"Olen tyhmä, olen tyhmä!" a classmate of mind said, as she described how she feels when people speak English to her and she's unable to understand or reply. She's Hungarian, and the only language she and I share is what little Finnish we've mastered. We began the fall course waving our hands like primates in a zoo and drawing cave art in our notebooks. As of this moment, we've evolved.
"Voin opettaa sinua," I said, not really sure of whether or not it was true. But, I thought, I need the practice. She's never studied English, and only knows a smattering of words she's picked up from movies and other media. I'm not really qualified to teach ESL, but I think I can pick out a few important fundamentals and provide her with a baseline. From the alphabet, numbers, basic greetings, and then onwards.
She called me yesterday, and we went here:
Her young children, both of whom speak a lot of Finnish, swam in the lake while we studied.
And as the chilly wind blew through my jacket, I thought, "How did I get here? Oh, thank god I don't work at an insurance agency in Hartford, commuting two hours to work every morning and three hours back in the evening, a slave to my own shitty health insurance, searching for a necktie with which to hang myself at lunch, learning nothing other than to use Microsoft Access and to smile vapidly at my coworkers when what I really want is to tell each and every one of them to stop talking to me forever."
I'd like to take a moment to thank Finland for having such an impossible language. Yes, I realize most of you probably wish to kill me right about now, but it must be said: if it weren't for your language, Finland, I might have nothing left to study. I might've tried to get into some university, and I might've failed (two events which may still come to pass), and then my career in "formal" education would be over. The longer I struggle with your language, Finland, the longer I'll be forced to take classes. Lots and lots of classes. I don't mean casually, on the side, after work, or studying once in a while at home over coffee. I mean that my days will necessarily be spent learning. I do hope I'll be able to contribute something after all the sponging I've done, and yet I sort of dread the end of this particular learning experience.
And, for now, I can dedicate several hours a week to teaching a friend of mine something she very much wants to learn.
Edit: I'm also hoping to pick up a little Hungarian in the process. I think it's among the most beautiful languages I've ever heard. Here's a Hungarian children's cartoon I used to watch in English as a kid:
"Voin opettaa sinua," I said, not really sure of whether or not it was true. But, I thought, I need the practice. She's never studied English, and only knows a smattering of words she's picked up from movies and other media. I'm not really qualified to teach ESL, but I think I can pick out a few important fundamentals and provide her with a baseline. From the alphabet, numbers, basic greetings, and then onwards.
She called me yesterday, and we went here:
Her young children, both of whom speak a lot of Finnish, swam in the lake while we studied.
And as the chilly wind blew through my jacket, I thought, "How did I get here? Oh, thank god I don't work at an insurance agency in Hartford, commuting two hours to work every morning and three hours back in the evening, a slave to my own shitty health insurance, searching for a necktie with which to hang myself at lunch, learning nothing other than to use Microsoft Access and to smile vapidly at my coworkers when what I really want is to tell each and every one of them to stop talking to me forever."
I'd like to take a moment to thank Finland for having such an impossible language. Yes, I realize most of you probably wish to kill me right about now, but it must be said: if it weren't for your language, Finland, I might have nothing left to study. I might've tried to get into some university, and I might've failed (two events which may still come to pass), and then my career in "formal" education would be over. The longer I struggle with your language, Finland, the longer I'll be forced to take classes. Lots and lots of classes. I don't mean casually, on the side, after work, or studying once in a while at home over coffee. I mean that my days will necessarily be spent learning. I do hope I'll be able to contribute something after all the sponging I've done, and yet I sort of dread the end of this particular learning experience.
And, for now, I can dedicate several hours a week to teaching a friend of mine something she very much wants to learn.
Edit: I'm also hoping to pick up a little Hungarian in the process. I think it's among the most beautiful languages I've ever heard. Here's a Hungarian children's cartoon I used to watch in English as a kid:
AWWWW...I think it's really lovely and thoughtful of you to be there for her. I'm sure it means SO MUCH to her. :-)))
ReplyDeleteI remember a Thai friend of mine who can't read or write Latin alphabet. She does have a Thai-Fin-Thai dictionary, but it's very very thin. She speaks basic English that she picked up from foreigners when she had a shop in Thailand. So she never really learns any foreign language properly and I really admire her (because I was always too shy to speak for fear of saying the wrong words or using the wrong grammar).
The first time she came here, she said at the airport she had to try to figure out where to go etc. with her limited English, but she said it was fine 'coz if someone didn't understand her English, she'd try asking someone else until she found someone who could help her out.
She did feel down a lot while learning Finnish with us in the classroom, though, because it was really hard for her to even try to read Latin alphabet. So it's "easier" for her to mimic and try to remember the words that people say to one another.
