The Secret Benefit of Wine (you haven’t heard of)

What is this secret benefit of wine?

Well, first let me fill you in on a little secret about me...

I'm an introvert. 

And more than that...

I am a SHY introvert.

So this means that not only does it take me a lot of energy and effort to be social and talk to people, but that it also takes a lot of courage to begin a conversation, and meet new people. Now when you get to be a close friend of mine, this doesn't matter as much, because you become like family. 😊

Okay, now imagine this shy introvert going and talking to someone new IN ANOTHER LANGUAGE! Oy, this makes the stakes twice as high. It is so hard to talk to someone and not know if what you're saying is what you actually mean, or if you sound like a complete idiot. You start to worry about each little mistake you're making and overthink each sentence that comes out. Then your face turns red and you start sweating... It turns out to be a very quick and boring conversation.

This is where the wine comes in! 

 (I guess this would work with pretty much any kind of alcohol, but I always feel like wine leads more toward conversation, while something like vodka might lead more toward... dancing?)

Alright, so I'm not recommending that everyone should be drinking wine all the time. There's a time and a place for it. But I'm saying that you can use this as a tool to help you PRACTICE. Practicing speaking is huge. And if you're not paying someone to speak with you, or doing a language exchange with someone else who is also still learning your language (thank you italki), then the wine definitely helps give you the confidence boost so that you can speak for a longer amount of time and have more confidence to use new vocabulary and try longer, more complex sentences. It's also a great opportunity to open up with your new friend and maybe learn some of those cultural things we talked about in Is there more to learn than just the language? How culture plays a role. Now, if you're drinking wine by yourself, I don't think it has quite the same effect... but maybe you'll start talking to yourself in your new language? 😏

Well, now you know, the secret benefit of wine (that you haven't heard of) is that it helps you learn languages! It gives you that bit of liquid courage and relaxation to help you get practice in your new language. So drink up, and get to chatting!

CHEERS! 🍷