All of us language learners know how hard it is to achieve a level where we fell satisfied with our skills in a certain language. Whether you are learning a European or Asian language, the challenge is always the same. And that question that you have in your mind is a constant reminder that you still have a long way to go to feel confident: have I learnt enough? However, the answer is probably that you are at a good level where you can easily both understand and being understood. But there is that something missing and it is what I call the spark. That magnificent moment of realization that you can communicate in a language different than yours and it is worth all the effort you put in. Language learning really does not reach a point when you are done, it is not like a list, that you tick off and eventually get at the end of it. It is an ongoing process and it provides wit some small yet intense joys. There are some small rewards in learning a new language and I am going to list three examples.
1. Watch a film of series in their original language
One of the best language learning reward is being able to listen to actors speaking their native languages in movies. We can all agree that dubbing sometimes is not the best option linguistic wise. Yes, it is essential for delivering the movie to a wider audience. However, have you ever watched a movie both in your native language and the original one and thinking “oh my God that actor’s voice is completely different in my language!”. Yes, I did too. And how about those sentences or jokes you can clearly tell they were translated directly from a language to the other and they sound a bit forced. Watching a movie in the original language is a great reward because not only does it make you feel like you are super powerful for understanding but also it connects you more with the background and the culture of that movie. And if you are still struggling, subtitles are always a good option. Personally, I would much rather reading some words at the bottom of the screen than watching something completely translated and therefore deprived of its authenticity.
2. Understand song lyrics in that language
This happened to me in Spanish first. I must admit the song was quite silly and I am sure you know the one I am talking about: Macarena. Yes, that song that you have listened to maybe a hundred times and you kept singing with invented words on the spot. Which in your mind it all made sense, but then, it was just your imagination going wild and you were messing up real lyrics with a meaning. Yes, I know. It sounds impossible to understand a song in a new language at first, but it is the best reward I find in my learning path. I love listening to songs in both Spanish and English and I can hardly explain how happy and satisfied I am when I get the meaning. No need to figure out every syllable, sometimes that is difficult also for natives. Take Sean Paul, as an example. Yet, being able to listen to a song and catching the meaning it is the best feeling I have experienced and the biggest reward when learning languages.
3. Reading the news from direct sources
I study translation and I know that sometimes is difficult to portray a situation or transmit a specific message from one language to the other. However, I think it is great that as language learning we can read through news from another country directly from the source. For example, I often read the news in English or in Spanish. I go on online newspapers or I google TV News of the day. Not only it is a great exercise for enriching vocabulary and improving your listening skills if it’s daily TV news, it also makes you feel closer and more connected to the country. In this moment when with globalization and the internet we have tons and tons of information from different sources, being able to understand a source in another language it is an invaluable skill and it also acts like a filter. It happened to me before that I read a news in Italy about Brexit for example and then on English newspapers was not seen anywhere. So yeah, learn languages broaden your ability to select the most reliable and adequate information from different sources.
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