How to learn a language during your pregnancy
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When you’re planning to take up a new skill, you’ll find that there never really is a good time to start trying – like planning for a new baby. Either you can’t afford to spend money on resources, you don’t have enough time to put aside, your kids depend on you 24 hours a day, or you just don’t feel like starting at that moment for whatever reason.
I’m Turkish Cypriot by origin but born and raised in London, and my husband is Swiss. I can barely speak Turkish, but for the bulk of my life, I kept meaning to put aside some time to learn Turkish fluently. I, then, met my husband and decided that I wanted to learn Turkish, German, Swiss-German, Spanish and Italian. But I found myself using all the excuses under the sun to put off actually starting the process. Learning a language is no different to starting a new course or learning to play a new instrument. It takes motivation to start, drive to keep going and consistency and practice to improve. But, most of all it takes time, time which you need to be willing to sacrifice, even if it’s one hour a day.
So, when is the best time to start learning a language?
Really, the best time to start is, well, now. Schedule in small bite-sized chunks every day, or coordinate starting when you have a free pocket of time available, however rare that may be. And, if you can manage a long-term stint like pregnancy for nine months then you can certainly coordinate learning a language too. If you’re pregnant, first of all, congratulations! Now you can set aside learning a language in nine months, along with your pregnancy because, not only will you achieve a massive milestone like learning how to communicate in another language, but your baby will also learn the language with you as well! But, more on those benefits later…
Can I actually learn a language in nine months?
Benny Lewis in his article on ‘How to learn a language in hours, not years,’ stated that you have to be devoted to learning the language and expose yourself to that language at every opportunity. One of the key factors in being devoted to learning another language is to have a good reason to learn, so you stay motivated. Do you have family members who speak another language and you want to communicate with them (like me) or does your future career depend on learning that language? Whatever the key reason is for learning that language, it is important to stay motivated throughout and do as much as you can in that language as possible.
Immerse yourself in that language. Read the newspaper, watch TV or listen to the radio in that language. Keep a dictionary nearby, so if you don’t understand a certain word, make sure you look that word up and build your vocabulary whenever possible. Speaking to yourself in that language if you have no one to practice on is also a great way of practicing and, if you’re pregnant, you’re speaking to your baby who will also learn the language with you too!
You can learn a language remotely
You may be thinking, “How would I be able to travel to a language school to learn while I’m pregnant and/or have kids?” Thanks to the world of technology, there are many courses available online, so you can start right now in the comfort of your own home. If you’re interested in learning a language like Spanish, you can check out online language platforms like Maximo Nivel to learn Spanish online. There are other free resources online that you can subscribe to and receive emails every day. Hit up Google and get the ball rolling now.
Benefits of learning a language during pregnancy
As the baby grows in your belly, they can start to hear sounds from the outside world from as early as 23 weeks, with their mother’s voice and heart being the clearest sounds to them. If you live in a bilingual or multilingual family, your baby may already be growing with the ability to speak bilingually/multilingually too. This is because the baby is exposed to the languages in the womb. A US and Swedish study showed that newborns are already used to their mother’s language and show curiosity for other languages too. Exposing your prenatal baby to different languages affects the newborn’s brain sensibility and speech processing ability and in the last 10 weeks of pregnancy the prenatal baby is not just listening to their mother, but actually taking note of the words and learning them.
Even if you’re not pregnant
Then, I still encourage you to start. Learning a language is a massive skill and one that could provide you with dividends for the rest of your life. Just remember to remind yourself why you are learning because this is important to motivate you to carry on until the language clicks in your brain. Make realistic and specific goals. Breakdown your language goals that can be achievable over the nine months, so you’re not overwhelmed by how difficult you’re finding it or how much you need to learn. Focus on a number of resources that can submerge you into the language, like reading a book, watching a TV show or talking to someone else in that language. The quickest way to learn is to DO, so expose yourself at every opportunity.
I’m embarking on the road to learning Turkish so I can speak to my family in North Cyprus and I aim to become fluent in nine months!
What are your tips to learning a new language in months not years? Please share with us in the comments below.
If you’re pregnant, grab your free pregnancy pack now – details inside!
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