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Cet article est en trois versions de niveaux linguistiques différents. Quel est votre niveau?
English level C2 (Advanced)
Learning, by nature, changes me; whether it be knowledge, behaviour, skills or know-how, I arrive at a new place when I learn.
Language acquisition is no exception. Proficiency in a foreign tongue not only makes me operational, it also alters how I see myself and how others perceive me. It is a first step towards getting inside a culture that is foreign to mine. It is a first step towards adopting a new identity. It is a chance to live twice.
This is why language learning goes beyond translation. Language X is never a simple translation of language Y. Language X exists on its own right, with its own origins, history, usages, thought structures and references. The moment I begin to speak or write in another language, I am taking a step in understanding and sharing all of these aspects. To understand the meaning of the other, I cannot avoid taking a cultural leap.
Likewise, to adopt a foreign language, I will have to accept a new identity. I lack the mastery, the subtlety and the authority I hold in my own language and so I may go from being confident to unconfident, at-ease to uncomfortable, from adult to child. Learning to nurture this persona is an essential aspect of language learning. Nobody leaps from child to adult without going through the growing-up process. On the other hand, that new persona will also be a fruit of that foreign language and can only be discovered by living it. Perhaps I will be more direct, more humoristic, more concise, more formal or casual, because that is how I best interact with the other culture. You see, learning a language is a chance to live twice.
And, to cite the title of a 1967 James Bond classic, « you only live twice ».
English level B2 (intermediate)
When I learn something, it changes me – what I know or what I can do. This is true when I learn a language.
It means I can operate in that language. It also means I feel different about myself, and others feel different about me. When I learn a language, I explore a new culture and have a new identity. It is like having a new life.
A foreign language is not just a translation of my language. It exists on its own, with its own history and richness. When I lean that language, I explore that richness and so enter the other culture.
To speak a new language, I have to become like child. I do not master it in the way I master my own language and so I do not have the same authority and skill. This may make me feel uncomfortable and unconfident. This is necessary, though, if I want to learn. I cannot avoid this process. On a positive side, I will learn to be a different person because of the language and culture – maybe more direct, humoristic, concise, formal or casual. So, it is like having a second life.
English level A2 (Simple)
Learning changes me. When I learn a language, I can operate in that language. I also feel different and people see me differently.
Language is not just translation. Each language has its particularities that are different from my language. When I learn, I don’t translate, but I learn these particularities.
I feel like a child when I learn, which is not easy. But, it is necessary. With a new language, I will be a little different in my style and personality. It is a second life.
Martin Long, Responsable pédagogique