Are my thoughts in a specific language?

Are my thoughts in a specific language?

October 21st, 2012

By: Gina Yoryet Roman

The other day one of my students said to me, "I have a question for you, when you think, do you think in English?" I replied, "Yes," I think in English and I talk to myself in English."  He feels that he's not progressing so he continued digging information out of me. "How did you get to that level? I feel that I cannot express myself the way I would like to."  My response was, You may not believe it but I had a very basic level of the language until I started teaching, writing and interpreting, the nature of my job/s is very demanding and it forces me to expand my vocabulary in many areas and in two languages. On top of that, I schedule all my meetings in English, my phone, computer and email settings are in English, I speak English 95% of the time in Mexico! When I watch tv programs, they are English programs, I listen to the radio and music in English, I am constantly brushing up my skills and giving myself more room for improvement."

I do it because I have developed the habit. Listening, writing, speaking, reading, grammar, are all part of the learning process plus, time, energy, effort and persistence in and out of the classroom but many people don't make the time to apply it altogether. There was a commercial a few years ago when the World Cup was being advertised: 'Come football, "toma football, suena football,"  which means that you have to be in continuous exposure in these matters. 

That student is not the only one who's asked me, many people are curious to know because a vast majority of them feel they've hit a plateau when it comes to learning English and/or other languages. 

An utmost important fact many are oblivious to, is that it is a lifetime of knowledge. Every topic is different because it's got its own specialized and technical terminology, making it impossible to learn a language at 100% so we have to progress slowly and constantly.

I've voluntarily pushed myself to write in English in which I always look for synonyms or for a better way to paraphrase a word or sentence I've repeated a lot. Any chance there is, I get my hands on a book and I am always highlighting new words, quotes I like, etc. When I have an interpretation event, I have to study the terminology in both languages, this gives me an opportunity to expand my knowledge in both languages. 

Amongst the topics I've interpreted or translated are: Medical, legal, tourism, financial, economical, political, education, criminology, technical (in many areas), government, religious, entertainment, art, general, business, social, architecture, commercial, academic, fashion, soaps, beauty, fashion, etc. 

Language learning is one of the most amazing gifts we can give to ourselves because there will always be more to learn; the culture, the country, the food, the aromas, the colors, its people, it's a whole magical world that broadens opportunities and opens new horizons. It is not only about learning the language itself but knowing about the language, how it is formed and everything entailed to it. 

One of my goals this year was to start learning a new language but for one reason or another I have not made it happen. At this given moment, my mind has to be focused in healing physically but it shall happen, I am not too concerned right now.

So answering my student's question, I do think and do self talk in English and just as easily I can flip the channel and do the same in Spanish (there is a lot to improve in this side of the coin). 

❝If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his own language, that goes to his heart.❞
‒Nelson Mandela

❝One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way.❞
‒Frank Smith

❝The limits of my language are the limits of my world.❞
‒Ludwig Wittgenstein

❝Learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can; there will always come a time when you will be grateful you did.❞
‒Sarah Caldwell

❝Learning is a treasure that will follow its owner everywhere.❞
‒Chinese Proverb

❝You can never understand one language until you understand at least two.❞
‒Geoffrey Willans

❝To have another language is to possess a second soul.❞
‒Charlemagne

❝Those who know nothing of foreign languages know nothing of their own.❞
‒Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

❝Language is the road map of a culture. It tells you where its people come from and where they are going.❞
‒Rita Mae Brown

❝Language is the blood of the soul into which thoughts run and out of which they grow.❞
‒Oliver Wendell Holmes