Kelly McGuire

Kelly McGuire is a language learner currently living in the Netherlands. She’s learned a number of languages to varying degrees of fluency, including Mandarin, Japanese, and Dutch. She also worked (and hopes to soon work again) as a Chinese-English translator. She’s well known online as the author of Aspiring Polyglot and Dreaming in Kanji.

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I was born and raised in Gibraltar, a small British overseas territory south of Spain. I moved to the United Kingdom in 1999 to study for a BA in Modern Chinese Studies at Leeds University. I spent the 2000-2001 academic year in China, where I took classes in Chinese language and culture at Tianjin Normal University. After graduation, I went on to study for an MA in Conflict Resolution at Lancaster University before going on to work as a graduate trainee librarian at Oxford University.  

I returned to East Asia in 2005 when my partner was offered a year’s contract at his company’s branch in Hsinchu, Taiwan (or Xinzhu, if you’re a sucker for pinyin). During my year in Taiwan, I worked as a freelance translator and proofreader for an education consultancy firm in Taipei and took the opportunity to visit Hong Kong and Japan before coming back to Europe to join my partner in the Netherlands. Nowadays I live in one of the Netherlands’ fastest growing cities and work as a presentation scheduler for a digital TV company based in Amsterdam. It’s not the kind of job you’d expect to find a Chinese Studies graduate doing but it pays the bills and it gives me enough time to take on some volunteer (i.e. unpaid) translation work on the side.  

2. Why did you start studying foreign languages, and how old were you when you started? 

I suppose my first foreign language was Spanish. Gibraltar is a bilingual nation but my mother believed that a good command of English would get me a lot further in life so we rarely spoke Spanish at home. I would chat with my grandmother in Spanish but, I must admit, Spanish didn’t come naturally to me and it was only when I started Spanish classes at school at the age of 8 that I made any real progress. So unlike many of my fellow Gibraltarians, I can’t claim to be truly bilingual, even though I understand the written and spoken language perfectly. I had to work very hard to keep up with my classmates. 

3. What languages are you studying or have studied? What level of proficiency do you have in those languages now? Why did you choose those languages specifically? 

I’m currently learning Japanese and Dutch, though I’m also working hard to maintain and improve my Mandarin. I’d say my knowledge of Japanese and Dutch is somewhere around the low-intermediate/intermediate level so there’s still a lot of room for improvement.  

I started learning Dutch out of sheer necessity. I moved to the Netherlands 3 years ago and I encounter the language everywhere I go so learning Dutch seems like the natural thing to do. I can’t imagine living in a country and not being able to speak or understand the local language. It’s not a language I’m particularly fond of but I like to know what’s going on around me and show people that I’m making an effort to fit in. I can now read a newspaper with ease and chat with Dutch colleagues at work but my writing skills still leave a lot to be desired. All things considered, I don’t think I’ve done too badly for someone who learnt the language without taking a single class. 

Mandarin and Japanese are languages I started learning out of pure interest. I’ve always been fascinated by Chinese and Japanese culture and was originally going to study for a joint honours degree in Chinese and Japanese, though I decided to choose a single honours degree in the end as I felt learning two new languages from scratch would be more than I could handle.  

In addition, I can speak and understand French reasonably well (I had four years of French classes at school and occasionally find the time to brush up on my skills) and can understand written and spoken Italian thanks to my knowledge of Spanish. I’ve dabbled with other languages over the years but I haven’t had the time or reason to learn more than a few basic phrases and grammar points. I guess I already have more than enough to keep me busy! 

4. What are your study goals? Do you plan on reaching a certain level of proficiency and then stopping? 

I don’t really set myself many goals as experience has taught me that I’m not very good at meeting my goals. My language learning would probably be a little more structured if I did set targets but I prefer to learn at my own pace and see where it takes me. I don’t believe there’s a point you can reach when you can just say “I know enough of Language X so I don’t need to continue learning it”, unless you’re learning a language for a very specific reason (e.g. to pass a proficiency exam or learning a few holiday phrases). I enjoy reading and learning new words and phrases so I’m constantly learning new things and accept that language learning is, in fact, a never-ending journey of discovery.  