Now I think it's getting better 'coz she took her daughter to Finland a few years ago and being young, the daughter learnt Finnish in no time and she can help her when she doesn't understand Finnish words. Plus she's got a seasonal job and as far as I can tell, she's happy. She's probably now having a 2-month holiday with hubby and daughter in Thailand. :-)))
Sorry, I tend to ramble too much in other people's comment boxes he he...but anyway, I'm VERY VERY SURE you'll be able to contribute A LOT in Finland in the future. In fact, you're already contributing now by helping a fellow expat learn the language. The country should be happy that there are people like you! :-D
P.S. For someone who's only been in Finland less than a year, you've learnt the language VERY well. Just ask other foreigners and they'll all tell you the same thing. :-))) So KUDOS to you, Elena!
Oh, Amel, I love your comments. You should take as much space as you wish to say whatever it is you want to say. :)
DeleteOne thing I think might've been confusing in the post is that I'm teaching her English, which she's never studied before. I don't think I would have dared to teach any Finnish to her! I think her Finnish is quite good, and, despite her own feelings, she is far from "stupid." But it's been great, because I'm speaking lots of Finnish while simultaneously seeing what it's like to teach English from the very beginning. Fixed the post so some of that is a little clearer. :)
Your Thai friend reminds me of a few people in my class -- those who have lived here for a matter of years. Until taking our class, they had learned most of their Finnish through exposure to it. Grammar is usually the hardest thing for them. They already know lots of words (in some cases, far more words than we "absolute beginners" know), but they've been unable to internalize the grammar beyond some common phrases. This is why it kind of annoys me when people say I should just "pick it up" by listening to it. I'm pretty sure that'd be an absolute disaster. My brain's too old to do the job properly that way! So the way to learn is by doing a lot of listening, "picking it up," plus conscious study (and reading!), I think.
That said, your friend's bravery is impressive. She reminds me of some of my classmates in that regard as well. I'm still summoning the courage to speak properly, but with a willingness to make mistakes. :)
Ah...so I misunderstood, but still you do use both languages in order to communicate with her, so that's good. :-))) And it must mean A LOT to her to know you're willing to help her out that way. I think her words "olen tyhmä" echo what most of us feel at times during our struggle with something he he...I know I've said it a lot to R2 during the first year of staying here (not just about Finnish but about many other things) but he always says, "Everybody makes mistakes/We all screw up. Don't worry. It'll be fine." :-))) He helps me to stop myself from saying those words 'coz after a while all I hear is his words in my brain (like a mantra HA HA HA HA HA...). :-)))
ReplyDeleteYeah, I know what you mean about learning a language simply by listening to it. If what you're listening to is correct grammar, maybe it'll help you, but the thing is the locals don't even speak it properly. So I'm with you on learning the grammar first and then moving on to absorbing by speaking/listening after you grasp the grammar (at least the basic grammar first). But still I salute you for being able to learn so much in a short time. I find that other foreigners have more accent when speaking Finnish, but you've managed to speak it very well. :-)))
Well, I'd say you're being extremely tough on those fictional co-workers!
ReplyDeleteIt's a wonderful thing that you're enjoying learning the Finnish language, but I can't imagine why you might think there'd be nothing left to study. Get yourself to grad school. You might even want to follow in your grandfather's footsteps and major in languages!
I plan to apply when I'm ready and life allows me to do so, but there's certainly no guarantee that I'll get in anywhere, or then be able to rearrange my life so as to actually attend. It's the ultimate goal, though. Not sure exactly what I'll want to study, but it will most certainly have to do with language in some respect. :)
DeleteAnd those fictional coworkers are JERKS. Trust me! ;)
When I started taking Finnish classes in January, my first teacher always urged us to read the newspaper, to watch tv, and to try to take in as much as we could. At first I thought this was BS advice. I would read a sentence written in normal Finnish and would be unable to make sense of it, even if I looked up all the words (at least, those I could identify through their heavy mantle of grammatical armour). Now, with half a year of intensive courses under my belt, I feel so much better able to cope with this kind of task, and though I still have an awfully long way to go in terms of formal study of Finnish, now I can actually learn from things I read and hear more "naturally". I couldn't agree more, though, that it's essential to have done some formal study first - preferably with good teachers. Finnish grammar is so complicated that it's very inefficient to try to figure it out just by listening and reading.
ReplyDeleteThis is very similar to my experience. When I first started, it was like, "and reading/staring at/listening to things is going to help me? Am I supposed to just absorb it and suddenly understand it someday?" And that was sort of true back then. Now that I have a bit more understanding, it's still a lot of work to read the newspaper at times, but it is becoming more and more helpful as my skills increase. Glad your skills are similarly growing. :)
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