My family was lucky enough to live abroad for four years with our school-age children in a Spanish-speaking country.
The difference between my experience and my kid’s learning experience was stark. They went to a full-day bilingual school that provided formal education in two languages equally dividing the day into two parts. They emerged completely bilingual.
Myself, on the other hand, I had to find informal ways to learn Spanish. I had to dig deep into my intrinsic and extrinsic motivations. 1) I had a need to know because I wanted to be a fully engaged member of society. 2) My self-concept was that I was a fast learner of languages, as I spoke decent French. 3) My prior experience, felt like a need to prove my language skills extended beyond just one language. 4) My readiness to learn was necessitated by a need to understand what was happening around me and the desire to overcome bureaucratic hurdles when it came to services like health care. In contrast to my children’s formal education and time commitment, I had to hire a series of private tutors and find ways to fit language lessons into my already busy days. Much of what we did together was on practical things. 5) My orientation to learning was to gain useful skills in real-life situations. 6) My intensely high motivation notwithstanding, I emerged with barely passable Spanish.