I set up this blog almost two years ago with the intention of learning some Cebuano in time for my wedding, so I could communicate with my partner's friends and family from the Philippines. Our one-year anniversary is almost upon us and my blog and my learning haven't moved on at all.
The blog was one of many attempts I've made to learn the language over the years - others include an audio course (EuroTalk), interactive language-learning software (uTalk), a flashcard app (Memrise) and a textbook (English-Cebuano Made Easy). Each time I've started, I've somehow lost motivation.
A while back I came across an interesting list that shows how many classroom hours a native English speaker needs to commit to learning a new language in order to be proficient. According to the list Cebuano is a category 2 language, meaning it has 'significant linguistic and/or cultural differences from English' and as such it would take 1,100 hours to learn. If I were to study 5 hours a week it would take me nearly 4 years. No wonder my odd attempts over the years never seemed to come to anything!
Knowing this makes me feel better about my previous attempts, as I may have been making incremental progress without realising it. It also shows me that learning a language is a long-term commitment, contrary to all the fluent-in-no-time apps, books and websites that seem to promise instant results.
As an aside, I recently came across a video in which a guy discussed the results of learning French on the app Duolingo for 1,000 days straight. When he tested his proficiency afterwards he got 6 out of 10. Initially I didn't think that was very impressive for 3 1/2 years work. However if the average Duolingo session is 10 minutes, he actually only committed 166 classroom hours, which makes the result a lot more impressive. The fact that he is now semi-fluent reinforces the notion that slow and steady wins the race.
The realisation that language learning takes time can be seen as positive in many other ways. It turns the experience into a journey, a journey that will no doubt be filled with colourful landmarks. It is also something to look forward to doing, an engaging hobby. It could also be seen as a mark of achievement, seeing your progress grow, and it is something that can be shared with others.
And most importantly, as I move to the 'destination' it will hopefully allow me to have a more natural relationship with my extended family and wider circle of friends.
Have you thought of your own motivations for learning, and the reason for embarking on your journey? I think we all need good reasons to be learning, to keep us focused and engaged.
As I chart my progress week by week, I'll let you know the highlights and the milestones. I'm curious to see (as the weeks go on) whether my motivations will stay the same, or evolve as I learn.
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