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Learning a new language is one of the recommended activities for keeping your brain active and in shape. Constantly engaging in new activities helps you keep mentally fit and sharp is something everyone should do. Language learning might seem complicated at the beginning as each language has its specific sounds and letters.
Some languages are similar to each other, such as Latin ones, which might be easier to learn. However, language is dependent on the culture of a country and they cannot be separated. In college, you study and learn about distinct perspectives and cultures. So, what are the social and cultural aspects of language learning?
Social-Cultural Immersion
Learning a new language is not an easy goal. However, it comes with so many benefits for your brain and it helps you develop and articulate your thinking. A foreign language helps you connect with the culture it is connected with, but also with the people from that culture. It is way easier to learn a country when you immerse socially in that culture.
Going to the country where the language you are learning originates allows you to get a glimpse of what it means to be part of that culture. Language is deeply tied to culture, and it cannot exist without the other.
Cancel Culture
This draws us to an essential part of today’s society. Cancel culture is a new trend, a new type of culture emerging in every society. It is not tied to a specific country, but rather to specific generations of people. Gen Z and Millennials are the ones that have started to cancel culture.
Not agreeing with someone else’s ideas and opinions when they are racist and devoid of empathy is natural. So, they aimed to ostracize and thrust out of social circles those they do not agree with. You can visit the page with a free essay about cancel culture to learn more about this new type of culture that begins to dominate our societies. And it is not necessarily a bad thing, as it points to some problems the society and people have that they have normalized. Cancel culture is universal, compared with the specific culture each country has.
Learning a New Language
Can a new language be learned without immersing in that culture? Well, theoretically this is possible. However, to boost your language learning skills, getting to know the culture will help you tremendously.
There is also the social part of learning a language, not only the cultural one. Immersing in the culture and getting to know the locals and talking with them helps you learn a language more efficiently. Immersing the environment where people are speaking the language you want to learn helps you get more in tune with the culture, but also with the sounds associated with that language.
How Should You Learn a New Language?
Immersing in the country and culture of those who speak the language you are learning is one of the ways you can effectively learn a new language. You can also try to learn specific idioms and phrases, as they will help you communicate your ideas coherently and clearly.
These idioms are particular to every country, so they will contribute to improving your social skills with locals. At the same time, it is crucial to learn the traditions and habits of these cultures. They make language learning more productive as you give locals the space they need to connect with you, without forcing things. Apart from this, art is representative of each country, and discovering it helps you understand it better.
Final Words
Learning a language is more than just learning the vocabulary and reading and writing rules. Learning a language is about the culture it is tied with, as they cannot exist without each other. Immersing in culture allows you to get a glimpse of what it means to grow in it, but also understand their perspectives better.
Language learning has many aspects, among which are social and cultural. There are many ways you can enrich the cultural and social knowledge of a language, among which learning specific idioms, informing about customs and traditions, or listening to podcasts or watching videos that help you understand it better.
Bio lines: Evelyn Montoy is a content writer and blogger. She is interested in finding the history and culture of each country she visits. Evelyn is a globetrotter and learns bits of the languages of each country she visits.
Ihsan Sharif is a talented writer known for his engaging articles on linguistic topics. With a keen eye for detail and a passion for language, Ihsan brings complex linguistic concepts to life, making them accessible and interesting to a wide audience.
