Learning a language, like most skills, can be difficult at times, frustrating at others and hard work. However, as with everything, practice makes perfect and the more you try to speak in a foreign language the more you improve and learn.
Yesterday at dinner time, I was eating in the canteen with some of the boarding school students. At my school in Italy, we have students from across the world who live and study here. Last night I was sitting at a table with a Canadian, a Greek, a Brazilian and six Argentines. We were all chatting away in our mutual language; Italian. It was a lovely moment as nobody was speaking their native tongue yet we were all laughing, joking and having lots of fun. I started to speak Spanish also with the Argentines, but as we were so used to speaking in Italian our sentences became a mixture of both Italian and Spanish, but it did not matter as we all understood what each other meant.
This is the beauty of learning languages. Often you shall be confronted with words that you do not understand, however body language, determination and confidence mean that not only can you work out the meaning, but that you can reply in some shape or form. No matter how difficult it may seem at times, remember it is always worth it. In life communication and making friendships is vital and language is a core component, so just remember, even though reading a textbook or doing grammar exercises in a foreign language may not always seem realistic, it is one of the most important things you can do to prepare yourself for meeting people across the world and developing as an individual.
