People do not understand why I cannot learn a 4th language easily. I had never found it easy to learn a new language. I tried Chinese, German and French and with none have I become masters. People do not understand the difference between growing up with the language and getting taught the language. With all three languages Japanese, English and Dutch I grew up listening to them. At home I would speak Japanese, at school I would speak English and at clubs and sports I would speak Dutch. Because I grew up with the language I never learnt the technical things that most people learn in a language. I just heard what other people said and copied them. If I was wrong my friends would correct me and I would learn from my mistakes. They wouldn’t tell me why it was …show more content…
But honestly I know the real reason. Deep inside I know my grammar is weak. I still get confused between an adverb and an adjective. I gradually am getting better at my English grammar.
Now just because I say this does not mean I cannot learn a new language. I just personally find it a lot more difficult to learn a new language because I only remember it being easy when learning the 3 languages.
Because of these experiences I can listen to people and read peoples facial expressions. Even if I do not understand what they are saying I usually get the right idea. As a child when I could not speak any Dutch or English I had to rely on my 7th sense. The ability to read facial expressions and listen to the tone of their voice. In Cambodia I did not know any Khmer and many did not know English. I had to communicate with my actions and I understood them by their expressions.
As I left Holland I haven’t had much opportunity to speak Dutch and at times I think to myself that I cannot speak Dutch anymore. But as soon as a person speaks Dutch comes I suddenly remember everything I had