Forced to learn a language?

Many friends have asked me how I ended up being able to speak Indonesian. This is considered unusual for a Singaporean because the average Singaporean is monolingual, either only English, or only Mandarin, or a smattering of one or other other. My standard answer is, "I was forced to."

On Sunday, an Indonesian Chinese pastor friend spoke at my church. He introduced himself saying that he did not complete school in the Indonesian language and could only speak Teochew (a Chinese dialect from southern China) and no Mandarin. However, because he was asked to start a Chinese service in his church, he was forced to speak Mandarin. He still gets the tones mixed up sometimes, reads the Bible with Pinyin (Romanised phonetics for Mandarin) and sometimes can't recognise the characters. Yet, he can communicate quite well in his "forced-to-learn" language and is getting better by the day.

This got me thinking. Can someone really be forced to learn a language, against his will? We all do have choices. As a college student, to fulfill my college credit, I had to learn Chinese or Japanese. I took a summer basic Mandarin course and decided I should not take the easy way out, but learn something new instead. So, I took Japanese from beginners till graduate level. I really enjoyed Japanese as the semesters wore on. But since I never used it from the day I graduated from college, I have since returned 90% to the teachers!

When I joined the Indonesian church I'm in now, I could only manage simple sentences in the Indonesian language. But, I set my mind to learn, no matter what it took. I tried my level best to find myself a teacher, but no success. How did I learn? Sitting in church every week listening to the sermon. Later, I bought a grammar book and tried to learn on my own. Immersion in the language and atmosphere helped me greatly. More of my language was caught than taught. I had no choice. Either I "fit in" or remain an outsider forever.

On top of that, I was sent out to small islands in Indonesia to speak. No English there! Do I have to rely on a translator all my life?! My Indonesian language learning may have been forced, but I was determined to learn. I don't like being an outsider, or be treated like one. Life is so much more fun when I can communicate across another culture. It's a win-win situation for both sides.

So, can someone be forced to learn a language? Yes and No. Yes, by force of necessity. No, because we choose to learn the language to benefit ourselves in the end. I know many, many foreigners living in Cambodia who never bothered to learn the Khmer language, much to their detriment. They survive, but not live life fully.

Will I continue to learn other languages? Yes. Some by being forced, but the enjoyment comes after the tears and the pain. Being able to communicate is sheer joy for me and my new-found friends. Begin the new year with a language-learning plan! Develop that hidden talent in you!

Happy learning! Find a book or software here at Fun Language Tools.