Obstacles to learning a language #2: Fear

Okay, so perhaps I should re-phrase the title of this blog post. Fear is not just a big obstacle to learning a language, but to life in general. Everybody feels fear in one way or another. It is part of life. However, for some people, fear can be such a problem that it gets in the way of reaching their goals. This is where fear relates to learning a language and, for me personally, it can be a huge obstacle.

They say that the number one fear people have is a fear of public speaking. I guess that makes sense- if you are functional human being, having to make a presentation, a speech, speak up in a meeting etc. is pretty unavoidable. It is a part of living a social human life. However, it can be a very anxiety-provoking experience. You are centre-stage. You feel like you are being judged. Maybe you ARE being judged. Is your opinion being judged, your appearance, is there something in your teeth?? PANIC!! But, hey, at least you get to speak your native language.

This has always been my personal battle. I have been a performer almost my whole life. I am very used to being on stage. I can sing in front of huge crowds of people. I love teaching. Public speaking, whether rehearsed or made up on the spot, doesn't bother me at all. In English, that is. As soon as I have to switch to my second language, French, I panic. My confidence suddenly vanishes. My perfectionism and anxiety swiftly kicks in. It is particularly annoying and frustrating because I am a language teacher and I feel like I should be a better example to my students. I should be able to push through the fear and just do it anyway. Well, that's the plan!

I recently felt like my learning had stalled and I needed to change things up to get me focused again. I literally needed to learn how to "feel the fear and do it anyway". So, you guessed it, I went out and bought the book  "Feel the fear and do it anyway". I feel slightly annoyed that I hadn't read it ten years ago. Oh, the things I could have achieved!

Anyway, I would just like to share what the author, Susan Jeffers, calls the "Five Truths of Fear":

1. The fear will never go away as long as you continue to grow.
2. The only way to get rid of the fear of doing something is to go out and do it.
3. The only way to feel better about yourself is to go out... and do it.
4. Not only are you going to experience fear whenever you're on unfamiliar territory, so is everyone else.
5. Pushing through fear is less frightening than living with the underlying fear that comes from a feeling of helplessness.

So far, I feel like I have personally made some big improvements to tackling my fear of speaking French in public. I always thought that it made me a poor example for my students, but now I think that it makes me a much more compassionate and understanding teacher. With each other's support, we can absolutely "feel the fear and do it anyway".

Get SuperBetter

Jane McGonigal: The game that can give you 10 extra years of life
After a severe concussion, Jane McGonigal found herself on mandatory bedrest and feeling deeply depressed. In this talk from TEDGlobal 2012, she shares how she found her way out of a downward spiral — by creating a video game, SuperBetter, that helps people heal.

What did you do last weekend?

Wow. I'm exhausted! But very happy. Why, you ask? Well, because I took part in the 2nd annual cross-Montreal scavenger hunt "Impossible Montreal" on the weekend.

From November 9th to 11th, my team of 11 people (aptly named "Dumbledore's Army") had to complete as many challenges as we could from a long, crazy list. The event was run by Montreal Improv and required each team to post photo or video proof of each completed challenge. There was a total of seven teams this year. Our team did really well, leading up until the last moment when we were pipped at the post by the winners "Hunny Badgers".

So, what did we have to do? Well, here are a few of my favorite submissions:

Super Marionette Bros!

Dumbledore's Army Team Haka

The Singing Smoked Meat Sandwich

Eating "Mayo" in Public

A nice superpower to have...

These are just a selected few of my personal favorites. To see more, check out the Impossible Montreal website. Why not join us next year...?

TOEFL or IELTS?

IELTS and TOEFL are two internationally-recognized English proficiency tests that students can take to prove how good their English is. They are both used for immigration purposes and also for getting into an English-speaking university. However, they are two very different exams and a lot of students often ask the question "Which test should I take, IELTS or TOEFL?". The answer is... It depends.

