S5E12: Language lovers aren’t all fluent already

Full transcript:

Good morning, happy Tuesday and welcome to the Language Confidence Project, the daily dose of language courage for those who love languages and those who really don’t, but have to learn one anyway. And today, I just want to come in with a reminder that it’s absolutely okay to love your language, and to say you love your language, without needing to be fluent in it already.  

I know that so many of us around here are dreaming of one day reaching an advanced level in our new language, or maybe even in several languages. Certainly, that’s what I want for myself too. But within that, sometimes what creeps up on us is the feeling that if we loved it as much as we think we do, we should know everything about it. We should already be further along than we are, and given that we aren’t, maybe we don’t belong there.

That true lovers of that language should be able to stun people with the depths of their mastery. That they’re the people that everyone’s mistaking for a native speaker and they’re shocked to find out that this isn’t their first language. These are the people who have the legendary dreams in their new language. And just as an aside here, I want to tell you that I’ve never dreamt in another language than English.

And I just wanted to pop in to tell you today if you need to hear it that you are as much of a language lover if you’re at beginner level of one language as you would be if you were already advanced in five languages.

You don’t have to be fluent in your language to prove your love for it. You don’t need to own all the things, the textbooks, the literature, whatever it is, to showcase your love for it. You don’t have to have heard all the music, seen all the films and TV, know all the history or the etymology. You don’t have to have been there. You don’t have to be a font of linguistic trivia to show anyone else that your passion for languages is valid. It’s valid right now, in whatever form it’s arrived on your doorstep.  

So be proud of your language. You are putting so much into learning it, and your passion for it is driving your progress, it’s literally the fuel that’s getting you to where you want to be, so be proud of it! You are doing an incredible job, and all this hard work will pay off. Have a wonderful day, and I will see you tomorrow.