I would love to be able to speak Cantonese or Mandarin. When I was nursing in Australia, many of our patients were from China and Hong Kong. Many of them were elderly and struggled with the English language. I would love to have been able to communicate with them better and make them feel more at ease in our care. I think they would be very useful languages to learn as they are spoken by millions of people worldwide.
Even here in Northern Ireland we have patients from China and Hong Kong, albeit not as many as in Australia but I would love to be able to speak a little to them. I am picking up a few basic words and that really does have a positive impact on their experience in our care.
I appreciate that these are difficult languages and at this moment in time, do not have the time or drive to learn them. Who know, maybe in the future.
This is a good question to get you thinking. It took me a good few minutes to think what is something I wish I knew how to do. I feel like if it was something you really, really wanted to do, then you would make it your goal to do so, no matter how much time or effort it would take. In saying that, life often gets in the way of these goals. Other factors, like finding the time, finances, family and friends, employment and just generally having a life will all play a key role in whether you have the opportunity to learn something new.
I would love to speak multiple languages. It was always my dream, right through my school years, to university to now living and working in Australia. Seeing how multicultural it is living in Sydney, you can see the advantages of speaking more than one language. Especially being a nurse. I would love to be able to converse to my worldly patients in their own language, more so when they cannot speak English.
Growing up I would speak German with family and learned the language at school. I then picked up French at school too and absolutely loved being able to speak in two different languages (not perfectly by any means). The ability to communicate in German and French whilst visiting those countries was the dream.
However, as I grew older and left the studies behind (for reasons still unknown now) I slowly forgot what I had learned and taken for granted previously. Now I lack the confidence to communicate in these two languages, especially German. I would love to gain the courage to practice this language, especially as I have family from Germany. The last time I visited Germany, I was speaking at a market stall to order some food and the teller answered me in English 😆. I think he was happy that I had simply attempted to speak in his language.
I think I will get back to revisiting these languages, especially German in the future. I might enrol in some classes to revise the language. It’s just making the time is the issue for me but if I really want to do it, I can make it happen. As for other languages, I’m sure I would have the resources. I’m just not sure how difficult I would find them. Also I guess my priorities are not there yet. At the moment I’m focusing on my career, fitness and travelling.
Therefore, this is something that I wish I knew how to do. How to make the time to learn multiple languages, even just one or two. Also, what is the key to knowing multiple languages?
Let me know your thoughts or what you wish you knew how to do.
WrookieSchU 