The first question to ask yourself is: Why do I need to pass an English proficiency test? Some countries have preferences of test. For example, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand prefer IELTS, whereas the United States favors TOEFL. Therefore, if you are trying to immigrate or enter a specific foreign university, check to see if one test is preferred over the other.

Secondly, TOEFL is a typed exam whereas IELTS is handwritten. If you are a very slow typist, IELTS might suit you better. If you have very illegible handwriting, TOEFL may be better for you. 

Another thing to note is that IELTS is made using British English and TOEFL uses American English. This is especially integral in the listening sections of the two tests. If you are more used to American accents, you might score better on the TOEFL and vice-versa for IELTS. IELTS also uses listening exercises featuring Australian and New Zealand accents which can seem very strange if you are not accustomed to them.

Finally, it really depends on what your end goal is. Personally, if you need to pass an English proficiency test for immigration purposes, I would recommend doing TOEFL as it is a bit more formulaic and is sometimes considered easier to pass because of this. However, if your goal is to go to an English-speaking university, I would urge you to consider doing IELTS as it thoroughly tests the exact skills you need for passing exams and writing wonderful essays. I think it is much better to have a realistically difficult test than an easy one and then waste your time and money by failing at university simply because your English wasn't good enough!

In conclusion, there are many pros and cons for both exams. If you have any questions or would like some advice about which exam you or your family member/friend should take, please leave a comment and I will get back to you soon. Happy studying!

Obstacles to learning a language #1: Procrastination.

Definition of procrastination

noun

• the action of delaying or postponing something:your first tip is to avoid procrastination

Phrases

procrastination is the thief of time

proverb if you delay doing something, it will take longer to do later on:maybe TV and procrastination really are the thieves of time

Ah, procrastination... I thought it was an excellent topic to post about because there has been a lot of it going on in my life recently. I have a suspicion that perhaps procrastination gets even worse in Autumn. The weather gets cooler, the trees start to die, the days are shorter, and it is easy to feel lethargic.

One of the things that unfortunately has been affected by this lethargy is (in case you hadn't noticed) this blog. So, it is my new goal to make a new post every Monday. I am going to post about all kinds of subjects related to learning English and there will be links for you to dictionary definitions of more advanced vocabulary throughout. (Just like that!).

So, I suppose the big, important question is "How do I stop procrastinating?" Good question. I found this article online that includes 7 tips for stopping procrastination. They are as follows:

1. Stop thinking, start doing.

2. Don't blow a task out of proportion.

3. Just take the first step.

4. Start with the hardest task of your day.

5. Just make a decision. Any decision.

6. Face your fear.

7. Finish it.

What do you think? Easier said than done. What works for me is to tell myself "Just do it like a Band-aid.": If you pull a Band-aid off slowly, it is really painful, but if you do it quickly, the pain is over fast and you can feel relief much sooner. So, whenever you find yourself procrastinating, remember the Band-aid.

Let me introduce myself...

Blessed to be depressed

Question: What do Abraham Lincoln and I have in common? We have both suffered from depression. Yes, depression - that scary word that most people feel uncomfortable talking about. Well, I have decided to talk about it.

In my opinion, depression is a blessing and a curse. It can make even the simplest everyday activity seem impossible. Doing the dishes often feels as overwhelming as eating an elephant! But, as the saying goes - "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time!".

It's this kind of philosophical thinking that has made me develop some appreciation for my depression. I have learned so much more about myself, others and life in general because I have been depressed. I have read many books and watched many documentaries that I would never have noticed if I hadn't been depressed. Yes, some days are really, really hard, but some days are just magical and full of wonder because I can accept myself more and more as I heal.

 It has also made me a better teacher and person in general. After feeling so isolated, I now feel much more connected to my community. I am kinder. I get scared about the silliest things, like putting up a poster on a noticeboard, but I have no problem performing on stage in front of thousands of people! And yes, I can now laugh at myself about these things.

