I have had met a number of people who are from other parts of the world and honestly, I must admit I have almost developed a fear towards foreigners. That baseless fear came about not only because foreigners have a different physical appearance, but basically since they speak a language that is totally alien to me.

I have met Japanese, French, Chinese, Korean and German (in a sprachreise) people during different times and situations through mutual friends and relatives. The truth is I tried to hide from their view but then I wasn’t able to evade them totally. I assumed I wouldn’t be able to communicate with them since they came from supposedly strange lands but hey, as time went by I realized we all had something in common—we all know how to speak English! I never really got to talk a lot with them since they never stayed for long and they were just passing by in our country, but every now and then we still communicate through email and in the language most of us understand—English!

One of my foreign friends Ian (the one from Germany), happens to be my godmother’s son and every now and then he calls up or sends emails in order to catch up with what is going on over here in my hometown. He had been here a few years ago and my friends and I gave him a grand tour of the city. Ian was born here but he eventually grew up in Germany since that is where his father came from. Ian acquired the German language when he was still a small boy but his parents continued to speak to him in English that is why it is still a part of his treasure trove of languages (He speaks Spanish and French as well. No kidding!). During his stay here we communicated in English since he can barely speak in my native dialect and I can barely converse in German. We may have come from different parts of the world but one language broke communication barriers for us and we are grateful for that.

I, unlike Ian and other multilingual people, only know English and I am only familiar with the native dialect of my hometown and the national language of my country. Technically I can be called a multilingual person but in the wider scope of the world, the only foreign language I know is English. I must say I envy those who can speak more than 3 or 5 languages but I am proud that I am not that far behind in the world since I know at least one foreign language.

I have considered learning other foreign languages but I don’t know which I should choose. I am interested in all of them but I must figure out which one will be very useful for me in the future either for career or travel opportunities or simply just for fun. Well, I am still young and I am interested in expanding my horizons. I wouldn’t be surprised if I will learn to speak two more foreign languages instead of one and I will be more than delighted to be able to communicate with more people from different parts of the world!

Consider involving yourself in different online games to interact and make friends who speak your target language – whether it is in a casino en ligne to speak French or a German chat room about gardening, you’re sure to enjoy and it’s a lot more fun than reading grammar books!