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A few weeks ago, I met my Lao teacher. She lives in France so we meet over Skype. It was so interesting being on the receiving end of an online language lesson after teaching English online for a whole year! It definitely is learning a second language as an adult… She didn’t give me any stars or award me with a prize (I know! Lame… 😜)
Actually, this first lesson was just to get to know each other and see where we are going with things-You know that big talk… Where are we going with this?
I now have had 3 lessons and I’m excited to start learning more but also realizing how hard this is going to be.
Why Lao?
If you know me or have been following my blog and social media, you might already know that my husband is Laotian. His parents came over to the US as young adults, making my husband first generation American.
Although my husband learned Lao as his first language, when he started going to school, English quickly became his main language. He still can speak with his parents and understands what is going on at family gatherings but his parents admit that he has an American accent and does not know many words. He basically speaks Lao at a child’s level.
I have seen too often children forget their family’s language. I have met so many people who say something like, “Well I can understand a lot, but I can’t speak it. I mostly only use it with my Grandmother…”
I want my kids to speak Lao. I don’t want them to just understand when their grandparents are asking them if they’re hungry. I want them to truly be able to communicate in their language.
In order for my kids to learn how to speak it as one of their native languages, that means that they are going to have to hear it A LOT. Just like how we learn English as babies. We first learn from hearing, then repeating, then experimenting with the grammar.
They have to hear it all of the time! That wasn’t going to happen unless I learned it.
Why not just have the kids learn Lao?
There are two reasons why I’m not just putting my kids in Lao lessons. First reason, as far as I know, they don’t exist. I actually found my Lao teacher looking for a children’s Lao teacher (hoping for something similar to VIPKid). She was the ONE person I found that does online lessons and she only teaches adults. So there you go.
The second reason is if my husband speaks a language and my kids speak a langauge, well, I want to know what the heck they are saying!
Learning a Second Language as an Adult
I guess I could kind of say that Lao will be my THIRD language that I’ve learned, but I would not be considered fluent in Spanish by anyone so I don’t think it really counts. I know the grammar and how the language works, but I have a very low vocabulary (lack of practice).
I took Spanish in junior high and high school and language
Even English grammar is fun for me. I just love language!
Now that I’m learning a language that is a completely different language family, I’m completely clueless. Apparently, when I thought language came naturally to me, it was actually Romanic languages that came naturally to me…
Language seems to be a lot more difficult to learn the older you get. I think that I am starting to see that effect as well.
Game Plan
Since this is going to be hard, I decided I need to have some strategies to really make sure that I am successful. Because this is something that isn’t just for me, but for my family, I want to do it well! I don’t want this to be like the time I decided I was going to learn how to play
1. Don’t shy away from children’s materials
I’m not too proud to read children’s books (obviously, I read them regularly) and watching children’s shows. When learning Spanish I would check out children’s books in Spanish from the library. This was excellent practice!
Just like when we are learning our first language as kids, we start with simple language and begin to decipher meaning.
My struggle is that Lao materials seem to be in short supply. I have a really hard time finding children’s books and things in Lao. I have found a few on Amazon that I plan on purchasing, but it’s not like when I was learning Spanish and all I had to do was go to the “Libros en español” section of the library.
I found one children’s show on Youtube that my kids really enjoy. It’s called “My Village” and it’s cute! I watch it with them!
Here’s our favorite episode (numbers):
2. Practice Daily
Language is one of those things that we learn best through doing. When we learn our native language as children, we are CONSTANTLY surrounded by it. We hear it around us, we use context to try to figure out what our parents are saying to us. Eventually we start to figure things out. Then we start to actually be able to use it ourselves!
I am going to try to make sure that I am hearing Lao daily, I am listening when my in-laws are talking to my husband and my kids and trying to find meaning.
I will also study the flashcards that my teacher gave me every day! She uses an app called Anki that allows her to make the flashcards for me. I downloaded the Android app on my phone as well as the desktop app so that I can study.
This program is really nice because she records the pronunciation. I can listen to her say the word/phrase then try to translate. Since I don’t read in Lao yet, having written flashcards would be pretty useless, and having the phonetic spelling doesn’t really help that much either because tone matters. I would not be able to distinguish this without hearing it.
3. Keep Trying
My third plan of action is to not give up! I will be honest and say that this is not my first attempt to learn Lao… I have tried multiple times and have always given up. I have never made it past the numbers and some simple vocabulary.
NOT THIS TIME! I’m doing this!
HELP!
Have you learned a language as an adult? Especially one that was COMPLETELY different than your native language?
Any Lao speakers reading?
Help me! I need your tips and advice! What helped you find success?
