I have a similar history with English at school. For me it was Sex and the City that „saved“ me. :D I loved it so much that I actually studied American Literature.
Then I made the decision to move to New York - and I did (for a 6-month internship). It was really hard and really beautiful and I think of it every single day.
I also lived in London for almost two years so I guess it’s safe to say that I speak English fluently.
Funnily enough I still think that pretty much everybody speaks English better than me (which is of course not true) - those roots of not being good enough run really deep!
The beliefs that schools and teachers instill in you run so incredibly deep. I find it incredible how many people say that a TV show helped them learn English. No one is ever allowed to say that watching TV doesn't teach you anything!!!
And I too think everyone around me speaks better English. But I've had an English-speaking job for the past 8 years now and everyone is understanding me just fine - so realistically it can't be that bad.
I still hide under my desk when I hit 'publish' too!! and I remember when Italian broadcasters decided not to air one season of Gilmore Girls so I had to download it from the internet and I heard it in English for the first time (thankfully there were fan-provided subs, that I can tell you now were hardly accurate!). That was a challenging experience! My goal was to read 'The virgin suicides' in English (I did it, eventually). I can relate to all this SO MUCH!
I had no idea this game was something Germany-specific, I thought it was just my teacher being a world class idiot. And don't censor yourself online. Yes, most people who write in English do so because it is their native language, but I feel that the world needs more voices from different backgrounds. So by me and you writing in English, many people can learn from our different backgrounds.
I just had to do the mental gymnastics and calculate what year it was when I turned 10, it was in 2000. If it was already outdated by the early 90s, my old English teacher clearly didn't get the memo.
Apparently he did't :) I recently had my reunion. Being in the classrooms and seeing the kids get similar tasks, I did back then, makes me fear for those kids. Most times we talk about parental trauma, time to look at the one happening in our educational system. 😂
I often comment in English if a post is in English (even if it's written by an Italian). I feel like it adds to the overall conversation and engagement? If you wrote in German I wouldn't have commended :P
This was such an insightful and relatable read!!! I am a Malaysian who moved to Germany nearly 5 years ago and I remember how it felt learning German in a classroom and stuttering through Akkusativ, Dativ and Genitiv sentences, before realising that my ability to command a language is so much more than whether my grammar is 100% accurate. I also love how you describe English to be the language where you feel free, loud in. I have come to love German so much; it was a language I wanted to learn rather than a language I was forced to. Thank you for sharing this piece!
“Arthur est un perroquet” made me laugh out loud. I had forgotten about Arthur! You just brought back some delightful memories for me! Reading lyrics translation in Bravo… and using English song lyrics as a tutor in an attempt to show kids (who probably had teachers like yours) that English can in fact be fun. Thank you for sharing this!!
“At the end of 5th grade, he, a grown adult, left me, a then 11-year-old, with these parting words: ‘You know Annika, someone like you, with such incredibly bad understanding for foreign languages, will never make it in this world, let alone get a job.’”
I am LIVID reading that. I teach the English language to adults, and so much of what I spend my time doing is encouraging them to speak, make mistakes, and have fun! Man, I hope you can send your wonderfully written English substack articles to your former teacher and make him eat his words!!! This was a really great read. I’m glad you found the fun. Look at you now!
And, ironically, I have just moved to Germany and am trying to learn German! Maybe I need to find some fun German shows and songs and begin watching/listening 😊
Oh I have all the German recs for you! The perfect German romantic comedy is called 'SMS für dich', a beautiful story. For TV shows a lot of people recommend 'Dark' on Netflix, but I haven't seen that yet, but this new one on Amazon Prime, 'Maxton Hall' is also really we'll done.
THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL omg!! Sometimes I feel embarrassed that I only speak English; I so deeply admire people who speak multiple languages.. and I loved hearing about how you are able to express yourself differently through English, in a way that is liberating and personal for you. Gorgeous writing! <33
Thank you so much for this sweet comment. 🧡 Writing this felt a bit weird and I felt incredibly vulnerable when I hit publish. But I am so glad that I did and am able to read all these lovely comments. Thank you.
I love to read from other people that learned English from movies and music. For me it started in elementary school with translating my favourite song with a dictionary and brought me to watching all the seasons of Desperate Housewifes in English with subtitles. Thank you for your essay. As a German who loves English I could relate A LOT!
i love this. which reminds me so many 'horror stories' of my own journey. i've come to believe too that 'i'm bad at foreign languages'. even though, now, i do speak/ write/ work/ think/ dream in english most of the time haha [with plenty mistakes i've no doubt haha]
Thank you Kev 🧡 It is insane to me how many people have “horror stories” to tell when it comes to foreign languages. I get that it can’t be super easy, but it shouldn’t be this bad…clearly shows that teaching still isn’t what it could be.
I have a similar history with English at school. For me it was Sex and the City that „saved“ me. :D I loved it so much that I actually studied American Literature.
Then I made the decision to move to New York - and I did (for a 6-month internship). It was really hard and really beautiful and I think of it every single day.
I also lived in London for almost two years so I guess it’s safe to say that I speak English fluently.
Funnily enough I still think that pretty much everybody speaks English better than me (which is of course not true) - those roots of not being good enough run really deep!
The beliefs that schools and teachers instill in you run so incredibly deep. I find it incredible how many people say that a TV show helped them learn English. No one is ever allowed to say that watching TV doesn't teach you anything!!!
