This is what discourages most people from studying a foreign/second language.




    From  my  interaction  with  various  people, I  have  come  to  learn  that  the  biggest  culprit  that  hinders  them  from  pursuing  a  foreign  language  are  the  grammar  rules. And, by  grammar, I  don’t  mean  a  shortcoming  on  their  part, what  I  mean  is  that  they  let  the  rules  of  grammar  discourage  them  before  they  even  start. What  is  interesting  is  that  the  same  grammar  rules  exist  for  example, in  Swahili  and  English  and  they  never  deterred  us  from  learning  these  languages. Perhaps  it  had  to  do  with  the  fact  that  most  us  learnt  those  languages  during  our  formative  years  and  therefore  we  had  no  choice  that  involved  dropping  out  if  things  got  tough. We  were  only  presented  with  two  viable  choices. Choice  A, you  had  to  make  it. Choice  B, you  had  to  make  it.

   Let  me  use  specific  examples  to  illustrate  my  point  above. And  what  I’ll  discuss  here  are  real  life  examples  of  what  people  have  actually  told  me. Someone  told  me  that  what ‘scared’ them  when  it  came  to  Spanish  was  the  thing  they  hear  about  objects  being  masculine  or  feminine, and  where  the  subject  and  the  verb  arrangement  are  different  from  English. In  most  cases, what  has  been  interesting  is  finding  out  that  some  of  the  people  who  are  discouraged  by  this  have  a  list  of  accomplishments  so  impressive, accomplishments  where  they  had  to  overcome  bigger  odds  than  the  ones  posed  by  any  grammar  rules  in  a  language. I’m  not  downplaying  the  complexities  of  languages. And, it’s  true, some  things  may  come  easier  to  some  individuals  as  compared  to  others. 

    Now, about  those  grammar  rules, the  masculine  and  feminine, and  the  verb  and  subject  agreement, these  are  the  last  things  you  should  be  worried  about. Just  like  they  flow  in  English, or  Swahili (yes, I said flow), the  same  happens  whether  it’s  in  Spanish  or  French. Take  a  look  at  the  following  examples  in  English  and  let  me  know  if  you  think  it  should  stand  in  the  way  of  any  aspiring  English  language  student (beginner). In  Spanish, the  rules  for  converting  singular  sentences  into  plural  are  straightforward, for  example ‘Casa (house) becomes = Casas (houses). Libro (book) becomes = Libros (books). Now, let’s  look  at  some  examples  in  English: Car = Cars. Boy = Boys. But: Woman = Women. Goose = Geese. Looking  at  the  above  examples, one  can  see  that  the  grammar  rules  in  English  are  more  fluid, yet  you  overcame  them  and  they  didn’t  stand  in  your  way  of  being  proficient  in  the  language. In  Spanish, they’re  straightforward  as  illustrated  in  the  examples  above. Do  you  now  see  why  I  said  that  these  rules  should  be  the  last  thing  that  someone  should  worry  about?.

    So, if  you  have  been  putting  off  taking  that  Spanish  class  because  of  some  of  the  barriers  mentioned  above, it’s  time  to  revisit  your  decision. I  have  given  you  a  new  perspective  that  will  allow  you  to  look  at  things  in  a  different  light. Please, leave  a  comment, would  like  to  hear  any  feedback  from  you. Also, if  you  find  the  material  helpful, please, share  the  link  with  a  friend/colleague. Thanks.


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