Essay Example on Developing My Mind Through Different Languages

At this stage of my life, I have learned new languages different from my native language, and this has helped me a lot in the development of my communication skills and the way I interact with people right from a young age. The main idea that has made me develop my knowledge in different types of languages in my life is the notion that languages shape people's brains and lives. This has been evident throughout my life because I have been able to develop my mind using different languages and this has made me confident speaking to different people I meet due to my excellent communication skills in various languages.

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I was born with a mother tongue of the English language where I have known English to be my primary language since I was born. My parents are fluent English speakers, and they taught me the language since I was born and most of my relatives' either close or distant ones have been speaking English to me since I knew them (Nagales & Watson, 2018). English has shaped the person I am because I used this language in most of my classes in school and the various subjects that I learned in my pre-high school were taught using English. Most of the time I would use English in communicating with other people, and it became part of my identity which gave me a sense of belonging in many aspects of my life hence I slowly developed my communication skills. For example, the first time I stood up in front of a crowd of people to speak to them was in a family occasion where my family members and I were expected to welcome the visitors at our home and make them feel at home before the event began. I used fluent English to introduce myself and communicated to them using the language I was taught since childhood.

As I continued with my education, I joined a school where learning French and the Spanish language was compulsory for all students. It was a difficult task for me at the beginning because I was fond of the English language only since I knew how to talk (Cohen & Bauer, 2019). I always made mistakes when talking both of these new languages before I got to master the concepts of the languages. The grammar rules that exist in the different languages were complicated; hence they formed limited vocabulary that made me make several mistakes in pronunciations. These mistakes made me frustrated most of the time, and I always felt like giving up on learning these languages but the memories I had of the times I started learning English made me stay strong to continue learning. Some of these memories include a time my mother was teaching me to speak in English when I was a child, and I always made mistakes (Cohen & Bauer, 2019). She never gave up on me; instead, she encouraged me to try again until I became perfect. With practice and a lot of eagerness to know the new languages, I developed my skills in writing and talking these languages, and they have had a significant impact on my life.

My sense of belonging has been affected by these languages in different ways one of them being that I have been able to connect with other people in my lifetime. Being able to connect with people using their languages creates an incredible feeling in me, and it has played a significant role in my personal and professional lives (Galda & Pellegrini, 2015). This connection has been evident in my interactions with different communities and interacting with people which has made me have lifetime friendships from people who speak English, Spanish and French. Learning these languages has also helped me to advance my career because the language skills that I have acquired over the years have helped me to have a competitive advantage from my agemates who know only one language. Knowing a variety of languages has become one of the main requirements for most companies in hiring of new employees mostly due to their excellent communication skills and their ability to communicate with clients in overseas markets as well as attracting people who live in the country but speak foreign languages.

Another way that these languages have affected my sense of belonging over the years is through my brain development. The benefits of learning different languages to the brain have been evident in me where I have experienced an increase in skills of solving problems, and improved memory as well as excellent critical thinking skills (Galda & Pellegrini, 2015). These languages have also enhanced my concentration, listening skills, and multitasking abilities which have helped me to maintain my cognitive increase. I have been able to appreciate other people's cultures because language creates a direct connection to different cultures. I have also been able to view the world and its people in a different way where I have been able to travel in many parts of the world especially those that speak in either English, Spanish or French.

Being bilingual has helped me compare how two words are similar to each in the different languages, and this has helped me differentiate how to understand a message in a specific language with the other languages interfering. I have various associations with these three languages that I have learned over time (Yu, 2014). For example, I have an association with English because it always reminds me of my parents and relatives who taught me how to read and write in this language. They worked tirelessly to make sure that I learned the language despite the many mistakes that I made during the process of learning. They never gave up on me, and this memory is a significant contributor to my love for the English language. Looking back at this time when I used to struggle to understand this language, I came to know that I have to deal with all the hardships that come along learning a new language and making myself better in learning and understanding other languages better.

Conclusion

Learning these three languages has made me active physically and mentally where the past experiences with new languages have caused me always to have a certain degree of pleasure in challenging myself. During the experience of learning Spanish and French language, for example, I faced language barriers and difference in culture which made it hard to learn these two new languages. Since I learned English, Spanish and French, I have gained a lot of confidence in dealing with life issues and speaking in front of large crowds of people. I have learned that I can achieve anything I want in life as long as I have the determination to learn and I am ready to practice a lot. Looking back at the time when I used to struggle in learning new languages, I have come to realize that to deal with certain hardships I have to learn from other people and make myself better in practicing vocabulary without giving up.

References

Cohen, C., & Bauer, E. (2019). Exploring the relationship between home literacy exposure and oral narrative skills in French-English bilingual and emergent bilingual first graders. The 21st European Conference on Literacy.

Galda, L., & Pellegrini, A. D. (2015). Dramatic play and dramatic activity: Literate language and narrative understanding. Handbook of research on teaching literacy through the communicative and visual arts, 2, 455.

Nagales, N. M., & Watson, M. (2018). Digital Language & Literacy Narrative.

Yu, A. (2014). How Language Seems To Shape One's View Of The World. Retrieved from https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2013/12/30/258376009/how-language-seems-to-shape-ones-view-of-the-world