1. Have you ever tried to learn a foreign language but found the task too difficult?
2. Were you introduced to the foreign language in a traditional classroom setting?
3. Were you limited to the language you could learn by what was offered at your academic institution?

I ask these questions because so often people choose to embark on a foreign language discovery through these general paths. And second language acquisition becomes all too often an artificial, tedious path, one which starts in high school and is quickly abandoned upon graduating college.

People are told that learning a second language is a good investment for one's future. And so at some point we make the choice based on what is offered to us, not on what we really want to learn. Sure, some of us say that we chose a language because we were really interested in it and begin to cite some reasons.

But are the reasons for learning a second language truly coming from a deeper part of ourselves? Or do they come from external influences?

Once we settle upon a language of our choice, sit ourselves in a classroom and allow the learning process to begin, sooner or later certain feelings will arise. We find ourselves asking questions like;

1. How fulfilling is this classroom experience really?
2. Am I always driven to better my foreign language skills?
3. Why does this experience feel like a task at times?
4. Why do I sometimes get frustrated with the complexity of the language?

The answer to these questions may lie in a deeper relfection of oneself. Once we are closer to understanding who we are, we will be able to identify a language or a group of languages that resinate most within us.

We learn more about ourselves through an inner relfection. With so much noise and various stimuli around us, it becomes hard to find some necessary quiet time. If we were to look deep within ourselves and see what sort of things make us who we are and where our interests lie, we would slowly discover that there may be a foreing language tucked away, lying dormant for the time being.

For example, if one looks at one's interests and finds that a certain part of the world or a certain part of history plays a significant role, maybe that's a clue to what language would most compliment the self.

I've personally, always been influenced by France for some unexplained reason. I have no French origins and no family living in France. Yet, I've always felt a certain attraction to the land and language. I truly enjoy the sound of the language and once I actually visited the land itself, I found an even greater understanding that I am on the right path in this whole second language acquisition process.

What keeps me focused on further learning the French language and culture is the emotion that arises whenever I make contact with that which is French. For example, watching an enjoyable movie I get caught up in the lovely sounds of the language as I sit there and listen. Seeing certain French landscapes also tugs on my emotions and I get a feeling of unexpicable closeness that I enjoy very much.

If only people were to take time out to really reflect upon themselves, they may discover that embarking on a new language journey will only deepen their sense of self. That is, providing that the language they chose is a true relfection of a part of themselves. And even if the language that resonates most with one's deeper self is not offered at a local school, that is no reason not to begin the journey.

It may be very fulfilling to learn a language on one's own time, away from the traditional classroom setting. After all, if there is an inner closeness felt toward the language the motivation to learn it will always be there.

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