Back to School: Leaving Your Comfort Zone

Written by Jennifer Moses from Languages for All

Languages for All is a small, local company of dedicated and experienced language teachers offering English, French, German, Italian, Russian Spanish lessons to people of all abilities.

I have always loved the ‘Back to School’ time, which the French call ‘La Rentrée’ [The Return]. The start of a new term, with all its possibilities: new teachers, new lessons and new stationery – definitely my favourite part! In Germany, Austria and Switzerland there is a wonderful tradition for children on their very fist day of school, where they receive a ‘Zuckertüte’ [sugar bag], a cone filled with sweets and small toys to celebrate starting school. The cones are often as big as the children themselves and are a long-standing tradition, bringing joy to youngsters, poised at the start of their educational careers.

As a freelance tutor, this is a different time for me now, particularly as many of the learners are adults returning to language learning after what is, for some, a very long break away from education! I have a lot of admiration for these adults who are prepared to go back to the classroom: it can be very daunting. We carry many more responsibilities and much more is expected of our time, juggling families, jobs, household chores and friends. As adults, we have so much more whirling around our minds that it can be harder to learn new things. We are also often more self-conscious than children, whose minds are set up to learn and absorb information and for whom everything is new.

Adults also bring a lot of previous learning experience to lessons. This can be a great advantage, as we can relate the language we are learning to one we have learnt previously. We are often quicker to spot patterns in language and make new connections which advances our learning. Unfortunately, many adults also bring negative learning experiences with them. Situations where our confidence was knocked at school impact on our confidence in our abilities. I often find adults are far quicker to criticise and put themselves down when they make mistakes in learning. Making mistakes is a key part of learning, however. When learning a language, we need to try it out and often mistakes can help us remember the correct words or rules. A big part of my role as a tutor of adults is to build their confidence and encourage them to leave any negative past learning experiences behind them.

Adults are usually motivated to learn a language for different reasons to children. They are seeking the ability to communicate when travelling rather than trying to pass exams, so the pressure to be perfectly accurate is reduced and the learning should be enjoyable!

Regardless of where you come to it from, the benefits of learning a new language are many and include the following:

·       Improved memory

·       Warding off dementia

·       An open mind

·       Gaining an understanding of other cultures

·       the opportunity to socialise and meet new people in group lessons

Finally, let’s not forget the one I consider to be the most important – language a language is fun!