(This is the script of a speech I gave to Liferay‘s Toastmasters club. Alas, I forgot to record it, as always. Yet, it may still be worth sharing. Let’s hope I remember to record my next speech!)
I have to say, it is always a pleasure to be here, not the least because our chapter is so cosmopolitan! It is one of the things I like the most in my career now: the opportunity to converse with such a diverse set of people and cultures.
I’m sorry if I sound provincial; it is because I am a bit. We are not global citizens here where I come from. Last year, my barber couldn’t believe I had daily meetings in English. Although I’m pretty comfortable returning to the neighborhood I grew up in, I would be bored to death if I were locked here.
Fortunately, going to the university and getting a career in IT expanded my horizons. For one thing, I had to learn English, and what a marvelous achievement it was! It opened the doors of my comprehension in ways I couldn’t even imagine before. I was lucky my university had this course, Instrumental English, to teach us how to use the language fluently. (My previous experiences with language courses were disappointing, to be honest.) It took time and practice, but by consuming content in English, I got to a point where I felt quite comfortable, even if not flawless.
I know many of you here are native English speakers. You are lucky, my friends! I can only wonder how knowing such a universal language from an early age can give you a vaster view of the world. On the other hand, it may rob you of the very satisfying pastime of learning languages.
Many people are adamant that everybody should learn a foreign language to the point of fluency. While I agree it is a good idea, I wouldn’t be so bold as to affirm every person should do this, and surely wouldn’t disregard monolingual people. Letting aside the fact that you do you, learning English makes more sense and is likely more straightforward than learning most other languages for a bunch of reasons.
First of all, English is almost automatically useful. We here who learned English as a second language most likely learned it because we needed it for our studies or careers. I can ensure that, here where I live, fluency in English can open a lot of doors that are already open to English native speakers. It is easier to justify learning English as a second language, to yourself and to others.
Also, English is relatively simple. Not that simple, mind you: the pronunciation is frankly bewildering, as well as the nonsensical writing. That said, it is one of the most frugal grammars I have ever seen, maybe losing only to Mandarin. Who knows, someday I can be skilled enough to compare them properly.
On top of that, the enormous cultural influence of countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom paves the way to us, non-native speakers. I don’t know about your cultural context, but here we use English words and expressions a lot! Also, there is so much quality material to consume and practice all over the place. There is, of course, lots of quality material in other languages as well. Yet, those may be harder to find for those still learning. On the other hand, English has so much content it is hard not to find something interesting.
Given all that, I have this theory that non-native English speakers have a leg up on the path to polyglotism. Studying languages becomes easier and easier the more languages you know. Since we have to learn English, we have to give the first, and most challenging, step after all!
All that said, I still recommend learning languages emphatically, even if you are an English native speaker. To speak another language expands your worldview drastically, is helpful for your career, makes trips abroad much more fun. There are even some studies suggesting it can help to prevent memory loss and other neurological ailments. Although I confess, you may find yourself too often forgetting how to say this or that word in your native language, a phenomenon my bilingual friends can surely relate to.
And learning languages is fun, I can attest. After studying English, I tried to learn German for years, without much success but having a lot of fun. When I started working for Liferay Latin America, the company offered all employees a Spanish course with an excellent teacher, which I took with enthusiasm. I was so lucky, not only because I had this opportunity but also because Spanish is remarkably easy for Portuguese speakers. (Which is another disadvantage for English speakers: I don’t know any language as close to English as the Romanche languages are to each other.) With moderate fluency in two languages, I got a taste for lingos. My old German books came out of the archives, and I am even taking a Chinese course right now. The point is, multilingualism becomes more accessible and fun with time.
So, what about you? Do you speak more than one tongue? Would you like to? If so, give it a try. It may look scary or exhausting at first, but it doesn’t need to be. Language learning, like beers and sports, can be disconcerting at first but exhilarating once you get the taste.