Embracing the unpredictable
- 19 minutes ago
- 2 min read
I painted the mug below, one blissful dot after the next.
When I got to the workshop though, I was thinking hard about design and colour charts, making plans, until my friend's wise ten-year old daughter told her auntie Caroline to 'go for it and not think'! I laughed, gave her a hug, and decided to follow her advice and let go of my plans. And for two wonderful hours, I chatted with her and her mum, painting dots at random spots, adding layers of colour.
Lately, while teaching my students, it's occurred to me that this is exactly what I tell my students, when they're about to speak in a new language, i.e. to not think and to go for it.
How easy it is for us all to be in our heads and forget to have fun! And yes, before you ask, speaking a new language is fun! You might feel a bit exposed, a bit odd at times, but mostly you're communicating and testing what you know, in a way that is unplanned and free. You're giving yourself the permission to explore and not say everything the right way at first.
After the workshop, my mug was glazed and fired in a kiln. And for all I knew, it could have broken in the firing process or simply looked unlike anything I had imagined. The unpredictability of it all was part of the process, as it is with language learning.
If you zoom in on my mug, you will see that the contours of my dots are not neat, the colour isn't evenly applied, that there are stains, in other words, that my colourful, cheerful, fun mug, is not perfect. Perfection wasn't the point and it isn't either with language learning. Being in the moment and communicating on other hand, very much is.
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