If we are talking chronological order, the first language I learned was English, though the second language I learned was Spanish. I studied Spanish during my last year of middle school and my first two years of high school. Despite being decent at the language, my school education just didn’t engage me. I would like to study Spanish again in the future because of the large proportion of speakers in the United States. It would be of great benefit to me in my future employment, especially if I do end up becoming a journalist.
In my third year of high school, I switched my studies to German because I discovered that I had German heritage. Since then, I have studied German off and on for the last six to seven years. Although my comprehension of the language is decent, I don’t have the speaking abilities I would like to have. That really just comes with practicing the language. Ideally, I would like to visit Germany within the next year, so studying the language is vital for that upcoming trip.
The last language I have studied is Japanese, though I’m not familiar with the language nearly as well as I would like to be. I traveled to Japan for a week and a half in January, which I found to be one of the most transformative experiences of my life. I’d love to return in the future and see the nation again, though I’d first need to learn the language in earnest if I travel to Japan alone.
I would be lying if I said I have done a lot of effort to learn my languages with the exception of German. However, I’ve truly been looking for a strategy to learn languages that’s better tailored to my learning style. Recently, I found a book that I think will be very helpful toward my pursuits, so I’ll be putting a lot more effort into my language goals. I’ve been curious about learning French, Chinese, and Arabic once I feel like I’ve got a solid understanding of my first three. However, as the title of this post expresses, I’ll never be finished studying any language, even English…
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