Relight the language spark
Learning another language offers the chance to build bridges to different cultures and connect to people wherever you go, and it’s never too late to reignite a childhood interest
ILLUSTRATIONS: MARTA LANUZA-MEMPATHIE
If I quizzed 100 people on their grasp of a second language and made a bar chart of the different responses, I’m fairly sure that ‘I’m too rusty’, ‘I found it boring at school’ and ‘Why bother?’ would be among the biggest spikes.
While experiences vary – some people need to learn a new language as a matter of necessity, such as a foreign trip or meeting new in-laws, and others flit easily between two or more – many of us have had minimal exposure to a second language in our lives. Perhaps you learned one for a few years at school before letting it lapse, or maybe your family didn’t speak its ancestral language at home during your upbringing.