Over the last decade, I’ve either been living and travelling abroad or teaching English as a second language in Montreal. And every time I was in another country, trying to learn the local language, I took it as an opportunity to test out my language teaching methods on myself. I mean, if what I was teaching didn’t help me learn a new language, I could not, in all fairness, continue teaching that way.

So, I experimented. Some techniques worked, and others were great from a teacher’s perspective, but as a student, they just didn’t fly. And here, I’d like to share with you one technique that I have always taught my students and has worked great for me no matter where I’ve gone: ‘the first sentence.’

 “How do you say_____ in English?”

As an English teacher, I’ve always loved this sentence because it is so functional. It uses the language to learn the language, it gives students control over their vocabulary, and it can be practiced in almost any casual situation. But as a learner, I’ve discovered that it is much more than just practical and functional.

Ask any teacher, and they’ll tell you the way to improve is to practice. Use your target language as much as you can, and results will follow. But as a learner, this is also the most difficult obstacle to overcome. It can be intimidating to speak a language you are not fluent in. You risk embarrassment, you feel nervous and insecure, and you fear making mistakes. This is the beauty of ‘the first sentence.’

When I ask native speakers in their own language how to speak more of their language, I am essentially saying “I am interested in your culture. Can you share it with me?” The response is almost always positive. Nearly every person I have ever asked has immediately opened up and excitedly begun to teach me, and I think there are two reasons for this: humility and interest.

For one, it’s a humble gesture. The first sentence lets the cat out of the bag and admits that I don’t know the language. Once this was out of the way,  the conversations, even when little was understood, became less awkward. There was no more embarrassment about not understanding, no more pretending that I got it all, and much less fear of making mistakes.

The second reason, and even more important, is that the first sentence demonstrates interest. In my experience, people don’t mind it when you can’t speak their language. What they mind is when you don’t try, and you expect them to speak yours.

In the end, we all want to connect with one another. This is the function of language after all. And ‘the first sentence’ helps us get started. It breaks the ice, gets the embarrassment of not understanding out of the way, and leads to everyday learning opportunities.

It’s a simple practice, but I can tell you from experience that it works. Share it with your students or try it for yourself. It can’t hurt, and it provides an excellent opportunity to learn from any native speaker, wherever you are, regardless of your skill level.