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I LOVE this post!! I also think that languages are so interesting and I wish I could speak way more. I took Spanish through HS and majored in it in college. Now I try to read, speak, and listen to as much Spanish as possible. I completely agree with you that the more exposure you have, the better you become. I almost exclusively watch TV in Spanish now. 🙂 I’m trying to learn Russian and ASL now as well and they are both different than Spanish, but I’m having so much fun!
That’s so awesome! Russian seems so hard to me! I took Sign Language in high school and got interested in ASL, but haven’t learned it…
I am learning Spanish at the moment- I use an app but try and watch Spanish series etc to get used to the language.
Lola Mia x
So great! Good luck! I love Spanish!
You are an amazing mama to take such a big responsibility on yourself to teach yourself and your children their heritage language! GOOD FOR YOU!! I am excited to see your progress; keep us posted!
I will definitely try!
I really want to learn another language! My issue is that I have no discipline when it comes to teaching myself. I think maybe a teacher like yours might be the way to go for me - almost like an accountability buddy!
Rhianna x
http://www.tsundokugirl.com
Yes when I was trying to teach myself with what resources I could find and bugging my husband, I just gave up. Having an actual teacher that I meet with every week will definitely keep me accountable. I feel like if I don’t practice I’m wasting her time! I mean she’s getting paid but still, that would be annoying to have to teach a student who doesn’t study (I know this from experience! haha)
I firmly believe kids should start a second language in grammar school. The world is a great big place and we need to be more tolerant of that.
I had not heard of this program before, I have been wanting to learn Spanish for years, this could be a great option! Thank you!
Well, I actually couldn’t find a program that would teach me Lao so I just had to find a teacher that would do it online. I used super prof to find her. There are many apps and programs that you can use to teach Spanish! Duolingo is actually really good to practice Spanish!
I love languages. I took French all four years of high school and freshman year of college. I loved it! I’ve been wanting to try and pick it back up again.
I wish I had kept up with my other languages learned as a child. Learning as an adult is tough. I tried Hebrew for a while but I did not have anyone to practice with!
Good for you! You have a great attitude and will do well.
You go girl! What an awesome goal. I love your philosophy in having your children learn so they can communicate with their grandparents - that’s real love and respect!
I think this is a wonderful goal…a great thing you are doing for your family. Keep pushing forward…you can do this!
Good for you! I’ve always wanted to learn another language. I wasn’t disciplined enough in college to really put the effort into it but I’ve always thought if I had the time as an adult I may be able to get it down.
Good for you! Never too old to learn something new… it just takes us a wee bit longer…. LOL
It sure does! But I’m definitely a life-long learner!
That’s awesome that you are learning Lao! Your kids will be so lucky to grow up learning the language because it is so much easier to learn when you are little!
THIS HAS SPARKED MY INTEREST IN FOCUSING ON SPANISH AND FRENCH AGAIN AS AN ADULT! THANKS FOR THE MOTIVATION!
Yay! That is wonderful! I LOVE Spanish. When I get a new student who speaks no English at school I actually get kind of excited that I will have to speak it more. You can do it!
This is great! I have been wanting to learn Mandarin Chinese and ASL. I know basic French, did four years in high school and two in college. Lost most of it to mom-brain, but can still hold a small conversation. Lol. My husband is currently taking Japanese.
That’s awesome! My sister speaks Japanese!
What a wonderful journey! I only know a little several languages, but have never become fluent in any languages other than English. We are heading to Italy in 2 years, so I think I should take your tips and get to learning!
I have always wanted to learn Spanish.
I admire your determination! I love languages yet I am not an auditory learner. I’m a visual learner. So I more quickly grasp reading in another language but I have difficulty hearing it and being able to understand or speaking correctly. Good luck to you! I’ll be following your progress.
Great tips. Learning languages is hard, especially as an adult. I’m glad that I speak with my kids in Hebrew.
That is so cool! That is my goal! To be able to speak Lao well enough to speak with my kids in it.
Wow, your determination is amazing and your tips are fabulous! I never managed to pick up a second language even growing up in a home with fluent Italian grandparents, everyone spoke English mostly. My hub is and his family are also fluent in several, so maybe one day I’ll be brave enough to take the plunge and learn something new. Thank you so much for sharing!! 🤗🤗
This is great! It is so important to keep our brains sharp as adults, and opening up your brain to another language is an amazing way to do that. Keep it up!
This is a great post and love that you recommended using children’s materials as a way to learn! Some of my daughters toys have a Spanish option and feel like I can easily learn the songs whenever they are played! I would love to learn another language as an adult.
Good for you!!! I think it’s awesome that you’re challenging yourself and learning another language. That was quite the research you had to do to find your teacher, too.
That’s so cool! I’ve thought about learning a second language all the time, but I just haven’t taken the time to do it. Need to though! And I love the idea of using children’s lit to learn. SO smart, because it’s stuff that’s literally MADE for people learning a language!
Good for you for taking on learning a new language. I’m sure your in-laws appreciate it!
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