Five Ingredients to Living With Another Language

Experiences of an ex-pat

Twenty-eight years ago I lived on these islands, the Åland Islands, the place I now call home. I came for one year from my home in Australia as a Rotary exchange student when I was 17 years old. I lived with families, I went to school, I was immersed in the culture and environment. And I learnt the language. By the end of that year I spoke pretty good Swedish.

Fast forward twenty-six years and at the start of 2017 I found myself in the position of having to find those Swedish words again. Hur skulle det gå? Hur skulle jag hitta orden? After such a long time away from this lovely language, even of learning another reasonably well (German), how would I find my Swedish voice?

I have now been living on these beautiful islands for nearly a year and a half. I have been working, studying, conversing, interacting. Somehow, I have rebuilt those brain connections and developed new ones, and there are many people I meet who have no idea I am from Australia (I still can’t believe that!).

But how does it feel?

I have built a life, previous to this one, on communication, on words, on the importance of expression. I have always had the ability to communicate well. I have been a trainer, a teacher, a communicator, all my jobs have revolved around communicating with others, of having an intricate grasp of language, of helping others develop that within themselves. I have been able to read for as long as I can remember – ‘taught herself at the age of three’ my mum would tell people. So what happens when you are immersed in another language? Another language that you simply don’t know as well as your own?

Well… Sometimes I feel like I am in a bubble. In a bubble, underwater and I can see people’s mouths move but I cannot understand what they say. It’s happening less and less. But that is what it is like. In some contexts, I understand everything. Allting. Varje ord. But other times… all I have to do is miss one word, bara ett ord, and meaning is lost.

Put me in a crowded space with lots of people talking and I have to strain. I have to lip read. I have to ask people to repeat. Because that wonderful trick of the brain filling in words in a sentence in your mother language doesn’t seem to work as well in an additional language.

Small talk is difficult at times. Sometimes I don’t feel confident. I have to push myself to have these small conversations with others. If they use slang, it’s difficult. Particularly as some people don’t seem to notice with my accent that I am not from the north, I am not a native speaker (isn’t it obvious?!).

Telephone conversations can be a nightmare! A disconnected voice on the phone, unable to see facial expressions, body language, lips moving, is really stressful sometimes. If it’s something technical? Forget it.

All of these things are daily speed humps that I am managing.

Sometimes I get tired really quickly. Sometimes I tune out in a crowded room with lots of noise because the effort of listening and trying to make meaning becomes too much. The most frustrating thing is not having the vocabulary for some kinds of discussions. Not feeling like I am articulate because my vocabulary is limited in this ‘new/old’ language. I am building it every day. But it’s still frustrating!

So what is my recipe? Vad har jag för recept?

1. Patience. Tålamod. Absolutely vital. I cannot learn a whole language in a day, a month, a year! This is what I remind myself of every day.
2. Read. Läsa. Everything. Allt. Books, böcker, newspapers, tidningar, social media, advertisements…
3. Watch. Titta. Watch Swedish shows/films with the Swedish subtitles on. Watch shows in other languages with Swedish subtitles. Watch English shows with Swedish subtitles on.
4. Speak. Prata. Med alla som du träffar. With everyone you meet. Question. Fråga. Especially if it’s a new word, a new phrase, a topic you aren’t familiar with.
5. Practice. Övning. I have learnt to speak a language. I can converse reasonably well but I am a novice at writing it! I need to go back to primary school – tillbaka till grundskolan!

And the Method? Combine all these ingredients…and let it soak! And maybe in another year and half, I’ll feel confident writing an update in Swedish!

I am a teacher, writer/blogger, avid reader and foodie who moved from Australia to the Åland Islands in September 2017. You can find my blog at www.scandimixer.com and my poetry on Instagram @liisak_love

*this story was first posted on ScandiMixer in September 2017. It has been edited slightly.