Learning A Language Through Insults

     It is not easy to learn another language, especially to the extent of going to another country and emerging oneself among people who speak another language.  David Sedaris wrote Me Talk Pretty One Day after resuming his education by going to school in France.  The writing of this essay is slightly ironic, since Sedaris is known for being a spoken word poet and public speaker.  He "lost his intelligence" when he went to learn another language in another country, since it was difficult to even form a correct sentence.  His teacher was harsh and verbally abusive to her students and mocked them for speaking incorrectly.

     A limited vocabulary often invites controversy due to the fact that words can be misused or have a different meaning under slang.  Sedaris's teacher in France would yell at her students constantly for misusing words, and would yell insults at the students in a language they did not understand.  "Even a Fiuscrzsa Ticiwelmun knows that a typewriter is feminine," was said by the teacher one day.  I believe that the teacher upset the students on purpose.  It is hurtful to be called a name in one's native language, and even worse to be sworn at in a different language since one does not know what the insult truly means.  The teacher had a "better than thou" attitude, which then motivated students to surpass and please her in order to be perfect.  Sedaris was motivated to improve by the teachers harsh and abrasive words.

     Sedaris and his classmates were motivated to understand.  Understanding comes from hardship and difficulties, since being thrown into a situation forces one to adapt.  It does not occur all at once, but understanding, especially a language, comes over time.  It is also possible to understand other things besides facts.  For example, Sedaris began to understand his teachers teaching method.  At the end of this essay, he touches upon the feeling that comes from understanding.  It is a liberating feeling that opens ones mind to learn more.  There is a feeling that there is a whole other world out there to explore, and when one learns another language, insults and all, it really is another world and culture.  By the end of the class Sedaris was able to completely understand his teachers degrading comments fluently, providing him with a sense of pride and confidence, allowing him to speak out to against his teacher.