I have no intention of abandoning any of the languages I’m currently learning. I may prioritise one over the other depending on circumstances but I still make sure that I do enough to maintain, perhaps even improve, my skills in all of the languages I’m learning. You can never know everything there is to know about a language. The minute you think you know it all, something will undoubtedly come along to prove you wrong. Anyone who has worked as a translator will know exactly what I mean! 

5. How do you define fluency? What is the minimum level of proficiency you would consider necessary before saying that you “knew” a language?

“What is fluency?”. That is a very tricky question to answer. “Fluency” means different things to different people and is a point for contention in many of the online language learning forums I frequent. Some believe that you should be able to speak flawlessly in order to qualify as fluent, while others believe one can understand a language fluently but can still have trouble speaking it.  

I would define “fluency” as the ability to express your thoughts and feelings in a coherent manner. I don’t even think your grammar needs to be perfect so long as you’re able to get your message across and don’t stumble over every word. Having said that, I feel a wide vocabulary and the correct use of idioms and expressions is essential. Fluency in a language is much more than knowing how to order food at a restaurant or talking about the weather; you should also be able to talk in-depth about subjects you’re interested in and be able to argue your point in a discussion.  

As for “knowing” a language, what does it mean to “know” a language? Does it mean you know how a language “works” (e.g. grammar, cultural nuances) or is it just another way to say you understand the written and spoken language without running for the dictionary? I don’t belief you can “know” a language. You can know how to speak it or understand it but I don’t like how people say they “know” a language. I honestly think it would be less confusing to just say you have a certain level of proficiency in a language. In my experience, the people who say they “know” a language are often people who have learnt a few set phrases and can, at best, manage simple conversations. 

6. Can you briefly describe your study workflow?

There’s no such thing as a typical day for me since I often have to fit my language learning around my work and other activities. Every day is different but I still try and set aside some time for language learning. There are days when I have enough time to sit down and watch a film or read a few chapters of a book during my commute to work, and there are days when I can only spare 10 minutes for reading through my notes or revising new vocabulary. I’ve found that listening to online radio while I work is a good way to fit in some language learning into my busy schedule.  

I suppose the important thing is to spend some time every day on language learning, even if you can only spare a few minutes. If I left my language learning for those days when I have plenty of time to spare, then I’d never make any progress. 

7. What was the biggest mistake you made or misconception you had when you started studying languages? How did you realize it was a mistake?

My biggest mistake was to assume that you could learn a language simply by working through a course textbook. While developing your reading skills is one way to broaden your vocabulary and see grammar in action, the only way to learn how to speak the language is to immerse yourself in it and take every opportunity you can to talk to native speakers. If you don’t, you’ll end up being able to read and understand a language well but you’ll find it difficult to actually speak it, something I know all too well. My spoken Mandarin leaves a lot to be desired even after all these years…  

8. If you could pass on only a single piece of advice to other learners, especially learners just starting out, what would it be?

My advice would be : Just do it. Don’t worry about the pros and cons of using SRS techniques in your studies or whether the Pimsleur course is better than the Michel Thomas one. Just start learning and, more importantly, make sure you use what you have learnt. Chat with native speakers, switch on the radio or TV, or keep a blog in the language you’re learning. Practice makes perfect and this is especially true of learning a language. There’s little point in working your way through a course or textbook if you’re not going to use the language so just get out there and start honing your skills. 

9. What are your future language study plans?

My current plan of action is to improve my Japanese and Dutch. I’d like to sit the Japanese Language Proficiency Test (JLPT) Level 3 exam at some point and work my way up to Level 2. I don’t have any specific goals for Dutch except to continue to broaden my vocabulary, improve my speaking and writing skills, and try to get to grips with Dutch humour.

Thanks so much for taking time to answer my questions, Kelly.

Related posts:

1. Interview with Steve Kaufmann
2. Interview with AJATT’s Khatzumoto
3. Interview with August Flanagan
4. Cantoneasy
5. One language or many, take two

Tagged as: advice, dutch, Interviews, japanese, kelly mcguire, languages, learning, mandarin, methods