Gardening- A Metaphor for Language Learning?
The conditions for language learning don't have to be perfect, they just have to be accessible.
You may have heard the metaphor by Linguist Eric Hale that learning language in a classroom is like “gardening in a gale.”
It made me ponder how I was exposed to languages and linguistics from childhood through to adulthood. My parents weren’t linguists, and I grew up on a council estate, but they were big fans of language programs on the BBC and Stephen Fry.
I remember waking very early and discovering a whole new schedule of programming before seven am. Wacky Races and Powerpuff Girls followed by a side of conversational Spanish presented by the Open University. It felt like the wild west of programming for ten-year-old me. Whether you were a linguistically curious child like myself, (I bet you were obsessed with Cartoon Network) we have one thing in common. We were both sponges for language learning, our brains brimming with that neuroplasticity that we lose as adults. Learning a language is harder as an adult but it is possible.
I never became fluent in Spanish but it spark an interest in linguistics, how languages work, and the intricate layers that make them all up. I know there are bracing budget cuts by the BBC (no not BBC 4) but could I have some more Open University-style programming, please? Learning is often a matter of accessibility. There needs to be a central place where people gain new insights and ideas. Adults are curious creatures too.
As a parent, I have been attending a Hannen speech therapy course and it has made me think about how I communicate with my children and the countless distractions that are all around us every day. What is the parental equivalent of a gale? Screens, the demanding routines of life and work. Pure tiredness. The never-ending expectations for your child to be sporty and athletic and have a life plan by twelve. As parents we never stop learning and I discovered a nugget of linguistic trivia during my session yesterday. The Polish word for a toothache is ból zęba.
Do you have any learning experiences that burn in your memory? Do you enjoy David Crystal's books and Stephen Fry's programs? You are in luck! Subscribe, share or send me a message. Go on, I dare ya.