It was a summer night in the early 90s, and none of the neighborhood kids were playing outside. I guess it was too sticky, and they were all taking refuge inside their air-conditioned homes. I wanted to play at Ellen Hillwood's house down the block because she had the Barbie mansion and the Barbie convertible in her basement, and that was just totally boss. I asked my mother to call her mother and set up the play date, except this time was different. My mother had just taken off her numerous sparkly rings, placed them on the counter, and begun squishing ground beef, eggs, ketchup, mustard, and breadcrumbs together, into what would eventually become a loaf that would be baked in the oven. "Her number is in my book. Just pick up the phone and call."
I lifted the phone from it's cradle and let it dangle for a minute, watching the receiver spin until all of the kinks worked themselves out of the curly phone cord that had been frequently stretched to far lengths and pressed in door jams to achieve privacy. I began to dial and missed a number. I slammed the phone back on it's cradle, then lifted it and tried again. My heart pounded. Busy signal. A temporary sigh of relief.
A few minutes later, I made another attempt. This time, I heard the repetitive whirring sound that signaled ringing on the other end. Ellen's mom answered. "Hi, ummmm, Mrs. Hillwood. Can, uhhhhh, Ellen come over and play?" "Of course, I'll get her on the line." Phew, I had made contact with an adult over the phone, and I survived it through without needing to be hospitalized.
Phone conversations have always been stressful for me, but why? For one, it can be a bit intimidating to call a land line with an unknown recipient at the other end. How will your call be received? Since there is no physical or visual contact, the listener is focusing on your voice and your ability to communicate clearly and directly. Your mistakes, as well as dead air, will surely be noted. The spotlight is on you.
Foreign language learning requires many skills. The basic skills are usually broken down into receptive and productive. Receptive skills involve the absorption of information, such as in listening or reading. Productive skills, on the other hand, require one to combine known vocabulary words into coherent (or oftentimes incoherent, depending on who you're speaking with) phrases to express ideas, thoughts, and knowledge. This includes both speaking and writing. All four skills produce obvious challenges. Writing requires a special knowledge of punctuation and style. When reading, one will be faced with unknown vocabulary and must infer meaning through context and guesswork. Listening involves a trained ear and very focused attention. Speaking is a rapid creative process, relying on word recall and on-the-spot grammatical decisions.
When I first began learning to speak Spanish, I felt that producing speech was much more simple than understanding the words of a native speaker. Perhaps this is because listening skills are the most neglected in foreign language education. Whatever the reason, so many foreign language beginners struggle to understand spoken language. Speech may be a bit scary, as well, but it is something that you can control for yourself. If you are creative enough, you can find a way to explain yourself, but you can not really teach yourself how to listen from a textbook. The only way to learn is to make an attempt, and it is nerve-racking.
This brings me to the present. I put on my headset and click the green "Call Mobile" button on my skype account. The Guatemalan flag and the corresponding 502 country code show beside the number that I just dialed. The anxiety sets in, and I begin to take long deep breaths, anticipating the unfamiliar voice that will soon confront me. A woman on the other line answers "Buenas tardes, depósito dental" as the audio cuts out for a few seconds and crackles. Phone lines in Central America aren't always so sharp. "Alo, ¿cómo estás? Quiero hablar con Señor Bruno. ¿Está disponible?" "No, no se encuentra." "OK, entonces, llamo de nuevo mañana." He's not available. I guess that buys me some time. Each time that I make a call to Latin America, my receptive listening skills improve significantly. Without the aide of facial expressions or body language, one must focus intently on each syllable, separating each word, and recognizing each sentence. My productive speaking skills could still use some work, but I can get my point across, which is really the objective.
Despite building my confidence and abilities in these skills, there is still something stressful about a phone call. This feeling is not exclusive to phone calls in Spanish, but a foreign language sure adds a bit of complexity and presents an additional challenge. I recently had to give up coffee for health reasons, but I've discovered that phone tag in a foreign language is a pretty comparable substitute. It sure gets my heart rate going in the morning.
(That's Selena singing about the sound of her heart beating when she sees the man she loves. It's not really quite the same kind of palpitation, but I thought it might make this post more exciting. Enjoy!)
