There are barriers to language mastery

(and that's a good thing)

Sometimes a "No" is just a "Yes" in disguise.  

Do you know the famous movie director, Steven Spielberg?  In the mid 1970’s he directed a mega-hit movie called Jaws.  As you might guess from the title, the main character was a man-eating shark.  Could you imagine filming with a great white shark?  No thank you.. So, the movie producers built a 25-foot animatronic shark.  It was a great idea, but when they put the animatronic shark in salt water the gears began to corrode.  A week later the shark machine was useless.  

You would think having no shark in a shark movie would be a catastrophic limitation, a fateful “No” so to speak.

But, Spielberg used that "No" to create a summer blockbuster "Yes”.

Spielberg had a tight schedule.  He had to film - now!  So, he filmed shark scenes with no shark. He filmed fake blood, screaming, victims gurgling for air, screaming on-lookers, the odd shark fin flopping around . . . but no shark.  AND, It was a stroke of cinematic brilliance - the audience could only guess what this killer looked like.  And the suspense and anticipation deliciously grew with each bone crunching bite.    

Eventually the shark was fixed and the climactic ending was filmed. And theaters were filled with the screams of delighted audience members as the 25-foot life-like animatronic beast was revealed in it’s full gore and glory.  

Well done, Mr. Spielberg.

It could be an eager learner facing time pressures from other jobs.  It could be negative emotions generated by a sense of language failure or it could even be laziness.  All of these "No" moments slap us down and keep us from our potential.

And this is where it becomes counter-intuitive, but sometimes a "No" can become our most important ally.  With just a little imagination that “weakness”, that “limitation” - that “No”-  might actually trigger other opportunities we could have never dreamed of. 

Take my friend, for example.  Some of my students feel ashamed of their second language accent.  It feels like a "No" slapping them in the face.  But, my friend didn’t allow himself to feel that shame.  Instead he became very skilled at exploiting his accent.  He selects phrases that, because of his accent, create an extra layer of wit and humor that a “natural” accent could not possibly duplicate.  He's very clever at it.  It's like how some people have a knack for wearing clothes that just seem to fit their personality.  He could have felt embarrassed, but instead he turned that “No” feeling, that “limitation” feeling, that “weakness" feeling and made it into a proud “Yes”; a "Yes" that has become a much-loved feature of his personality.  

In the world of language mastery, life will scream "No" at us whenever possible. However, you can, with a little Spielberg creativity and hard work, turn that "weakness" into an important asset - perhaps one of your most important.