Learning languages can be a very difficult challenge for students and language enthusiasts alike. There are some language enthusiasts called polyglots who speak a couple of different languages, and who have useful tips and tricks for picking up new ones. A polyglot is someone who speaks at least three languages fluently. It takes a couple of years to become fluent in another language which requires patience, consistency, and determination. Some polyglots will spend their whole lives learning languages. Despite this, most multi-language speakers say that all that practice is worth it.
“It’s a way to have tolerance and understanding about different cultures,” said Mendel Chernack, who speaks four languages (Italian, French, Spanish, and Portuguese) besides his first language of English, who is also a multilingual and Spanish teacher who has been teaching at Berkeley High School for 20 years, “It’s also very interesting, it's great for your brain, and it’s a way to connect people.”
Polyglots often use all the languages they know to connect with people and their cultures which they normally wouldn’t be able to do without having as vast a knowledge of languages as they have.
“When you can speak the native language, people are very gracious, they are very happy and excited, that you are connecting with them at that level,” Chernack said, “It’s hard to explain, but there is an emotional connection that you can have with someone when you're speaking their language that they were born with, that they grew up with.”
When learning a new language, consistency is key, but it is also very important to immerse yourself in the culture of the language that you are learning if you want to become fluent.
“In my experience, when learning a language, you have to get as integrated into the language and its culture as possible,” said Alana Chiu, a BHS student in Mandarin two, who went to Yu Ming, a K-8th Mandarin immersion school in Oakland. “So speaking it every day is definitely a big part of learning and being fluent in a language,” she said.
Mastering a new language takes years of practice and patience, causing some people to struggle to find enough motivation to put forth the effort. Many polyglots at BHS recommend making language practice as fun as possible to keep yourself interested.
“I’d say my two main tips are constancy, a little bit every day is better than studying for three hours one day and then none the next,” Chernack said, “What happens when you're consistent is that it tells your brain that it’s important, and then you start remembering things once you have that momentum going. The other thing is to do what you love but do it in that language (that you are trying to learn). So if you love music, listen to songs in that language … If you like to read, read in another language. If you like watching videos, watch videos in another language. Whatever you like, that thing exists, but in a different language.”
Many teachers at BHS also use this method of keeping language practice fun and interesting to engage their students in class.
“In Latin, Mr. Piazza teaches language and culture by having students sing [songs in Latin] in class,” said Amalia Walsh who, besides her native language (English) speaks Italian and an Italian dialect called Torresano. “He connects the ancient world and today. He also keeps students engaged during lectures by making them funny to keep the language, history, and culture of Latin not boring to his students,” she said.
BHS teachers have many different ways of keeping their classes engaging such as having students sing songs, play games, bake foods, and do art projects related to the language that they’re teaching in class.
“Even though the class is really challenging and we get a lot of homework we also get to do some fun projects,” said Chiu, “Last semester, to celebrate the autumn festival our teacher had us get into groups and make moon cakes. I think it was really fun and we learned a lot about Chinese culture through that project.”
Learning different languages can help people in various aspects of life. Being able to speak multiple languages can help with job hunting, travel, communication, and cognitive functions.
“I think it's really important to learn more than one language,” said Walsh, “This is because it's really cool and you can communicate with people from more places. It's also good to learn for your brain - it becomes more flexible and adaptable to new things. Also, it looks good on job/college applications. There aren't any downsides to knowing multiple languages … It's very fun, and a sort of exchange of skills. You can learn about people's culture, and how they interact, it's super interesting.”