 Finally, I feel most blessed to be depressed because it made me realise that I really wanted to run my own teaching business. It's the biggest challenge that I could have taken on at this time in my life, but I am really enjoying it. I can feel it healing me more and more each day. I feel a bit like the blue butterfly in our logo - except I'm still stuck in the cocoon! However, I have a feeling that one day soon I will be ready to soar.

Why your business should be modeled after Abraham Lincoln's life

I'm still here!

You may have noticed that it has been a little while since my last post. What can I say, I'm new to this blogging thing! Well, actually, I have been working really hard on writing some crazy English songs. Yes, I think it is really important to read as much as you can in the language you want to learn, but I think that learning through song is even better. You can listen to the song, read the subtitles, sing along at home, improve your vocabulary and pronunciation, and have fun. I promise to make all of my videos as entertaining as possible! Unfortunately, writing, recording, and filming a song takes a lot longer than writing a blog. I hope to get the first one finished soon, promise! Watch this space!

The Olympics are here!

I love watching the Olympics. I love watching people reaching their goals and living their dreams. It is an amazing feat to get to the Olympics, let alone win a medal. I also love those special moments when athletes from opposing countries leave their political rivalries behind and can genuinely congratulate each other. That is true sportsmanship.

At the 2012 Olympics in London, I am really excited to watch the American swimmer, Michael Phelps, try to become the athlete with the most ever medals won. I am also looking forward to seeing Usain Bolt, the Jamaican sprinter, try to defend his Olympic titles and break the world record yet again.

I like being able to watch all kinds of sports that we don't usually see on T.V. Some of my favorites are synchronized swimming, gymnastics, and weightlifting. These sports look so difficult to me that the athletes almost seem superhuman. However, there is one sport that I would love to see in the next Olympics. It's called sepak takraw and it looks awesome! Check out this video:

Sepak Takraw

What is your favorite Olympic sport?

My language-learning journey.

Hi! I'm Lynda. Welcome to my new blog! I'm super excited to share my first post with you. It's all about my personal language-learning journey.

I can speak 3 languages - English (fluently); French (reasonably); and Japanese (badly!). I was born in New Zealand where there are 2 official languages - English and Maori. What is Maori? Good question! It is the native language of New Zealand. It sounds a lot like other Polynesian languages like Tongan, Hawaiian, Fijian etc. New Zealand is a VERY English country. Unfortunately, very few people actually speak Maori now. It is a beautiful language, but it is slowly disappearing. New Zealand children learn a little bit of Maori at school, but not very much. I can count to 10, say hello, and sing the national anthem in Maori, but that's about it. So, I grew up as a native English speaker.

When I was 7 years old, I started taking singing and drama lessons. I had to learn how to speak English very clearly. My speaking was so clear that I sounded like a newsreader on T.V. Other New Zealanders would even ask if I was British! I also had to sing in many foreign languages: Italian; German; Latin; French; and Maori. I feel very lucky to have had this experience because it really helped me to develop very good pronunciation skills. Unfortunately, it made me quite a perfectionist because I had to pronounce all the sounds perfectly.

I moved to Japan in 2006 and worked as an English teacher in a private language school. It was a wonderful experience. This is where I really fell in love with teaching English. However, I had difficulty learning Japanese - I had very good pronunciation skills because of my experience with singing in foreign languages and this made people expect that my knowledge of Japanese was also very good. But it wasn't good at all and I soon developed an anxiety to speak out.

To complicate things further, I decided to study French while I lived in Japan, not Japanese. My boyfriend (now husband) is from Montreal and is perfectly bilingual, so there was more of a reason to learn French than Japanese because we planned on moving to Quebec in the future. Now we live in Montreal and, even though my French is not that bad, I still have a lot of anxiety to speak out. I HATE making mistakes even though I know that they are important for my learning. It really helps me as a teacher to understand how frustrating learning English can be at times and be really supportive of my students.

So, this is my language-learning journey so far. What's yours?