And I too think everyone around me speaks better English. But I've had an English-speaking job for the past 8 years now and everyone is understanding me just fine - so realistically it can't be that bad.
I still hide under my desk when I hit 'publish' too!! and I remember when Italian broadcasters decided not to air one season of Gilmore Girls so I had to download it from the internet and I heard it in English for the first time (thankfully there were fan-provided subs, that I can tell you now were hardly accurate!). That was a challenging experience! My goal was to read 'The virgin suicides' in English (I did it, eventually). I can relate to all this SO MUCH!
Thank you so much Barbs 🧡 I love how so many people learned English through shows and movies!!!
Right? Great topic
Annika, reading this post is so soothing for me. 💛 I can relate to so many things:
• I'm German and we had to play this terrible "game" too
• My teachers let me also know that I'll never speak this language or any other
• I learnt it finally through TV shows (Friends and HIMYM tho :) )
• Now I'm thinking, working and journaling in English all the time
• I'm hyper-aware of all the linguistic errors I'm doing and therefore censor myself online
Still, I'm writing you in English, although German would be easier. Thanks for reminding us that those tiny mistakes are okay :)
Oh my god, thank you so much for this comment. 🧡
I had no idea this game was something Germany-specific, I thought it was just my teacher being a world class idiot. And don't censor yourself online. Yes, most people who write in English do so because it is their native language, but I feel that the world needs more voices from different backgrounds. So by me and you writing in English, many people can learn from our different backgrounds.
I don't know if it's a Germany-specific phenomenon, but it was definitely one that was outdated in the early 90s ^^
I just had to do the mental gymnastics and calculate what year it was when I turned 10, it was in 2000. If it was already outdated by the early 90s, my old English teacher clearly didn't get the memo.
Apparently he did't :) I recently had my reunion. Being in the classrooms and seeing the kids get similar tasks, I did back then, makes me fear for those kids. Most times we talk about parental trauma, time to look at the one happening in our educational system. 😂
I often comment in English if a post is in English (even if it's written by an Italian). I feel like it adds to the overall conversation and engagement? If you wrote in German I wouldn't have commended :P
It is definitely less irritating if we stay in the same language. My brain already mixes enough languages based on the environment I am in. :D
Ahhh the multilingual struggle;)
Indeed, never stops ^^
This was such an insightful and relatable read!!! I am a Malaysian who moved to Germany nearly 5 years ago and I remember how it felt learning German in a classroom and stuttering through Akkusativ, Dativ and Genitiv sentences, before realising that my ability to command a language is so much more than whether my grammar is 100% accurate. I also love how you describe English to be the language where you feel free, loud in. I have come to love German so much; it was a language I wanted to learn rather than a language I was forced to. Thank you for sharing this piece!
So happy that the story resonated with you. 🧡
“Arthur est un perroquet” made me laugh out loud. I had forgotten about Arthur! You just brought back some delightful memories for me! Reading lyrics translation in Bravo… and using English song lyrics as a tutor in an attempt to show kids (who probably had teachers like yours) that English can in fact be fun. Thank you for sharing this!!
Finally someone else who remembers Arthur! I am glad you enjoyed this piece, it was fun going down memory lane.
“At the end of 5th grade, he, a grown adult, left me, a then 11-year-old, with these parting words: ‘You know Annika, someone like you, with such incredibly bad understanding for foreign languages, will never make it in this world, let alone get a job.’”
I am LIVID reading that. I teach the English language to adults, and so much of what I spend my time doing is encouraging them to speak, make mistakes, and have fun! Man, I hope you can send your wonderfully written English substack articles to your former teacher and make him eat his words!!! This was a really great read. I’m glad you found the fun. Look at you now!
And, ironically, I have just moved to Germany and am trying to learn German! Maybe I need to find some fun German shows and songs and begin watching/listening 😊
I love this comment. 🧡 Thank you.
Oh I have all the German recs for you! The perfect German romantic comedy is called 'SMS für dich', a beautiful story. For TV shows a lot of people recommend 'Dark' on Netflix, but I haven't seen that yet, but this new one on Amazon Prime, 'Maxton Hall' is also really we'll done.
Perfect! Thank you for the recommendations 🥰
THIS WAS SO BEAUTIFUL omg!! Sometimes I feel embarrassed that I only speak English; I so deeply admire people who speak multiple languages.. and I loved hearing about how you are able to express yourself differently through English, in a way that is liberating and personal for you. Gorgeous writing! <33
Thank you so much for this sweet comment. 🧡 Writing this felt a bit weird and I felt incredibly vulnerable when I hit publish. But I am so glad that I did and am able to read all these lovely comments. Thank you.
I love to read from other people that learned English from movies and music. For me it started in elementary school with translating my favourite song with a dictionary and brought me to watching all the seasons of Desperate Housewifes in English with subtitles. Thank you for your essay. As a German who loves English I could relate A LOT!
Thank you so much for this comment 🧡
i love this. which reminds me so many 'horror stories' of my own journey. i've come to believe too that 'i'm bad at foreign languages'. even though, now, i do speak/ write/ work/ think/ dream in english most of the time haha [with plenty mistakes i've no doubt haha]
Thank you Kev 🧡 It is insane to me how many people have “horror stories” to tell when it comes to foreign languages. I get that it can’t be super easy, but it shouldn’t be this bad…clearly shows that teaching still isn’t what it could be.
100% - which is why we're approaching this way more intentionally with our kids now. maybe i should write about this 😊