Chris Compton - @twainingwheels | Kingsley Asuamah
Life From Different Perspectives
Part 4 of 20: Learning a new language keeps your brain young
This article is part of a series of articles written from the perspective of two very different minds.
My name is Chris Compton. I am a 59-year-old American living in Atlanta, GA. I am writing about the 20 self-improvement facts in this article:
The article’s author, Kingsley Asuamah, is a 36-year-old Nigerian living in Ireland. He is writing about the same topics.
You can follow along and see how two strangers, separated by age, geography, and circumstance, view the world and the opportunity to develop as human beings.
Learning a New Language Keeps Your Brain Young
Years before my collaborator, Kingsley Asuamah was born, I stood at the front of the classroom asking my Latin teacher a question I knew the answer to.
Rebecca Pullig was an easy target. A shy, demure woman approaching middle age, Ms. Pullig was ill-suited to wrangle a classroom full of adolescents with no interest in the subject matter. We were merciless in our attempts to amuse one another at her expense.
On this particular day, I feigned interest in her explanation while loosening the drawstring knot that held my gym shorts up. The classroom was a cacophony of chatter behind me. When the knot was dissolved, gravity took over.
The din became stunned silence and then raucous laughter. I leaned over the teacher’s desk as she continued her patient explanation of some centuries-old conjugation, my bare ass on display for all the world to see. After a few seconds, I flexed my knees, deftly returning the shorts to their intended position, thanked Ms. P, and returned to my seat.
I was rewarded with a round of applause. I don’t know if she was unaware or simply above the fray, but I do know that this is one of the two things I remember from a year of eighth-grade Latin. The other is that the Latin word for farmer is “agricola,” which may or may not be true.
If I Had a Second Chance, I Would Learn Languages
I don’t do regret. What’s the point? Despite the myriad of books and movies surrounding time travel, we get one chance at every decision. The teenage version of me was on the lookout for the easiest path. He wanted to get to the end of the maze and move on to the next challenge. He had no interest in stopping to smell the roses and less interest in stopping to learn another language.
As I have evolved, I have come to realize that language is a key element in connecting with others. Being limited to one language stifles my ability to connect with new friends. Google Translate is handy, but using it introduces a speed bump to the conversation and virtually eliminates the chance of forming a deep bond in most cases.
I recently found a list of goals I made for myself as a forty-year-old. Second on the list: “Learn another language.” Apparently the desire to expand my ability to communicate with fellow humans has been with me for quite some time.
Believing that you can do something is a critical step in being able to do it
My Experience With Learning a Language as an Adult
The last week of 2020, sick and tired of COVID prison, De and I traveled to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. She stayed for a week, leaving on New Year’s Day. I remained for an additional week.
In tourist-rich areas of Mexico, most locals speak enough English for Americans to get by. Oddly enough, the Americans tend to complain about the struggle to communicate. We may be a bit spoiled.
This two-week experience rejuvenated my interest in learning a new language. When I got home, I signed up for the premium version of the Duolingo app. That’s right; I was going full immersion!
I don’t know what I expected, but Duolingo is fun and addictive. It certainly isn’t high-level education, but I picked up a lot of basic vocabulary and some understanding of the structure of the language.
Simultaneously, I was watching YouTube videos, using Google Translate to communicate with some people I had met in Mexico, and trying to think in Spanish. By the time we returned to Puerto Vallarta in the summer of 2021, my mind was aware that people speaking Spanish were attempting to communicate and not speaking in tongues.
That summer, I took five weeks of in-class Spanish instruction in PV. I made an attempt to converse in Spanish as I traveled in Puerto Vallarta, Guadalajara, Mexico City, and later in Peru.
How My Brain Has Benefitted From Studying Spanish
My brain hasn’t gotten any younger, but I have made progress. Not so much in becoming fluent in Spanish — mi Espanol esta muy malo — but my mind has adapted. When I see written Spanish, I am intrigued. It’s like a puzzle. I can usually get the gist of any sign, menu, or advertisement in Spanish.
I enjoy imagining myself speaking in Spanish. I rehearse conversations in my head. I plan sentences and sometimes paragraphs, say them “out loud” in my mind, and hear the response from my imaginary Spanish-speaking friend.
I check myself regularly with my translator app to see how close my understanding is, and I make an attempt to talk with Spanish speakers during the course of my day: “mas despacio, por favor.”
My brain has changed. I believe that I can learn Spanish. Believing that you can do something is a critical step in being able to do it.
The Fallout
I underwent a tremendous transformation in 2023. I quit drinking. I lost a lot of weight. I changed my diet and exercise routine. I became a writer. I changed the way I look at life.
Human beings evolve. The human race evolves as a whole, but each little speck of it, represented by people like you and me, evolves separately as well.
Part of my evolution was my experience with learning Spanish. I haven’t become a Spanish speaker, but I have discovered that I am capable of learning, growing, and changing in ways that I may never have believed ten years ago. Realizing that I can learn something as complex as another language absolutely impacted my ability to understand that I can choose to enjoy foods I have traditionally rejected or situations I may have avoided in the past.
Studying Spanish was a key factor in my evolution.
How Learning a New Language Can Help You with Your Own Evolution
Regardless of your age, ethnicity, citizenship, or education, studying languages will benefit you in your journey.
Life is a search for connection and adventure. Connection requires communication, and human beings primarily communicate through written and spoken words. The more communication tools you possess, the better equipped you will be to make new connections.
In addition, as you study, listen, and learn, your brain will change. You will begin to recognize that other people are speaking real words, not just gibberish. Then, you will begin to pick up recognizable phrases and patterns.
As you progress, you will begin to understand the structure of the language, even if you don’t get specific instructions on it. It will happen automagically. Your brain will begin to make connections in the background based on your study, and your knowledge and skills will improve with minimal effort on your part.
In addition, you will begin to believe that you can learn anything. You will feel like a kid again. Feeling like a kid at 59 is as good as it gets, my friend. I highly recommend it.
Consider this your challenge to study a new language. Have fun with it. Don’t have any expectations. Don’t build any obstacles. Just make an effort and enjoy the process. Let me know how it goes.
Chris Compton
03–12-2024
Want to read more from this collaborative series? Here is the directory: