I learnt a foreign language from an app, then put myself to the test

Sydney Morning Herald

2 days ago

It was a long and bumpy drive to the village in a rattly 4x4 with no suspension, and my attempt at conversation with the driver fell flat. ' ¿Cómo estás? ' I offered – but was immediately lost by his fast-paced and lengthy reply. I nodded and smiled, but we spent the rest of the journey in silence. Off to a good start.
Before exploring the area surrounding Carmelita, we stopped for a typical local breakfast of scrambled eggs, refried beans, plantain and freshly cooked tortillas (sadly, no manzanas). I was determined to compliment the plate of food I'd just enjoyed.
' ¡Esto es muy bueno! ' I said with a big thumbs up, which was greeted with smiles from the two women who had cooked it. One asked me where I was from and to my surprise, I understood what she was saying. A simple but flowing exchange of words ensued. Progress!
Later that day, I was able to meet some of the members of the Carmelita community, including Santiago, who worked as a guide in the area. A keen birder, he pointed out the rich wildlife as we spoke in broken Spanish and got to know one another. I learned he had a family and had been trekking in the area (known as the Maya Biosphere Reserve) since he was a boy.
I could feel my confidence growing – that critical ingredient to learning a new language, and one I had been lacking. The fear of getting something wrong had often plagued my progress with languages as a child, and I still carried that with me. I'd often stumble over my words, doubting everything I knew, and inevitably would fall silent in the simplest of exchanges.
A few days later, we travelled to the beautiful lakeside town of Flores before catching a flight over to central Guatemala, famous for its volcanoes and historic colonial towns like Antigua.
Walking around Flores' pretty cobbled streets, I noticed I was picking up bits of language around me. Signs, bus announcements, the odd word spoken between people on the street. Like a jigsaw puzzle coming together, it was opening up parts of the country that would otherwise have passed me by. I felt less like a stranger despite having never been there before.
I was, however, also starting to discover the shortcomings of digital language learning. The app progresses you in stages and, as I'd not yet reached the past or future tense levels, I was still expressing everything in the present. This, of course, presented a problem – there are only so many times you can tell someone: 'I go here. I eat apple. I very fluent now.'
So, Tim and I decided to enrol in classes at Ixchel Spanish school in Antigua. We opted for four hours of face-to-face teaching every day for a week, and were also given individual tutoring – intense, to say the least.
My teacher, Irma de Guerra, wasted no time. Almost immediately, new phrases were flying – ' Dónde está … yo no sé … pido el menu …'. By the end of my first session, we were even covering vocabulary for bits of cutlery.
As soon as the clock struck 5pm, Tim and I would bolt out the door and straight into a nearby bar, where we rewarded a hard day's learning with frosty cervezas (preferable to digital gemstones at any rate).
By the end of the week, I was able to have conversations of surprising depth with Irma. We touched on music preference, men, and the best dishes in town (restaurant Rinconcito Antigueno's sublime wood-fired chicken and potatoes). We were even able to delve into the rather sombre topic of the rapid passing of time.
To the amusement of my teacher, I relied a great deal on my miming abilities to get my point across – but nevertheless, it was a far more profound interaction than I'd have been capable of a week earlier.
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And this, I think, is the point. Language learning apps are a great way to establish the basics – but when it comes to learning a new tongue, there is no substitute for the trial and error of lively conversation. After my time with Irma, I was able to put my new skills to good use while exploring Central America more widely; thanks to her individual encouragement and gentle correction during our talks, I was no longer embarrassed about getting something wrong, and found that locals far preferred me to have a go than not try at all.
As I travelled, I continued to converse as much as possible, and with each conversation, my abilities grew, and so did my understanding of each place I visited. Better yet, I didn't have to worry about losing my perfect streak.