learning – Let Luce!

I have always been interested in language and communication, whether it is the origins of words; how children learn to speak and read; learning different languages or how to speak to someone using sign language.

Although I am not multi-lingual like some people I know (and I am in awe of the way they confidently flit between languages), my interest in words and communication led me to focus on languages throughout my education. I think it began when as a family we spent time living in Rome; I was a young child (at primary school) and had friends of different nationalities.

Here, I could also drop in a small mention of my wonderful Swedish grandmother who gave my family a Scandinavian side which perhaps also incited my interest in different cultures and languages. So it is with this smorgasbord of knowledge and experience that I write about my next linguistic adventure…

I have been visiting Crete for the last sixteen years and I have shamefully never got to grips with the language. The distinct Greek alphabet was giving me much grief and it became far more of an uphill slog compared to when I had learnt Spanish or French. Struggling over the years in a half-hearted attempt, I have dabbled with books telling me how to survive on holiday with beginner’s Greek as well as sporadically listening to a Greek language CD in the car: a pitiful attempt to learn key phrases at the same time as driving somewhere.

Soon, I realised I needed to do more and so last year, I began a more dedicated approach to learning Greek. I had heard of the popularity of the Duolingo app and so I decided to try it. I made a commitment to myself that I would do a little each and every day and make necessary notes to help embed my learning. Now, for about a year and a half – 536 days to be precise – I have stuck religiously to my daily lessons.

I knew I had to get my head around the Greek alphabet which I hadn’t done properly before so I made sure that I spent as long as I needed on the very first α, β, γ section in order to embed the basics before moving on. This was obvious, sensible and successful as it gave me the necessary solid grounding for each subsequent unit of work.

My very first page of notes (536 days ago)

During my 536 days of Duolingo, whenever I was in Crete, I was gradually introducing more words into my verbal communication with locals but I soon found that I wasn’t progressing sufficiently to string necessary sentences together in conversation with any acceptable confidence or fluency.

So it is now that I am about to embark on my first group lesson at a local language centre in Armenoi, Crete. And I cannot lie – I am filled with a mix of fear and worry, but also excitement.

Despite being a teacher myself for thirteen years and familiar with the classroom environment, it is a whole different story when you, an adult, are back in class as a student. Now, on the eve of my first ‘official’ lesson, I find myself contemplating insignificant issues such as what to wear; I know that this is really to take my mind off the idea that I am going into a classroom of the, as yet, unknown. I feel like I have been tackling Greek for such a long time and I so desperately want these lessons to be successful and to be the gateway to a reasonable level of fluency.

I hope that the lesson is not too difficult where I sink out of my depth and lose any faith in my language skills. At the same time, I hope that it is not too easy to lead me to feel demoralised that I am not learning or having that conversational practice that I so desperately want, need and seek.

As well as learning Greek, I want to have fun, meet different people and enjoy a new experience on an island that I have been visiting for years so I know I can only gain from these lessons. If I am to progress in this unique language, I have to take the plunge and overcome any nerves.

Pondering further, I cast my mind to the mental preparation that I apply prior to dentist visits, visits which I fear above all fears.

I listen to meditation music to calm my mind.
I mentally project myself forwards to the hour or so beyond the appointment when it is all over.
I clean my teeth thoroughly.

I picture myself walking into the classroom with fresh breath, humming a tranquil tune and contemplating a well-deserved post-lesson lunch. In addition to these ‘dentist’ strategies, I also decide to apply advice that I would give to someone else and which others have given to me – There is no point worrying about something bad that hasn’t happened or may never happen.

I’ll let you know how I get on…

With my travels unexpectedly interrupted by the spread of the corona virus, on more than one occasion it has been mentioned by friends and family, “Oh but you must be bored,” or “You poor things not being able to travel.” When I hear this, I find myself having to justify why I don’t feel either boredom or self-pity. I thank them for their concerns with an underlying feeling of guilt because at this point in time, there are far more pressing worries in these ‘COVID-19 times’.

Initially we did have to adjust and accept the fact that we could not continue our travels to Spain, Croatia and then take the planned long road-trip through Italy to Crete. However, it has actually been relatively easy to recalibrate and I am certainly not in a position to be dwelling on my misfortunes of not being able to travel. There are clearly other people on whom to focus: the elderly, the vulnerable, the key workers and how the effect of isolation and inaccessibility to vital resources can be managed.

“Oh, you must be bored?”

Bored? No. It is not worth dwelling on what you can’t do. The best thing is to focus on making the most of the opportunities that are presented by unforeseen circumstances. In this case, I have settled into home-life just loving the fact that I have time to discover new hobbies as well indulging in long-term loves, which I never had time for before or which I was too exhausted to do when my job dominated my life. I can now spend hours at a sewing machine, learning Greek, running an increasing number of kilometres, cooking, yoga, catching up with the classics on audiobooks, chatting to my family and friends, crocheting, thinking about and writing a number of unfinished blogs, reading paperbacks and also e-books on a Kindle, painting doors and walls, growing vegetables and herbs, catching up on TV, listening to podcasts, as well as learning through thoughtfully-selected online OU courses.

“You poor things not being able to travel.”

When people expressed an element of feeling sorry for us for not being able to travel, a sense of awkwardness set in when I considered my current situation. I wasn’t a key worker, I wasn’t a front line NHS worker, and I didn’t have to worry about my job – whether I would lose it or put myself at risk by working. Having already given up work with the plan to travel, no one was expecting me to be anywhere to do anything at any time. So it was easy to adjust to the changes: I was just in a different country than I had intended to be in. I certainly didn’t want anyone feeling sorry for me. For the time being, travelling has to wait, which it will.

With time at home now available and in an attempt to contribute some sort of worthwhile support in this current lockdown, I signed up to be an NHS volunteer. Once accepted, with much anticipation I prepared to be immediately busy helping others, however no alerts came (or have come) through. Although initially frustrating, I can only assume that the lack of request calls has to be a good thing. So what else could I do to help?

With recent discussion on whether face masks are beneficial or not to help prevent the spread of the virus, I am now busily putting my sewing skills to good use and making these. This was prompted by a request from my brother, who lives in London (with its concentrated number of corona cases) where he asked me if I could make some face masks for him and his family. This has since sparked off further requests so now I am feeling vaguely useful. My contribution maybe small, but it is valuable to some.

None of us planned for these last few weeks and who knows what life will be like over the next few weeks or months. But, cliche to hand, don’t forget that every cloud has a silver lining – you just have to make sure you find it.

Tag: learning

Greek is the Word

Time Well Spent