How Did I Learn To Speak My Native Language And The English Language? Essay Examples

Introduction

Language is what allows us to understand each other through the process of communication; it also allows us to become acquainted with diverse groups of people. It is, at the same time, one of the major reasons why we misunderstand each other; a cause of divide among people. The effect of language to humanity is as complex as the nature of language itself. It is this complexity which characterizes us from other creations - we can communicate through our languages. I, therefore, chose how I learned to acquire or speak my Native language as well as the English language, in order to gain more appreciation to this wonderful gift that we are bestowed with by our creator as well as get a glimpse of its complexities.

Learning How to Speak My Native Language

Despite the fact that I am well-versed with my native language compared to the English language, I really could not determine the time I learned how to speak it. Asking my parents about it, they told me that I began to speak clear words when I was two-years-old. I could safely say then that I learned to speak my Native language through my experiences with the people close to me while I was still a child. These people are my parents. Nevertheless, they also told me that my vocabulary was poor while I was young. It was when I started entering my first schooling that I learned different words and terms which allowed me to communicate well with other people. My knowledge and my ability to speak my language improved significantly since then. Reflecting upon this information, I realize that it was my schooling and my personal experiences in verbal communications that allowed me to become fluent in my Native language when I speak it. Weighing the extent of effect of my schooling compared to my personal experiences in communication, I can safely say that it was my experiences that contributed more to learning of how to speak my Native language. It was the constant need to speak with other people that allowed me to become more acquainted and well-versed with my Native language.
Another interesting thing that came into my mind as I reflect upon the subject is body language. My native language seems to have more meaning when body language and spoken language come hand in hand. By body language, I mean facial expressions, hand gestures, and movements of the body. Sometimes, the actual meanings of the words change when they are accompanied by body language.
What really interested me during my reflection is that some of the people that I usually hangout with – those who had seen my family – tell me that I have the same body expressions and intonations as my father. Such comments from my friends make me ponder more on my body language. Did I learn it from my parents by watching them? There was no course or subject at school that teaches body language, so the answer to my questions must be “Yes, I learned it from watching my parents.” But then again, if it is exclusively the body language style of my family, how come other people understand them, especially those people who are of my race and community? Somehow, I get the funny feeling that it must be imbedded in the DNA. There must be a reason why people of the same race understand each other’s body language despite the variations for each family and I cannot think of any reason except for genes. When I went abroad, I have the same body language and the foreigners that I talked to, do not seem notice it. Well, there are those who notice it, but they have no idea what it meant or how it affects the meaning of my spoken words. Then there are some sort of universal words and body languages. I call them universal because all people seem to understand them. When I say ummm.. or I stutter, foreigners and people from my race have the same interpretation on them. Smiling and frowning are two universal body languages that everyone understands. So, I am convinced that language is indeed, DNA-based; because its manifestations give us similarities as well us differences even if it is at the individual, societal, national, or world level.

Learning How to Speak the English Language

While learning to speak my Native language was brought bout more by personally communications experience; learning the English language was brought about more by my schooling. In order to correctly learn and speak the English language I had to buy dictionary which shows the literal translation of every English word into my Native language, watch several videos on pronunciation, and listen attentively to my English teacher and tutors. I never learn much from talking to other English speaking people because they a weird pronunciation of the English words which is very hard for me to understand.
Pronouncing the English words is another thing that keeps me from learning how to speak it. The sounds of the letters are very hard to understand, too. For example in the word “laughter,” the letters “gh” are pronounced as “f,” but in the word “slaughter” the same letters “gh” become silent. There are other letters that sound very different when combined than when they are considered individually – the English language is full of these, which makes it hard for me to learn how to speak it. I should point out, also, that apart from my schooling, what helps me learn how to speak the English language is necessity.
When it comes to body languages, associated with the English language, I find it interesting to note that, I learned a lot of the meanings of the spoken words by the body language of the people speaking them. Usually, when the English speaking people talk to me, and I cannot understand them, they would usually use their hands and their faces to help me understand the meaning of the words. As I reflect on these experiences, I realize that there is reverse learning process between learning my Native learning process and the English language. In learning my Native language I came to know the meanings of the spoken words first before I came to develop the body languages appropriate for them. The reverse is true in learning the English language in many cases, however.

Conclusion

Learning how to speak is an important processes that everyone human being undergoes whether intentionally through schooling or unintentionally through communication experiences. As I reflect on my learning process, I came to realize and conclude that native languages are learned efficiently through experiences in communication while foreign languages are learned more efficiently through schooling or education. I also conclude that the meanings of words when we speak may vary and become completely devoid of their dictionary definitions ones we use body language in tandem with them.