I’ve always been learning English continuously, since I was six years old. I’ve never thought I would start learning a language other than English and Persian (my mother tongue), until I reached 17. I started learning Spanish at this age. However, it was not my last attempt for learning a new language.
When I was seventeen, I decided to migrate to Spain, a country which my father knew well because of his business. That’s why I started learning Spanish. A whole new world was opened to me. I found so many Spanish and Latin American friends on social media. I watched Spanish series, I listened to Spanish music, I even read Spanish books. My motivation was indescribable. After three months of studying, I could barely understand Spanish. I even talked Spanish with the consulates officer, at my visa interview. But my visa was unbelievably rejected at last. In that specific year, they rejected the visas of 99% of the students at my age. Well, you should be expecting these things when you are living in Iran.
Although my heart was broken, I didn’t give up learning Spanish, and I’m still continuing. Because I figured out that the point is not traveling or migrating to Spain, but is my love and motivation toward learning a language. I’ve made so many diaries with Spanish, I’ve been living with it. After being rejected from Spain, I decided to migrate to Turkey instead. I had to pass the American university entrance exam to be eligible to Turkish universities. This made me studying one year completely in English, and at last I obtained SAT and TOEFL certifications with good scores. Furthermore, coming to Turkey made me starting a new language; Turkish.
Last but not least, the only thing that helps me learning languages is one thing: continuity. It doesn’t matter how and what are you studying from, just don’t stop studying. Don’t stop because you are not going to master any language, and even your mother tongue has always new things to learn. The only thing that matters is the time you spend with a language. Try to hang on anything; movies, books, newspapers, and most importantly native friends. Always remember, even a source which is not suitable for your level, is better than nothing. Even studying 15 minutes a day, is better than not studying at all. Try to simulate the atmosphere of the country which you are learning its language, and live with that language.
That’s all ;)
Nima Ghaffarzadeh
