Can't Follow the Details in a Foreign-Language Dance Lesson? Tips from English-Language Classes in Ho Chi Minh City
Contents
This page is a reference translation of the Japanese original (日本語の原文). It has not been checked by a native speaker. Please confirm details with each organizer.
The short answer: I took lessons in English in Ho Chi Minh City, and there were fine points I could not understand. What mattered then, I think, was not to try to understand everything. It was to split what I did not understand into small pieces, so I could check them later. This article gathers that experience and some ways of thinking about lessons with a language barrier. The personal story is short. The rest is a set of suggestions that start with “for example, you could try this.”
About the writer
I live in Sapporo and am around 50 years old. In 2019, I discovered salsa and bachata in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, where I was living for work, and I still dance today. I am not good at it. I am not a teacher, and I have no connection to any dance school or organizer.
My experience
The group lessons I took in Ho Chi Minh City (twice a week) were taught in English. In them, there were fine points that I could not understand. When I had just started, I felt that the language was hard, on top of the steps, rhythm, leading and following. I do not write any more detail than this in this article. That is all I remember as fact.
The whole story of how I started, and what was hard at first, is in How I Started Salsa and Bachata in Ho Chi Minh City.
What do I mean by “fine points”?
Here I mean the feeling-based parts of a movement that a teacher explains in a lesson. For example: where to place your attention in your body, or how firmly to touch your partner. These are hard to pick up just by watching a demonstration. Even when you hear them in words, they can be hard to take in if the language is not your own.
This is only an example. Which explanations are hard to follow differs by person and by school.
What you can try in a lesson with a language barrier
How well each one works differs by person. Try only the ones that seem to suit you.
Use what you can see as a clue
- Some of the teacher’s demonstration comes across when you watch, even if you don’t understand the words
- Counting numbers can help you catch the beat, even if you don’t understand the words
- When you can’t tell what the movement is, watch the people around you and copy them. In Your First Latin Dance Lesson, I also write that it is fine to look around and copy others as you go
Narrow down what you ask
- Rather than saying “I don’t understand anything,” I think it is easier for the other person to answer if you narrow it to one spot: “I don’t understand this part of this movement”
- You can write down what you want to ask beforehand, so you can ask in a few short words
- If it is hard to ask during the lesson, you can ask during a break or after the lesson
Fill in the words afterward
- You can look up terms again after the lesson. Translations of terms in Japanese, English, Korean, Spanish, French, Vietnamese and Chinese are gathered in Latin Dance Glossary in 8 Languages (Japanese)
- To check the meaning of a term, see the Latin Dance Glossary
- You can also note down what you did not understand and ask again at the next lesson
Check before you start
The language used in lessons differs by school. Before you sign up, use a trial lesson or an inquiry to ask things like these.
- “What language are the lessons taught in?”
- “Is it done the same way in the beginners’ class?”
- “Can I ask questions afterward about what I didn’t understand?”
I have not checked how individual schools in Sapporo handle this. You can also look up events on the Sapporo Latin Dance Calendar (札幌ラテンダンスカレンダー) (external site).
What I am glad I kept doing
Until then, in both work and private life, I had been almost entirely in a Japanese community. Through dance, I made friends among local people in Vietnam and among residents from many countries, and my world grew wider. This is my own case.
Do you have to stop if there is a language barrier?
The answer differs by person. In my case, I kept going to lessons while there were fine points I could not understand. But that is not a promise that “this will work for you.”
- If there is too much you don’t understand and it becomes hard, you don’t need to push yourself
- Looking again for a school that suits you in terms of language is also one way to choose
- A trial lesson can also be a chance to check whether the language suits you
FAQ
Can I take lessons in a foreign language if I’m not good at it?
In some cases, yes. I started English-language lessons while I could not understand the fine points. But how much trouble it causes differs by person, so please check at a trial lesson.
What should I say to the teacher?
I recommend narrowing it down to one spot: “I don’t understand this part of this movement.” You can also ask the teacher to show the demonstration once more. Short words or gestures sometimes work too.
Can I take lessons in Japanese in Sapporo?
This article has not checked how individual schools in Sapporo handle language. Please read each school’s notice, or ask them to confirm.
Is it the same idea when I dance with someone from another country?
Yes, I think the idea is the same: each side helps fill in the language gap. When you dance with people from other countries in Sapporo, you can also use the glossary of translated terms (Japanese).
