My first exposure to the Spanish language was in 2nd grade in elementary school. I think the teacher’s name was Mrs. Bianco, but that’s probably not correct since that was more than 20 years ago and a much younger Keith was very disinterested in her lessons. At the time (and I assume also today) all students at my elementary school were subject to taking Spanish lessons as part of a foreign language program. Young Keith didn’t like nor appreciate these lessons. Though in a massive plot twist, Keith of 2024 is interested in and does appreciate the Spanish language. As any intuitive reader can guess, this paragraph is a leadup to saying that I’ve started my journey to trilingualism with Spanish.
My language-learning journey with Spanish is actually long overdue, and there are two reasons for having put it off for so long. I’ve been interested in learning Spanish for years now. It’s the world’s second most spoken native language, boasting over 500 million native speakers throughout 20 countries that designate it as an official language. Extending beyond native speakers, Spanish is spoken by another estimated 100 million people throughout the world, with approximately 50 million of those people residing in the United States. To say that Spanish has its uses would be an understatement, and as someone who loves to travel and connect with people of different cultures, being able to speak Spanish will open many new doors and give me access to many new and authentic opportunities. This leads to the first reason; lack of true motivation.
I’m a firm believer that one of, if not the most important factors in learning a new language is motivation. Without motivation, many ideas die, and most don’t ever reach the phase of becoming a habit or being realized. That being said, I never had a real motivation for learning Spanish outside of simply wanting to learn it. Now in May of 2024, I can confidently say that I’ve found my motivation for learning Spanish; traveling, and connecting with new friends and people of different cultures.
I’ve long yearned to travel through and explore both Central and South America. While I spent some time in Costa Rica in January of 2021, I was way too entrenched in learning Italian to even consider taking on another language. Fast forward a few years to 2024 and I spent an incredible 3 weeks in Mexico. While it was technically my second time in the country, it was truly the first time I had experienced and seen the real Mexico. The shortcomings of not being able to speak Spanish were glaringly evident, and I’m thankful to many Spanish-speaking friends made along the way for facilitating situations where English wasn’t useful, as well as creating fun opportunities and experiences that otherwise would not have been possible without speaking Spanish. Mexico really surprised me as a country, and I know for a fact that I will return to continue to explore. My desire to explore the other Latin countries is also as strong as ever. Being able to travel and fully experience these countries and cultures is what has unlocked the motivation for me.
Did you know that Italian and Spanish are very similar languages? I don’t have any fun statistics to share aside from the fact that both languages descend from the Romance family of languages, descending from Vulgar Latin. In most cases, native speakers of the Romance languages have little difficulty learning the other languages in the Romance family. Because of this, I’ve decided to learn Spanish through Italian, avoiding using English whatsoever. This is all good and fun, and probably leads you to think “So Keith, wouldn’t this be a reason to learn Spanish rather than not?”. You’d be correct, this is a great reason to learn Spanish. However the key difference is that I am not an Italian native speaker, and for this, I’ve been afraid to diminish my Italian by introducing Spanish to my brain. Italian friends of mine have been telling me for over a year now that my Italian is at an advanced enough level that I should be fine and won’t confuse the languages. However, I remained skeptical and scared, if I’m honest since I take great pride in my Italian skills and did not want to diminish them even in the slightest. Though now that my motivation is unlocked, and I have another year of using Italian fluently under my belt, I feel comfortable and ready to begin my journey with Spanish.
And thus begins a new chapter in my life, the chapter journeying toward trilingualism. I’m very excited about what lies ahead, as the Spanish seed has been planted and is already beginning to grow in my mind. The satisfaction and positive feedback loop from studying and learning has started as well, and I know where it leads. While I love Italian, I admit that it doesn’t have many uses outside of Italy. However, Spanish is a completely different animal in this regard, and I’m eager to use it not only abroad, but also at home. I encounter many Spanish speakers in my daily life in New Jersey, so I know for a fact that I’ll have a wealth of opportunities to use the language regularly.
Stay tuned for what’s to come!