Feeling At Home: How Are Your Language Skills Coming Along?

Posted on 26. Aug, 2009 by Emmanuelle Archer in Blog, Expat Life, Relocation
0 comments

You may remember that last month was Language Learning month here at Winning Away.

We learned how to overcome blocks, and I shared tips to help you boost your language skills, whether you are a beginner, intermediate, or advanced student.

So, how is it going?

Has your internal resistance gone away, or is it still giving you a hard time?

Are you having fun learning this new language?

For those of you who moved to another English-speaking country, have you started picking up local words and idioms, or even a hint of the accent?

Are you feeling “separated by a common language” yet? I certainly did when I first arrived in Canada. Growing up in France, I learned British English and it showed in both my accent and my vocabulary. I had to un-learn many words and teach myself their Canadian equivalent.

One anecdote among many: shortly after I got my first job in Vancouver, there was a widespread power outage. Trying to get to the fuse box, I asked around for a torch (having never used or heard the word flashlight before)… much to my boss’s concern, who seriously wondered if I was trying to burn the place down!

Oh, the misunderstandings and the fun to be had in these early days…

Don’t forget to subscribe to the newsletter to get even more expat tips and resources, delivered straight to your inbox!

Emmanuelle

Images by PiperKins (top) and Meanest Indian (bottom), both via Flickr Creative Commons