‘HOW MATERNAL INFLUENCE SHAPES LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY’
Language is one of the defining characteristics of humanity. We use language to communicate, express ourselves, and connect with others. Our first language, or mother tongue, plays a critical role in shaping our identity and how we see the world. It is the language we learn as infants, and it is often deeply intertwined with our cultural heritage and personal history.
As a language teacher, I have encountered many students from different backgrounds, each with their own unique story and language learning journey. However, there is one particular story that has left a lasting impression on me, forever changing my perception of the significance of being exposed to language as a child. Allow me to share the remarkable story of Mary.
Mary was born in London in the late 1920’s into a family with a French mother and a British father. Tragedy struck aged 12 during the London Blitz when a bomb demolished their home, resulting in the loss of both of her parents. In the rush of the moment, as a responsible older sister, Mary took her injured younger brother to the nearest First Aid post, forgetting about her six-year-old sister, left behind in the air raid shelter that had saved them. (Fortunately, she was found by an ARP Warden and she was reunited with her siblings a few days later)
Despite the heart-wrenching circumstances, Mary's resilience and determination would come to define her future. In the care of nuns, she grew up to become a remarkable woman, ultimately graduating from college and pursuing a career as a gym teacher. During the war, there could be no contact with her mother’s family in France, so the language that had once been such an integral part of her life-French- was lost with the passing of her mother. There was only occasional contact with the French side of the family in the decades that followed.
It was during a French lesson with her daughter, who had taken an interest in learning the language, that Mary's linguistic abilities resurfaced, much to the astonishment of her daughter and myself. At the age of 95 Mary not only comprehended the language effortlessly but spoke with a fluency and accent that evoked the memories of her long-lost mother. It was a powerful testament to the indelible imprint our mother tongue leaves on us, regardless of the passage of time.
Mary's story has profoundly influenced my teaching and has deepened my understanding of the significance of our mother tongue in the process of language learning. It serves as a poignant reminder of the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring power of our earliest linguistic experiences. Through Mary's remarkable journey, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the interplay between language, identity, and personal history, forever transforming my perception of language teaching and learning.”
Mary and her daughter Liz. Mary’s 95th Birthday. She’s the same age as Mickey Mouse so she resolutely wears Mickey memorabilia. It was Minnie ears this time!
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