OPINION: It’s never too late to learn Spanish

As someone who wasn’t raised in a Spanish-speaking household, I never had any concrete plans of learning the language later in life. Growing up, I would listen to my mom and grandparents who are Argentinian and simply not understand the words being spoken. I always found the language beautiful, but being raised in the United States like my mother, there was no urgency to learn. 

It wasn’t until I visited Buenos Aires, Argentina to see my family when I was nine that I became truly interested in learning the language of my ancestors. It was my first time outside of the United States, and I had never been somewhere where I couldn’t communicate for myself in typical situations like asking a simple question or ordering food at a restaurant. 

I didn’t necessarily feel ashamed of not knowing the language, although my grandparents always say knowing Spanish is immensely important in today’s society. However, I felt a deep desire to connect with my heritage in a way I didn’t back home. Hearing people in Argentina who spoke two, three or more languages inspired me. I also wanted to speak Spanish with my family members.

While it’s true it can be easier for young children to acquire a second language at a faster rate, it doesn’t mean anyone at any age cannot successfully do the same. In fact, learning a new language as an adult has shown to help maintain cognitive health, as it stimulates our brains with new challenges. 

I started taking Spanish classes in middle and high school, and I immediately loved learning the language. Plus, hearing classmates tell me they thought I was a native speaker helped boost my confidence in my speaking skills, especially since my family or any native Spanish speaker could tell that I was not. 

This is one of the many deterrents of learning another language later in life we need to put to rest. Especially if you have Spanish family members, it can be daunting to attempt to speak the language without messing up or sounding “authentic” enough. Oftentimes, there’s a sense of wanting to show you’re a fluent speaker which hinders what should be a fun learning process that brings you pride in your heritage.

I stopped taking Spanish classes for a while. I regret doing so, but I was able to restart my Spanish learning journey when I started college and I’m now majoring in it. Thankfully, I always had a rather easy time picking up vocabulary, as well as writing and speaking skills. I credit this to hearing the language a lot during my childhood, but there are many people majoring in Spanish who didn’t and are excelling in the language.

This is not to say I am now magically fluent and talk to my mom or family members everyday in Spanish, as I’m still very much learning new words and concepts daily in my classes. However, one thing I’ve definitely learned is that making mistakes is important and OK, it really is how we learn. No one is less authentic to their heritage for not knowing Spanish or not being fully fluent. It’s certainly important to try to speak correctly, but if you mess up on a word or two or need to ask for a translation, we shouldn’t let that keep us from continuing to learn.

As we celebrate Latinx Heritage Month and our family history, let’s try to remember we should be proud of any level of fluency in Spanish. It’s never too late to learn the language.