I traveled to Korea, I was able to stay for free in someone’s second apartment and took part — for free — in a University class. When I went to the south of Japan, someone I had met the day before invited me to a bar serving quality Sake (日本酒), shared what it was like living there, and paid for the evening.

Nobody really laughs at a language learner. Even if someone were to do it, it’s only to hide the jealousy they have toward you taking this challenge.

You won’t be alone

What’s your idea of learning a language? Studying in your room all alone, right? That might have been the case during school, but it’s not anymore. Even if you start learning a language alone, with nobody you know who does it, you’ll meet people on your journey.

You’ll find communities like A Language Learner’s Forum. You’ll find meetups around your home. You’ll meet native speakers. You’ll meet other learners. You’ll meet so many people you won’t even believe it.

You’ll be able to practice the language and create friendships with people you didn’t even know existed. You’ll find similar hobbies with people on the other side of the planet. You’ll discover new ways to look at things.

Of course, you’ll spend some time in your room studying but it’ll only feel like a fraction of it all.

When I started learning Mandarin, I was handling check-ins in flats to foreigners visiting Paris. I often had to wait for 20 to 30 minutes for the clients to arrive. During that time, I was always practicing my Mandarin with a Taiwanese language exchange partner. Time flew by and I discovered a lot about Taiwan while sitting on a Parisian balcony.

You won’t be studying lists

Ah, those dear lists of words or grammar patterns we saw during school days. We all hated them. For most of us, these are what annihilated our interest in language learning.

I remember repeating the same words and wondering the point of learning “to annihilate” in high school because I already the verb “to destroy”. Why learn a synonym I would probably never use? Sure, it came in handy in the previous paragraph, but I could have done without it or learned it in a different way.

That’s the beauty of self-indulged learning. There’s no process forced upon you. The way you want to learn is the best. What you hate can be skipped.

No need to learn vocabulary about the kitchen unless you want to. No need to learn words about politics unless you want to. Forget learning about engineering unless you want to.

See a pattern here? Your studies follow your wishes now.

I can’t even remember the last time I learned a list of vocabulary words. Maybe 4 years ago for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) N1 but, even then, I’m pretty sure I found a way to make seem like a story linking words.

If you enjoy lists, that’s great too! Have a go at it and enjoy it! If you don’t, nobody’s forcing you to learn one anymore. Why not learn through reading or watching videos instead?

You won’t be overwhelmed

Learning a language is a journey. Not a marathon. If you want to take a break, you can. If you want to keep learning for years, you can. If you want to study once a week, you can. If you want to study every day, you can. If you want to learn the basics only, you can. If you want to reach a native-like level, you can.

Each choice will bring you down a different path, but it’ll be one chosen by you and you only. As a result, you cannot get overwhelmed.

If you regret that language learning is taking some time away from your other passion, then reduce the time spent or move it around. Nobody’s forcing you to follow a certain path.

When I studied for the most difficult Japanese Language Proficiency Test, I blamed myself for not studying Korean anymore. I tried to force myself to add study sessions of it but it felt overwhelming. What did I do? I changed my plans and instead focused on reading one tiny article a day to keep encountering the language. Since then, I’ve studied more seriously again but this habit hasn’t left me once since 2016.

As long as you chose to get on this path, you can always change its course to fit your lifestyle. Sometimes you’ll have to be creative, some others the solution will be obvious. Learn to handle both.

You won’t be fluent in 3 months

Don’t trust sources saying you’ll be “fluent” in a short amount of time. You’ll get a certain level, sure, but you won’t be fluent. At least not in the way you picture it right now.

You’ll improve at your rhythm. Maybe quickly, maybe not. Either way, that shouldn’t be where your focus goes. Turn your attention to the language itself, to the journey you embarked on.

Don’t get your hopes up nor down. It won’t take years for the language to transform your vision of the world. It’ll take weeks. But it won’t take weeks to become native-like either. It doesn’t matter.

What matters is for you to have fun!

You won’t regret it

So what will happen? Fun, discoveries, experiences, all more magnificent each time. As you keep on learning, you’ll discover more. Your curiosity will be triggered again and again. Your thirst for knowledge will grow further and further. The incredible experiences you’ll live will open your eyes to a world previously hidden.

If you focus on making this learning journey fun, you will never regret it.

I can assure you one thing. I haven’t, nor will I ever, regret learning languages.

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