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Identity

Identity is a powerful thing. What we believe about ourselves- and how we define
ourselves- will determine our speed of progress, our enjoyment of a language, and our
ultimate success or failure with a language. A negative identity can destroy our
motivation and thus our ability to learn a language quickly and easily. A positive
identity can do exactly the opposite- it can be rocket fuel for our language acquisition
engine.

Tony Robbins, an inspirational speaker, talks a lot about the power of identity. In a
CD of his called "Lessons In Mastery" he makes the following point:

"See, to get to where we wanna be we gotta take on a new level of thinking. We gotta
know that what we've done up until now has been great- there's nothing wrong with
it, its fantastic.

But to get to the next level we've gotta look at life in a new way, and one of those new
looks is we gotta perceive ourselves in a different way. Not just our capability, but who
we are right now. Not someday. Today.

That shift begins the minute you begin to consciously define yourself, instead of letting
the environment do it for you. Cause think about it- how do most of us define
ourselves? Where do we come up with our identity anyway? Well it comes from a
variety of environments but maybe the best way to answer the question is to ask a
different one: How do you define the people around you? How do you know if they're
a friend- if they're a good person or not?

The way we define other people. The way we discover their identity is we watch them.
We listen to them. We judge people's identity usually by their behavior. Isn't that
true?

I mean think about it, somebody treats you real harshly several times, each time
you're around them-- pretty soon you go, "I know that person. That person's a jerk."
You know what the challenge is? Once you decide that they're a jerk, and if that
becomes a belief- or worse, if that becomes a conviction where you KNOW they're a
jerk-- nothing's gonna change your opinion about it. Then even if they're a really
nice person later on, they were just having a horrible day, maybe they were being a
jerk that day, but that's not who they are.

Once you define them that way, guess what, nothing they can do can change it.

So you gotta know that sometimes we do the same thing to ourselves. That's the
danger. "

Tony makes a good point. Defining ourselves can be very very dangerous. For
example, for many years I defined myself as "a terrible language learner". I had
failed to learn a language in High School. In college I took two semesters of
Mandarin and I didn't learn anything. I failed to learn Japanese while living in
Japan. And I failed to learn Thai while in Thailand.

These experiences built upon one another. Each time I started a language, I already
had the belief that I was a bad language learner. When I failed again, this identity
was strengthened. In Thailand, I began telling people that I was a good language
teacher, but a horrible language learner.

As long as I had that identity, I was sure to fail at any language I tried. But luckily,
I chose to change that belief. I began to realize that I was not "bad at languages".
Rather, I had had bad teachers in the past, and had used ineffective (and horribly
boring) learning methods when studying on my own. I began to read research about
language acquisition in order to become a better teacher- but this information also
helped me change my learning identity.

Then I began to talk to successful language learners like David Long and Steve
Kaufman. The methods they used were totally different than those I had tried. After
one conversation with Steve in particular, I had an epiphany. I was not a bad
language learner. With the right approach, I could learn a language just as
effectively as Steve, or David, or anyone else.
I changed my identity. Suddenly, Spanish became exciting and fun. I've been
learning it for four months now, and I'm more motivated and more excited than
when I first started. I'm making steady progress. I don't know if I will be fluent in
one year, or two years, or when-- but I do know that within the foreseeable future- I
will be fluent. I have no doubt that I will be successful. I have a new, chosen identity-
- I am an enthusiastic and successful language learner!

Another self-defeating identity we can create is a nationalistic one. If we identify too


much with our native country and culture, we will be closed to other cultures-- and
thus other languages. For example, if an American goes to Thailand and avoids
Thai food, makes no Thai friends, lives near Sukhumvit Road with other
Westerners, and constantly complains that "America is better"-- what chance does
he have to learn the Thai language.

Likewise, if a Japanese student comes to America-- but lives with other Japanese
people, has only Japanese friends, eats only Japanese food, and constantly wishes
they were back in Japan-- what chance do they have of mastering English? Very
little. And even if they do, it will require a herculean effort of willpower.

To my mind, the whole point of learning a language is to connect with other people
and other cultures. Why would I learn Spanish if I didn't want to travel in Latin
America, meet Spanish speakers, learn about Spanish football, read about Latin
American history, etc. I mean, I'm dying to take a trip to Mexico, or Ecuador, or
Venezuela. I've already got a long list of places I want to visit. That's what makes the
language interesting and alive.

But to do this, I must let go of my "I'm an American" identity a little. Of course I


was born here and I'll always be an American. But its only a small part of my
identity. I like many things about America, and dislike many things too. Likewise,
there are many things I love about Thailand, and Japan, and India.

I've changed my identity, from "American" to "World citizen".


These beliefs may not seem to be directly related to language learning- but they are.
By redefining our identity- as language learners and citizens-- we can radically
improve our ability to learn another language.

So forget your past beliefs. Forget past English "trauma". Forget all those boring
classes and terrible teachers and tests and grades and criticism. None of that matters.
Its not you. You are not bad at English. You are not bad at languages.

You are an enthusiastic, engaged, successful language learner-- if you choose to be.

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