Being someone that has spent significant time abroad, in a country that speaks a language other than English, I found this talk particularly interesting. It caused me to think about the importance of language in a culture, and how culture defines certain aspect of life.

I moved to France when I was around eight years old and stayed there until I was twelve, I have spent summers since then in French speaking countries, and have noticed a difference in the times I have spent there depending on my age and knowledge of the country.

When I first moved to France I did not know a single word of French, I learned it all when I was there through going to a French speaking school and just being immersed in the country. I believe that this is similar to what the speaker was talking about; the importance of going into an experience with little or no known things about that place in order to have a more natural and less objective point of view or expectation when entering into a place or spending significant time there. I think having little knowledge of France was extremely beneficial for me when living there. Although this may be due to my age, as I was very young, I think that nonetheless it helped me immerse myself into the culture and language and understand things from my own perspective without any preconceived notions getting in the way of me determining what I truly was experiencing.

In terms of the language, not knowing any before was beneficial, and I think it helped me pick up words at a natural pace and lineage. When learning Spanish in high school, I learned words and phrases that a) were not truly phrases that people said in Spanish speaking countries and b) learned words and phrases in a sequence that would not be normal if I were to be living there or growing up there. There may not be a huge benefit to learning certain words at a time that would be considered more “natural” but I believe that it just allows a person to learn more through experience, as they are learning words in a natural way.

The presentation was particularly interesting as well because I believe that my time in school may have changed my opinion on this. I may now be more inclined to learn more about a place before going there even though I know that it may be more beneficial to not. I think that as I grow up I will be less and less inclined to be so “bold” but hope that this is not always the case.