Wow, I expected to disagree with a lot of what you wrote, but instead I loved it, and especially I appreciated how you applied the more general concept of making good use of your time to language-learning.
I really liked your list of reasons to learn a language, and that you didn’t limit it to when it is “useful”, which is so often the flaw I see in articles about language, which focus on how many dollars more you could earn if you spoke Mandarin or Spanish.
I fully agree that if you do not get energized by learning languages, if it’s a chore that leaves you tired and frustrated, then maybe your energy is better spent on other vital tasks.
One way to look at this is on a spectrum. On the left are things that are vitally important and that you do even if they are no fun. Like taxes, work-outs or dental visits. On the right are things that energize or relax you, like watching football or doing Wordle, where you don’t look for any “value” in them, you just enjoy them.
The secret of a happy, successful life is to find as many activities as possible that you could fit at both ends of the spectrum. Like playing soccer, which is both fun and healthy.
For some of us, learning foreign languages is in this category. I started learning for fun, out of intellectual curiosity, but they have turned out helping me in many tangible ways that I hadn’t expected.
But for many people, learning languages doesn’t fit at either end. You don’t enjoy it, and, at least at the level you’re reaching, it doesn’t add much value to your life. For those, it probably isn’t a good use of your time compared to the many opportunities out there.
It would be great to get more people to read your article and think about it and how it applies to them—maybe even not just related to languages, but to all the things that we’re encouraged to do because they are “good” in some abstract sense.
Thanks for your comment! I also think EAs sometimes fall into the trap of not considering their own interests and things that make them happy as much as they should. The importance of personal interest and enjoyment in language learning is hard to overemphasize.
Wow, I expected to disagree with a lot of what you wrote, but instead I loved it, and especially I appreciated how you applied the more general concept of making good use of your time to language-learning.
I really liked your list of reasons to learn a language, and that you didn’t limit it to when it is “useful”, which is so often the flaw I see in articles about language, which focus on how many dollars more you could earn if you spoke Mandarin or Spanish.
I fully agree that if you do not get energized by learning languages, if it’s a chore that leaves you tired and frustrated, then maybe your energy is better spent on other vital tasks.
One way to look at this is on a spectrum. On the left are things that are vitally important and that you do even if they are no fun. Like taxes, work-outs or dental visits. On the right are things that energize or relax you, like watching football or doing Wordle, where you don’t look for any “value” in them, you just enjoy them.
The secret of a happy, successful life is to find as many activities as possible that you could fit at both ends of the spectrum. Like playing soccer, which is both fun and healthy.
For some of us, learning foreign languages is in this category. I started learning for fun, out of intellectual curiosity, but they have turned out helping me in many tangible ways that I hadn’t expected.
But for many people, learning languages doesn’t fit at either end. You don’t enjoy it, and, at least at the level you’re reaching, it doesn’t add much value to your life. For those, it probably isn’t a good use of your time compared to the many opportunities out there.
It would be great to get more people to read your article and think about it and how it applies to them—maybe even not just related to languages, but to all the things that we’re encouraged to do because they are “good” in some abstract sense.
Thanks for your comment! I also think EAs sometimes fall into the trap of not considering their own interests and things that make them happy as much as they should. The importance of personal interest and enjoyment in language learning is hard to overemphasize.